Friday, July 8, 2005
The Mission, San Francisco, California

Back! More coming soon...

Sunday, June 26, 2005
Hora, Serifos, Cyclades, Greece

My time in Serifos is drawing to a close and I sit contemplating... I have finally come to the realization that this is not the place I wish to die, however morbid this may sound. While I still harbour very strong feelings for this island and love its raging rugged beauty, I also recognize only too clearly that as a small island a certain village mentality holds sway and people tend to give too much signifigance to what would normally be seen as insignifigant. I find myself unwillingly giving into this mentality and appreciate more and more the freedom life in the city affords.

Most of this week I spent driving around the island on a little motorbike borrowed from Pascal. The beaches are all becoming developed with houses built directly on the beach. I long for the days when I first visited this place and all the beaches were virgin and free camping was the norm. These days most of the tourists are wealthy Greeks from Athens and backpackers rarely stay longer than a day or two as prices have soared since the introduction of the euro. I head to one of the few remaining authentic tavernas at the end of the bay and drink local Serifos wine and eat traditional Greek food. I see friends at Stou Stratou over coffee, and the first weekend here, a big holiday, I help clear tables and serve water and the cafe. A few evenings I drive down the hill to Livadi, the port, and drink beer at Karnayo, the islands oldest rock'n'roll bar. I end up at Metalleio, a restaurant/club, owned by a friend and catch up with people I haven't seen in years. A certain sadness envelops me as I realize it is time to move on but I know it is necessary and my life is calling to me...

Saturday, June 18, 2005
Hora, Serifos, Cyclades, Greece

This morning I moved from the room I was renting from the priest to Loesje's house. I've stayed in this house on numerous occasions, on the hill behind Pascal's house, and it feels like home. Stocked up the kitchen with veggies, staples and bought a rack of lamb from the butcher in Livadi. Drove to Karavi beach during the afternoon and took some sun. Tonight I plan to drive down the hill to Livadi and have a night on the town, the first since arriving earlier in the week...

Friday, June 17, 2005
Hora, Serifos, Cyclades, Greece

Upon arrival at Athens airport, my customary black attracted the interest of the local DEA but I was soon on my way into the city on the newly completed metro. Spent the weekend in Thision (my old stomping ground) at Sheila's and caught up with old friends in Monastiraki at the weekend market. Monday morning I got the high speed ferry to Serifos and met up onboard with Nikolaki, Gerard and Vangelakis, all Serifos alumnai. Once on the island I caught the bus up to Hora and headed straight to Stou Stratou where Stratos was just opening the cafe for the day's trade. Pascal arrived shortly thereafter and after breakfast I checked in my room and unpacked. As things worked out I would stay in the rented room for 5 nights then move to Loes's house for the remainder of my stay - a nice suprise as normally the house would have been rented for the entire season. I arranged with Pascal to use his internet connection daily (hooray!) and he and Stratos offered me one of their motorbikes during my stay. In a matter of a few hours my two major concerns were put at rest, mobility and internet access, and I settled into the routine of Serifos life. After three weeks in Barcelona and the craziness of Queeruption, the tranquility of Serifos was a most welcome relief. Sleep came easily and I was soon lulled into the coocoon of my old life on the Island.

Friday, June 10, 2005
Barcelona, Spain

Arrived in Barcelona weeks ago and this is the 1st chance I've had to update this blog. From day one, it's been all go with the first weeks devoted to setting up the Queeruption 8 kitchen in the old squatted artificial leather factoria. Queeruption, for those of you out of the loop, is an annual radical queer, anarchist gathering bringing together diy workshops, art, performance, film, live bands, djs and parties (both dance and sexxx). And the Q kitchen serves up 3 meals a day, all vegan and cooked by volunteers. I volunteered to coordinate and organize the kitchen as I have years of restaurant and catering experience and the challenge of cooking vegan for an entire week is always too good to pass by! My old friend Milo arrived On Monday from Milwaukee and I invited him to share my sleeping room which I'd fitted with padlock, mattress, locker and desk. A few days later he, along with another friend, were involved in an accident in the kitchen where his feet got burnt and he chose to fly home early. The following day my Dutch friend Omar arrived with his boyfriend Wells and they became my new roommates for the remainder of Q8.

