Photos to Help Storm Relief

This tree loomed over a local road for at least a week.

Finally, a real excuse for not updating the blog in a while - Superstorm Sandy took out my electricity for the better part of two weeks. Conditions weren't really bad for me - it was easy to get food and gasoline and I had plenty of friends who offered safe places to stay - but there are still tens of thousands suffering in the New York metropolitan area even though power has largely been restored.

I've made some of my photos available for download with *all* proceeds going to nonprofits helping with storm-relief efforts. (I sent out the first donation from downloads to Food Bank for New York City today.) You can see the available photos here. There's a few animal shots - wolves, polar bears, and a langur - and a nice Costa Rican beach sunset. If you are interested in a download of another photo you see on the site, feel free to contact me about making it available for a charitable contribution. And of course you can always ignore the photos and just contribute to the nonprofit organization of your choice!

There are a lot of people in need out there. I never thought I'd see Doctors Without Borders setting up a clinic in New York City; turns out it's the first time the organization has done so within the United States. (See a Reuters article about it here.)

Monkeyshines in Kuala Lumpur

Hanging out with Nora in Kuala Lumpur

Having recently written a somewhat cautionary post about venturing near monkeys, I figured I'd share some of the benefits of walking, armed only with a camera, among our hirsute cousins.

Nora shows the way

My favorite monkey encounter occurred in Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve, a small rainforest park in the middle of Kuala Lumpur. Located only 2 blocks from a Starbucks, the park is a refreshing taste of green shrouded wilderness in the middle of a bustling city. On my first visit, I stopped by the welcome center to get information. The ranger asked if I had seen the monkey outside. "Monkey, what monkey?" "Nora. She's spends a lot of time near the center." I walked out back toward the trails and sure enough there was a young monkey. She nimbly jumped into the arms of one of the staff, who promptly handed Nora to me. I was a little taken aback, but hey, when someone hands you a monkey, you take the monkey. It's the only polite thing to do.

Nora swung from my hand for a bit, then hopped over to a tree. Later she surprised me by diving right onto my shoulder before balancing on the back of my outstretched hand for a spell. I was thrilled; just remembering the experience makes me break out in a smile. I almost extended my stay in Kuala Lumpur just to have more opportunities to interact with her. I have no idea if Nora is still around now, a couple of years later, or if perhaps she began spending time with the other monkeys that live in that small park.

Mother and child roam the forest.

For more photos of Kuala Lumpur's forest and other sights, please click here.

Superpod!

A few years back I went on a dolphin-watching expedition in Costa Rica. We eventually found ourselves in the midst of a pod of maybe 20-30 spinner dolphins. There was no land to be seen anywhere; it was just us, the group of acrobatic dolphins, and a vast expanse of beautiful blue sea stretching out to a paler blue horizon. It was a truly exhilarating experience.

So I can't even imagine what it must have been like to be in the midst of thousands of dolphins like a film crew in South Africa recently was. Luckily the fortunate few shot photos and video before sitting back and just enjoying the once in a lifetime show. Photographer Chase Jarvis described the experience in his blog and included information on how to help protect dolphins and their habitat.

Bangkok Smiles

Sukhumvit Road vendor

At some point I may write about Bangkok Smiles, my excellent dental clinic in Thailand, but this post features photos of other people showing of their choppers. All of them were taken in, yes, you guessed it, Bangkok. (For more of my Land of 1000 Smiles series, please click here and here.)

New Siam II Guest House

On the Chao Praya River

Salesman at JJ Market. I didn't buy the umbrella hat, so of course it rained later.

Outside Pantip Plaza

These friends called me over for conversation and a meal.

Proud papa

Book 'em!

Do you really want to lug all these around? Even without the cats?

We all know that iPads and Kindles and the like make it easier to bring books (heck, virtual libraries) with us when we're on the move; now here's an opportunity to stock up for free. Openculture.com has a few hundred free e-books available here. Most of the books on the classics-heavy list can be downloaded, though a few can only be read online. The site also has links to a number of other great free offerings - the free language lessons may be of particular interest to travelers.

Big thanks to my best friend, the human force behind my favorite canine blog, for alerting me to the site.

We're not playing a game; we're reading Dostoevsky. No, really.

And the Smiles Keep Coming (Prachuap Khiri Khan edition)

Chef, Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park

As I noted before, Thailand is renowned for its friendly citizens. Here's some more shots of people I met on my latest visit. These photos are all from Prachuap Khiri Khan province. Just a few hours south of Bangkok, the province includes the popular tourist beach destination of Hua Hin and less visited sites such as Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park and the city of Prachuap Khiri Khan. It's one of my favorite places in Thailand, easily accessible from Bangkok, with beautiful beaches and relative quiet (if you stay out of Hua Hin, which I do).

I was later told
that those were probably
fighting roosters.

Street fair vendor

Parade watcher

Security guard

Tuktuk passenger

Chinese tourists
(So they're not Thai,
they still have great
smiles!)

Celebrating Buddhist Lent

Too Much Monkey Business?

When I tell people that I was chased by a monkey, they almost invariably ask, "How big was it?" Like there's some threshold size at which it becomes acceptable to choose discretion over valor when confronted by a disgruntled simian.  I didn't get an accurate gauge of the monkey's weight; I was too busy noting its surprising speed and the huge teeth it seemed awfully fond of displaying.  My completely undignified retreat is pretty funny to picture now - my Teva® sandals slapping on an unevenly cobbled downhill path  as I tried to maintain speed without wiping out - but, as the saying goes, at the time it wasn't so funny.

396 steps of monkeys
(Prachuap Khiri Khan)

It's quite easy to get up close and personal, perhaps too personal, with monkeys in Thailand. Some towns, such as Lopburi, are famous for their  resident troops, attracting tourists who can easily find themselves surrounded by a bunch of swingers in every sense of the word.

Visitors can often choose to do more than just watch the swirl of activity. At some sites you can purchase food to feed the monkeys. While Buddhists may do so to "make merit," others just enjoy taking part in the unique experience. Throwing the food (bananas, corn, nuts) in the general vicinity of the animals and watching their hierarchy noisily assert itself is always a feeding option, but sometimes you can literally hand the food out as if it were Halloween and  a bunch of really short nervous kids all arrived wearing the same costume.

Click below for more photos and the rest of the article.