On the recommendtion of a friend I was using Bangkok as a jumping off point for visiting Southeast Asia. Bangkok makes a convenient travel hub, and my plan was (is) to spend time traveling around Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and possibly Laos with most of my time spent in Vietnam.
The only fixed dates are my arrival date in Bangkok, my flight to Vietnam 3 days later, and my trip home from Bangkok. How I return to Bangkok (by land or by airplane), and whether I actually visit other Cambodia or Laos, or spend much more time in Thailand will all depend on how much time I end up spending exploring Vietnam.
I’m startng to write this particular travelogue 2 weeks into my trip. Things have changed a lot since I first used Photobits.com to post about a trip I had taken to Japan, and I’ve been torn about whether to just post photos with comments on facebook, or blog to my photofits website. Facebook is great for status updates and photos with comment that people may/may not see in their feed – hopefully I can still use my website to provide a bit of a happy medium and (if I don’t slack off too much) more of an ongoing narrative of my trip.
I’ll be showing my photography at the Whittier Law School in Costa Mesa on Saturday April 2nd.
When: Saturday, April 2, 2011 from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Where: Library, Whittier Law School, 3333 Harbor Blvd., Costa Mesa
Admission is free and there will be refreshments.
Hope to see you there!
I have a couple of photos that will be on display at the Irvine Fine Arts Center “All Media” show that runs from November 20, 2009 to January 16, 2010. The opening reception is on Friday November 20th.
The photos are from my return trip to Antarctica this past January, and I will be there at the reception this Friday from 5pm – 8pm.
The Irvine Fine Arts Center is located in Heritage Park at 14321 Yale Ave; Irvine, CA (949) 724-6880.
On May 30th I’m having an art opening at the Whittier Law School in Costa Mesa. I’ll be featuring photography from my trip on the Explorer as well as my return trip to Antarctica earlier this year. I’ll also be happy to answer any questions people might have about either of my trips or other travels.
What: Art Opening at the Whittier Law School Library
Where: 3333 Harbor Blvd; Costa Mesa, CA 92626
When: May 30th from 5:30pm – 8:30pm
Hope to see you there!
You can access the full report (PDF format) from the following link:
The first thing I would like to say is that I am glad to have the report out there. I was concerned about the time it took to get a final report, but I think it is a thorough and honest investigation of what happened. I am also disappointed by GAP’s apparent reluctance to work with the investigators (p.55-57).
GAP refused to take any action to retrieve the "white box" from the ship, did not provide passenger information to the investigators (due to "privacy concerns"), and did not notify passengers about the accident investigation. Even with privacy concerns, GAP could have provided us directly with the investigator’s contact information to reach them if we so chose. Instead it was only through
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I now have folding greetings cards available for order. The greeting cards are on high-quality glossy card stock and measure 4.5"x6.25". This leaves enough room for a 4"x5.75" image with a nice border around the image. The cards are suitable for framing, and will fit a frame designed to take a 4×6 image.
While the outside of the card is glossy, the interior has a matte (non-glossy) surface suitable for writing.
The cards are $4.95 each. They come with a matching envelope and are individually packaged in a clear wrapper.
Where’s the rest of the story?
I was originally planning to write a book or magazine article about what happened on the Explorer. I posted the first two parts of this on my blog late last year and dated it to the time of the accident. It is important to me that there is a first-person account available covering what happened. Also my roommates and I were in a unique position being in the cabin that was penetrated by the ice.
I will be completing the entire story. However, the economy has been on a downward trend and I need to spend more time focusing on improving my website and getting more customers to visit. While I’m working on this completing the rest of the story, unfortunately, needs to be put on the back burner.
So, please check back for updates. I have setup a mailing list you can join from my homepage. If you are are considering purchasing artwork or would just like to browse please visit my photo galleries. Also here are some links to articles I was interviewed for and/or videos about what happened on the Explorer:
Men’s Journal:
http://www.mensjournal.com/next-titanic
LA Times:
http://articles.latimes.com/2007/dec/05/local/me-explorer5
Outside Magazine:
http://outside.away.com/outside/destinations/200803/antarctica-explorer-shipwreck.html
Reader’s Digest:
http://www.rd.com/your-america-inspiring-people-and-stories/iceberg-sinks-cruise-ship/article54450.html
CBS News video that zooms into a picture of me on a lifeboat during the rescue:
http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=3535891n
Video clip & audio interview on Good Morning America when I was still
in Punta Arenas, Chile:
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=3910297
I’ve been making a lot of changes to the website. In addition to the interface changes, I’ve also posted some pictures from my (successful!) trip back to Antarctica.
The pictures still need titles/captions, but you can view them in the “Southern Ocean & Antarctica” Galleries.
Also I wanted to give an early heads up that I’ll be having an art opening during April/May in Costa Mesa, CA. I’ll post more details once the date & time are finalized.
Part 2 – The muster room
When the captain told us to report to the muster room, he actually called it the “Penguin Lounge”. There was a little confusion about this – I later found that older maps of the Explorer called the lecture hall (muster room) the Penguin Lounge.
Our first day on the ship we had an emergency drill. That day we had been warned the alarm would be coming. There was no confusion over locations, because crew members were at every juncture on the ship directing us the correct way to go. Despite having visited the lecture hall many times over the past 12 days, this time I found navigating my way around the ship confusing, and the crew members were not yet around to direct us.
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