Only 16 days left until I’m let loose on Europe and am free to take new pictures. But until then here are some older ones that I have been messing with!
Posted by Jimmy under California, Photos, Thailand, Thoughts, Travel Tips, Uncategorized, Updates | Comments (1)
The word paradise gets thrown around a lot, and I am one that tends to use it quite often. I guess the truth is the world is a pretty freaking awesome and there are tons of places that one can label as “Paradise”.
One place on earth that holds a special place in my heart… is Muskoka Canada. Maybe its because this was the first place I traveled to as a kid, or maybe its just because, it is truly paradise. Muskoka (or better known as Cottage country) is a 2-hour drive north of Toronto. It’s pretty much a weekend get away spot for the rich people that live in Toronto. It’s hard to find a home in Muskoka for under a million dollars, so you have to be pretty loaded to afford a million dollar “weekend home”. Muskoka is filled with movie stars and pro athletes, Goldie Hahn lives down the street… and sometimes Kate Hudson can be spotted cruising around in her boat. Read more…
Posted by Jimmy under Thailand, Uncategorized | Comments (1)
When you travel for long periods of time its easy to find yourself a little jaded and not interested in seeing the tourist sights… temples, museums…. etc. I think it has a lot to do with being overloaded… I mean how many temples can one possibly see?
I have now been to Bangkok over 15 times over the last 4 years, and every time I come I say to myself that I’m going to go check out the Grand Palace (the place where the King used to live) but I always seem to find some excuse not to go.
So today (my last day) I decided to suck it up and be the “Good Tourist”. With my sun block smeared on and my big camera hanging from my neck, I set off like the typical tacky tourist… I even had a map in my pocket, as it’s easy to get lost on foot in Bangkok.
Battling the intense heat and wild traffic, I made my way over to the palace with a swagger that says “Hey watch yourself…no need to try to sell me that crap, you know I don’t want it.” I cross streets with the confidence and attitude of a local leaving the other tourist cowering at the side of the road watching their lives flash in front of them. I have been to countless temples and palaces over the years and the Grand Palace is no different but yet it was still very impressive and worth the effort and the $8 entrance fee. The rest of the day was spent poolside with a bunch of interesting characters… then followed by my last $5 Thai massage and some awesome Indian food. When I look back on how I have spent the last few years of my life… Asia seems to play a big part in it. I am already missing it and I haven’t even left. Tomorrow I will board a flight bound for California… or as some people say Cali… but no one from California actually says it like that, only losers that watch the OC and think that’s what California is like call it Cali. As much as I’m sad to go home I also am looking forward to putting my brain and creative skills back to use. So for now I say goodnight and until the next time take care!
Posted by Jimmy under Photos, Thailand, Thoughts, Travel Tips, Uncategorized, Updates | Comments (0)
Well my “Secret Beach” turned out to be not so “Secret” after all. I guess the truth is there really isn’t any touched paradise place in the world left to discover. 99% of the world has already been explored inside and out. We all dream of that deserted island where we can relax and forget about the world, but the truth is we all want the comforts from home to. So when you throw in a nice hotel, hot shower, TV, electricity and good food, you find yourself in a touristy place.
Years ago I produced a TV show for the Travel Channel called “World’s Best Beaches”. Over the last 4 years of traveling I have been to all those beaches and a quite a few more. This place is for sure on my Top 5 list of best beaches in the world. If Thailand had a secret beach this would be it. I’m not sure why… maybe cause of its location, but this place has been left off the well-worn tourist route of Thailand. The rest of Thailand’s beaches are filled with young drunk stupid ass 21 year old backpackers…. Screaming (((((Partyyyy Dude!!!))))
Years ago saying you were going to Thailand was a cool thing… now its about as cool as saying your going on a Disney cruise with your parents! So that said, it was nice to be able to count the foreigners on one hand. But this place was not short of people on vacation looking to have a good time. This island seems to be the Thai peoples vacation spot. I started talking with a 34 year old father from Bangkok, and he says this is where the Thai people like to vacation since the rest of the beaches in Thailand are taken over by foreigners. The island is also home to the nomadic tribe of the Challay People… (Better known as the Sea Gypsies) The sun here is down right dirty! I feel like I landed on the sun… you can get a sunburn in 5 minutes if your standing outside without sunblock. During the day it gets to almost 100F with 95% humidity and at night without the ocean breeze, its not much better. The only power on the island is from a generator, which only runs from 6pm to 6am… yes that’s right… at 6am your fan stops spinning and you start sweating. Even with a fan it’s still hard to sleep. After 2 nights of sweating from head to toe I knew I needed to do something. On my 3rd night I was lying on the beach having a few drinks while looking up and watching the most impressive lighting storm I have ever seen. It was one of Mother Nature’s true masterpieces. It was so mesmerizing just lying there with the cool fresh ocean breeze upon my face and the sounds of the waves crashing against the white sand beach. It didn’t take long for me to fall into a deep sleep, one that I haven’t had in a long time. I slept through night until about 5:30am when I was woken by the morning suns rays and the sounds of the fisherman getting their boats ready for the day. Now for some of you that don’t know what I long tail boat is… it’s basically a boat with an engine from either a bus or truck thrown on the back. These boats are loud as hell, loud enough to wake the dead. At this point I retreated back to my bungalow where I slept for a few more hours until it was time for breakfast… and so for the next 5 days I spelt on the beach under the stars.
But unfortunately everything comes to an end at some point. Before I knew it I was on a boat bound for the mainland. The 3-hour boat journey was a trip that could make the most sea hardy people think twice about setting sail. The boat was packed full of people sitting on top of each other. The sea was pretty rough and it didn’t take long for people to start puking all over the place. I was sitting next to a 10-year-old Thai girl… she was the cutest little thing I have ever seen until she puked on my foot (thank god I was wearing sandals. not!) I have always dreamed of sailing around the world, but I think I have changed my mind. Finally after a 3 hour boat ride from hell, 2 hour taxi speed race to the airport, 1 hour flight, and another 1 hour bus ride… I now can say I have found comfort in a shower to was off the days salt water, sweat, and puke. I have a few days left in Bangkok to take care of a few things and then its back on another flight bound for the good old US of A.
Posted by Jimmy under Photos, Thailand, Thoughts, Travel Tips, Uncategorized, Updates | Comments (1)
Its funny how things in life can change so fast! A few months ago I was in Tokyo Japan freezing my thin skinned ass off, and dreaming of hot sunny weather. Well my dreams came true.
Burma has to be the hottest place I have ever been. I went to Burma at the worst month possible (the hottest month). I love the heat and have spent my days in some pretty intense heat. I thought the time when I was in Jordan and it was around 125F or 51C was pretty freaking hot. People were actually cooking food in the ground; with no fire… it was that hot. But for some reason probably the 99% humidity Burma has beaten that by far.
So after sweating my ass off I am now heading for the shade under a palm tree on a secret beach in Thailand. I will spend the next 2 weeks spear fishing and relaxing on the beach. Its not just the heat that is making me take a little break. I have come to a point where I am running out of money and need to start working. I have met hundreds of travelers over the last few years and at some point they all run out of money and need to head home and work. I am finding that I am no different. So I will be heading back to Los Angeles and getting back to producing TV. I feel life is like a road; some people’s life is pretty straight forward, with not a lot of turns or forks in the road. But my life or at least this patch of road sure does have tons of forks, curves and bumpy parts. So with that… who knows what lye’s ahead around the next turn!
Posted by Jimmy under Thailand, Thoughts, Uncategorized, Updates | Comments (1)