Q8 began on Monday, May 30th, with a police seige of the building. Folx could leave but no one was allowed to enter the premises and the street was blocked off by police on three sides. I was woken at 3am by the sound of police sirens and by 6am the parking lot at one end of the street was filled with half-naked queers blowing horns and banging drums. By noon the protest outside had grown to 100 people and was fast turning into a street party. I was dreading the hour when my cigarettes would finish but by 3pm rumours were circulating that a deal had been struck with the local council, the building's owner and the police. A friend signed a paper taking responsibility that the gathering would not be a rave nor a mega-party and eventually the police retreated and the doors were opened to allow in the kidz who had been waiting outside. I ventured out for the first time in 24 hours to buy ciggies and beer and the gathering began a day late but with renewed vigor!!

I volunteered to coordinate Tuesday's lunch and cooked an Indian veggie curry, dahl, rice and salad for 300 people. When not actually cooking I was responsible for making sure the kitchen was stocked with food and running smoothly. This meant almost daily trips to the veggie market to dumpster vegetables, driving in a van to Makro to buy staples such as coffee, pasta, pulses, rice and muesli. Plus the occasional trip to an Indian and Chinese supermarket to buy spices and specialty foods needed for the meals.

On Wednesday I took the day off from the kitchen to focus on preparing the Men's Space of the Sex Party (with seperate rooms for women, trans and several mixed spaces). We created a room with walls of black and blue artificial leather scavenged from the factory and hung huge rolls from the basement ceiling, one row black and one row blue. Clothing lockers were moved down from the upstairs shower room (itself a potential porn movie set) to the men's space to create several smaller rooms and I used spray paint to paint graffiti on the walls. The hanging neon lights were painted purple and red with just enough light to see your prospective sex partner(s) and condoms were placed strategically around the room to encourage safe sex. The party was a huge success and I had the honour of starting the action off in the men's space with a Danish boy from Copenhagen. Soon after the room became a heaving pit of queer punk sexxx and I spent most of the night entangled with numerous Spanish, French and ??? boys - occasionally taking a break to join the alternative dance party happening simultaneously in the main hall. I eventually returned to my room upstairs in the sleeping quarters after sunrise for a few hours of much needed sleep then returned after noon for a coffee (and then more sex, still going strong in the play area). Bless those Spanish boys!!

Thursday night was band night and there were queer punk bands from Barcelona, the UK and Denmark performing. And the Sex Party space was still open for action. Friday night a politicial action was planned and many of the queeruptors headed into the city's mainstream commercial gay district to confront the middle-class homos. After disrupting a wealthy gay hotel, 8 kidz got arrested for disturbing the peace and propery damage and further demonstrations were held outside the jail the following day demanding the release of the Q8 prisoners. Our friends were finally released on Sunday afternoon but still face trumped up charges and mounting legal fees.

Saturday was spent in an exhausting general meeting where the consequences of the action were explained in detail and a consensus needed to be reached to decide how to proceed with Saturday night's big party. Immediate eviction was a distinct possibility after the previous night's events and the right decisions needed to be made to ensure the success of the party and avoid eviction. It was decided to proceed with the party but keep the sound level to a minimum. Of course in reality the party could be heard from the street and it carried on into the wee hours of Sunday morning.

Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Paris, France

The flight from Delhi to Paris was unevenful except for security in Delhi wanting to confiscate my trusty Zippo lighter. In the end they had me remove the cotton inside the lighter and packaged it in a sealed envelope for me to collect on arrival in Paris. Rather odd as the smoking room in Dubai airport was full of passengers with lighters and I remember the days not long ago when you could still smoke aboard flights! I collected my bag in Paris, and my Zippo, and tried phoning Laurent and Magali whom I arranged to stay with. No answer so I left a message and got the bus to the RER station and the train to Aulnay Sous-Bois. I forgot to buy a phone card at the airport (as I used my credit card to phone earlier) and when I tried to phone Laurent again the phone booths at the station only took French telecartes, not credit cards. All the shops were closed so I found the nearest bar and proceeded to ask the bartender (and the customers at the bar) if there was a telephone I could use. Several of the patrons spoke bits of English and although there was no phone in the bar one of the customers let me use his mobile phone to ring Laurent. The drinkers joked with me about America and fucking George B. (some things easily cross the language barrier) and I felt very welcome - they even cheered when they asked me which ville I was from and I told them San Francisco. They must have remembered how SF voted in the last election ;-) Magali picked me up soon after and we drove back to their house where we caught up over a few beers and I had my first taste of French cheese after too long an absence! Laurent informed me that they had DSL and a wireless router so I spent the next few hours online catching up on email then crashed for the night.

This morning I woke up with the sun shining and although it was chilly it was a pleasant change after Delhi's sweltering 42 degree heat. After breakfast (more cheese!!) I had a shower then Laurent dropped me off at the station to get a train into Paris. Bought a phone card at the post office then got the metro to Reuilly-Diderot to visit my friend Corinne. We took a long walk, looking for a cafe/bar to have a drink outside in the sun, and settled on a little place near Place Oberkampf across from a park. Co filled me in on all the Serifos news as she had just returned two days earlier from the island and it was good to hear that everyone there was fine and that there was a good crowd on the island for Greek Easter. Corinne left for her Greek lesson and I got the RER back to Livry Gargan. Laurent collected me at the station and we had dinner in the back graden with Laurent's parents who were visiting for their daughter's school dance fete. Magali cooked a delicious roast chicken, green beans with carrots and lardon and Laurent's mother baked a wonderful 3 layered almond gateaux. And of course French wine! Vive la France!

Sunday, May 15, 2005
Paharganj, Delhi India

Two weeks have passed since my last entry and although I felt ready to leave India after my illness all flights were full so I resigned myself to staying in McLeod Ganj. The Tibetan massage course occupied my next week and gave me something to look forward to each day. I asked Dhondup, my massage therapist, about his website - the link I had for it was broken - and he told me that it was a typographical error but that the site wasn't good. I mentioned I did web design and if he liked I could make him a new website. I expected no payment and wanted to do this to thank him for teaching me massage; he is extremely gifted and is generous with his skills. I completed his website tibetanmassage.com within two days to his immense pleasure (after all this is India where things move painfully slow...) Once I completed the massage course Dhondup insisted I return to see him every morning for a massage and refused any offer of money. He focused on my neck and spine which I've had problems with since working on computers and the difference is amazing.

Each morning after my massage his wife would cook me breakfast and make chai, and we'd chat with his Kashmiri neighbors who were clearing their spare room of debris to make a bedroom for their daughter. Lovely people and I feel certain I'll remain friends with Dhondop; and of course when I return to India I'll most definitely pay him a visit.

While visiting an internet shop with him, I was approached by an Indian gentleman, Anil, who owns an Indian Restaurant, The Taste of India, with his wife Nisha. Nisha also offers Indian cooking classes and he was interested in making a basic website for the cooking school. I told him I could do it and after negotiating a minimal price I began work on it. He was terribly slow in getting me material for the site, kept pushing me to do more, and waited til the day I was leaving to pay me for my work. Fortunately I was fond of his wife and learned a lot taking her cooking classes!

Three days before leaving McLeod Ganj, Dhondup's upstairs neigbour asked if I could do a site for her husband's Thanka painting school. A Thanka is a traditional Tibetan religious painting and Tashi runs a school teaching thanka painting to newly arrived Tibetan refugees who lack the education or language skills to get work in India. I reluctantly agreed to make him a website (my last 2 weeks felt more like working fulltime than holiday!!) but it was for a good cause and Tashi offered to give me a Thanka in exchange for making the site. I did a photo shoot in his school of he and his boys and he had a university student write copy for the site. Within two days I completed his site, correcting and rewriting the site's text, scanning and optimizing the images and designing a logo.

My days were full and often I was still in the internet shop until 10pm crouched over the computer :) During my last week in town I met a Canadian lad called Ryan and we became fast friends. He'd been in Australia managing restaurants in an island off of Cairns and hadn't been home to Toronto in 2 1/2 years - we did the Indian cooking course together along with a German boy from Munich, Peter, and spent the last few nights hanging out in McLo's bar with Ryan's English mate, Jim. My farewell night at McLo's involved an uncountable number of Kingfisher beers and the Saturday afternnon I left we all did lunch at Mai Thai, a Thai restaurant at the bottom of Jogibara Road.

After making our final goodbyes, I got the new luxury Volvo air-conditioned bus from Dharamsala to Delhi (surprisingly comfortable as most of the Indian buses are hell on wheels!!) Arrived in Delhi this morning, checked into Hotel Star Paradise and spent the afternoon walking around Main Bazaar. I found an inexpensive optician and asked the cost of prescription glasses - my last pair was bought in Bangkok 8 years ago and needed stronger lenses - so I ordered new glasses for $20, quite the bargain. Then I ran into an Aussie friend from McLeod Ganj and we made plans to have beers tonight in The Gold Regency's Chandi bar. Tomorrow, Monday, I will go to Connaught Circus to do last minute shopping then on Tuesday morning I catch a flight to Paris, via Dubai...

Saturday, April 30, 2005
McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala, India

The fevers completely gone and I've settled into the life here in McLeod Ganj. Yiannis returned to Greece last weekend and now I have the room to myself. It's basic, but clean and comfortable, the shower is hot and the bed is cozy with duvets.

Yesterday I began a 7 day course in traditional Tibetan massage. My first impression is that technique isn't too hard to master but remembering all the different positions and massages will be challenging. I take notes and we receive basic sketches of the positions. Once this course ends I may do another massage course in Thai massage and plan to do a 3 day Indian cooking class.

Found a lovely little cafe on Temple Road, Moonpeak Cafe, that does authentic cappucino and espresso and I usually take a coffee there each afternooon. If the weather is sunny I have breakfast at Nick's Italian Kitchen's terrace overlooking the valley and the snow-peaked Himalayas...

The village has several internet shops and I started frequenting the Dogga Internet Cafe, a non-profit computer center on Jogibara Road, where I continue my web design work. The connection is slow and erratic but functional.

Sunday, April 24, 2005
McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala, India

I've been in McLeod Ganj for one week now. The first few days were spent exploring the village, with its myriad alleyways, temples, cafes, shops and lovely people. Yannis, my Greek friend and roommate for the week, participated in a three day Tibetan Cooking Course (Tibetan momos, breads and soups). Evenings were spent drinking beer at McLeod's Restaurant & Bar, overlooking the main bus stand and square. The village is mainly comprised of a large Tibetan refugee community who followed the Dalai Lama on foot from Tibet to McLeod Ganj and is the headquarters of his Tibetan government in exile.

On day four, after spending 7 hours in an internet shop finishing off a job, I came down with a mild fever and headache. The fever held for three days and I spent an entire day holed up in my room sleeping and sweating. The fever broke yesterday, the headache started improving, and although both the fever and headache still come and go I think I'm over the worst of it. Speaking with friends here, it's a common illness (un-named of course), and usually folks get over it within a week. I expect to spend a few more days just taking things slow and easy, staying off the alcohol, and reading. Friends have given my antibiotics and tell me all the local doctor will do is give you same, so just let it run its course...ahhhh, India!!

Sunday, April 17, 2005
McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala, India

After a harrowing 15 hour journey from Delhi, we arrived in McLeod Ganj at 5:30 am. Maria, a Canadian girl I met on the bus knew a guesthouse so she, Yannis and I walked over there and woke up the sleeping receptionist. Yannis and I are sharing a double room as there was only was room available and Maria stayed with a friend already staying there. Met Yannis on the bus, a Greek from Rethymnon, Crete, and we immediately got on well as I speak Greek - and somehow we recognized some sort of common bond. He and I went out for coffee and cake for breakfast, then we both registered for a Tibetan Cooking class held for three days. That begins this afternoon at 5pm and I'm really looking forward to making momos!! Found an internet shop to connect my laptop to - works for some things but can't seem to access some internet sites. Heading out for some lunch and to explore the town...

Saturday, April 16, 2005
N. Delhi, India

Flying out of Bangkok was relatively painless - I had been having apprehensions as I overstayed my Thai visa by two days but I was directed by immigration to an 'overstay' desk where I paid the necessary 400 Baht and got my exit stamp. Secuity was tight and when my shoulder bag was examined in the departure lounge, my throw-away lighter was discovered and taken. Luckily they didn't find my zippo, hehe.

Flew into Delhi Friday morning at 6am and was met at Delhi airport by my taxi arranged online from the Smyle Inn where I booked my first night. The driver, Patil, was friendly and he had matches in his minivan so I was able to smoke on the drive into Paharganj. Checked into the Smyle Inn, basic rooms with fan and attached toilet and shower and had a rest before venturing out into the streets of Paharganj, Delhi's old market area. Little has changed here since my last visit 8 years ago: crowded, bustling streets with cows wandering aimlessly, vespas zipping through the throngs, motor rickshaws piled with sodas and butane bottles, women dressed in colourful saris and cycle rickshaws touting for riders. I left the hotel to find an ATM then had breakfast at a little cafe on Main Bazaar. Hit three internet shops before I found one where I was allowed to plug in my laptop to the internet then caught up on emails and did some research on my trip to Dharamsala. Took a nap in the afternoon then had dinner at a small Indian cafe - a thali - potato and pea curry, dahl, raita, a papadom and naan bread. Found a bar on Main Bazaar and ended up chatting with an Australian fellow from the Gold Coast who was in India on his own before rejoining his wife in Kuala Lumpur to fly on to the UK.

This morning, woke early, had a chai and breakfast and will head out shortly to get online and post this latest travelblog. Booked a deluxe luxury bus to Dharamsala/McLeod Ganj for this afternoon at 3:30pm...more from the mountains!!

Thursday, April 14, 2005
Bangkok, Thailand

Tuesday night we had dinner at the Joke restaurant - Huge Grilled Prawns, Coconut Chicken soup, Laab and rice - then walked back through Rambutri Village where we stopped on the street for some beers. Ran into Ron and Mike from Chaloklam who joined us for more beers then I had an early night as I was reaching my limit of inebriation...

Yesterday morning I got a taxi to Pantip Plaza, Bangkok's computer shopping center. I was after a memory stick, or USB flash drive as they call it nowadays. Wandered its 5 floors but as it is the Thai New Year, most of the shops are closed for the holidays. Found a few open shops, all with similar gear and similar prices and bought an Apacer 128 MB drive - handy for copying data from one computer to another, which I expect I'll need to do while working online in India. I've heard horror stories of being unable to connect your laptop to an internet cafes network so may have to transfer data from my laptop to their pc, to email and upload to the web. Arghhh!

Had lunch at my guesthouse then braved the water fights (which are everywhere outdoors) and headed to Khaosan Road to the Immortal Bar where a metal/punk show was on at 4pm. Bought my ticket for $4 and entered - a really cool venue, similar to CBGBs, small, smoky and full of young Thai kids dressed in black with heavy metal t-shirts on. Found Danny Double Bass, a Swiss guy I met last year at the Rambo gig and his friend Mike. We drank beers for half an hour then everyone was asked to go outside for the ticket check - a strange system. I started chatting with an older Thai woman, Toi, whose son was in one of the bands playing, Slazh. She asked the owner if she could remain inside as she was older and it was extremely hot outside and didn't want to get wet and when he gave her the thumbs up she suggested I stay as well. I just hung with her, chatting away (she spoke perfect English as she'd worked for a foreign company), smoking and drinking Singha. The ticket check actually took an hour and a half - which seemed to be their excuse to get everyone outside during the soundcheck. Eventually at 6pm everyone was allowed back inside and the show began. Stayed for the first 3 bands, all metal, and not really my style of music. Atleast one of the bands dressed up as ghosts which was amusing and rather theatrical and the soundboard was built into an old tuk-tuk which was way cool.

I returned to the New Merry V covered in water and paste, had dinner and checked to see if Julie and Jess were in. They weren't so I went upstairs to shower then decided to crash out for the night.

Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Bangkok, Thailand

Friday afternoon Julie, Jess and I got a long-tail boat around the island to Thong Nai Pan, Haad Sadet and Haad Khom - and I smothered my head with #50 sun cream after the previous days haircut at a local Chaloklum barber shop where apparently 'short back and sides' means a skinhead with a number one on the top. Live and learn!! Friday night we had a bit of a party for Canadian Ron and Mike's last night over at Fanta where DJs David hedphuquer and Simon hedphuquer manned the decks and spit out music ranging from the Undertones to...geez, who the fuck knows!

Saturday night was my *official* farewell party and I arranged to cook dinner for some friends at Simon's house. Began cooking at home around 2pm (as cooking a dinner for 12 on a single gas burner takes a bit of time and effort!) - and interspersed cooking with burning David and Simon 8 CDs of music mp3s. Gotta share the music and the love!! Everything went superbly...except for transporting said dinner on the back of a motorbike to Simon's pad!! Lost a bit of red wine sauce enroute but everything else survived handsomely. Simon, Malee and her brother turned up 1st, followed by Jess and Julie, Simon, David, Fern, Lynn, Mon and It. Served fresh prawns in a white wine, garlic and shallot sauce as an appetizer followed by coq au vin, sliced grilled pork steak in mushroom cream sauce and garlic mashed potatoes. And everyone consumed a fair share of beer, wine, and...more. A lovely chilled evening in a most beautiful place. Thanks kidz!

Sunday night was Jess, Julie and my actual last night and we met David, Simon, Ra, Sally and Werner at the Revolution Cafe for dinner and drinks. We had a table of 8 and there was another table of 8 Thai men - so the cafe was full and the vibe was jumping! Good food, good beer and good conversation, a most pleasant way to end my time in Koh Phangan for 2005. And I now feel privileged and blessed to have made two very good friends in David and Simon (long live hedphuquers chaloklam!!)

Monday morning was spent working online and arranging to get my gear into Thong Sala (fortunately Jess & Julie were getting a taxi in so they kindly picked my bag up from the Dive Inn where Simon helped me bring it the night before). Met David at Easy.it internet shop and we put the final touches on his t-shirt design for hedphuquers chaloklam then we met the gals for breakfast. David treated me to a whopping English breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausages, baked beans and toast then dropped us off at the Seatrans pier to catch our 12:30pm express boat to Donsak. Arrived in record time and immediately got the mini-bus to Phun Pin, where Surathani's train station is located. Had a bit of a walk then the gals and I had lunch - and started on the beers! Got the train at 6:25pm, the girls traveled 1st class and i traveled 2nd class aircon. My seat mates were two Americans from Virginia, one of which was a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand's northeast. He spoke quite good Thai which never fails to impress the Thais working on the train. Met up with Billy (the other Virginian), Julie, and an Aussie and Dutch guy and spent a good few hours drinking beer, uh...not to mention the valium. Slept ever so well and woke up as the train was pulling in Hualamphong station in Bangkok. The three of us hailed a taxi and in a matter of minutes were back at New Merry V guesthouse for a few wild days and nights in BangCock!! And just in time for Songkran, the Thai New Year!!! Ventured out for walk to drop off my laundry and got drenched with water - the Thai greeting for New Year! Returned to the hotel, wrapped my wallet in plastic, collected my passport from the agency who sorted my Indian Visa, then met up with Jess and Julie to have breakfast. We were immediately soaked with water - everyone carries massive plastic water guns, buckets, bowls and water bottles and the game is to soak passersby...i was drenched within minutes and of course we just joined in the fun!! Julie bought a water gun with strap-on water tank and looked like a dyke soldier ready for combat ;-) I showed them to Khaosan road and made my way back to the guesthouse to finish off some work and get this posted. I'll undoubtedly add more to this as i remember stuff so check back and if you fancy so, and read over it again for further embellishments!!

Sunday, April 3, 2005
Chalok Lum, Koh Phangan, Thailand

DJ'ing tonight at a party for Jim, one of the instructors at the Dive Inn. David, Simon and myself (Hedphuquers Chaloklum) resent: Later Jim, The Farewell Party! Cafe del Mar, Chaloklum Beach. 9pm-??? Spinning Punk, No-wAvE, Fuck Rock - No Psy policy! - Punks Not Bombs ;-)

More on this after the party!!

The party was good fun although the turnout was minimal...guess it takes more than flyering to draw a crowd to Chaloklum, hehe! The music was amazing but I was in one of those quiet moods where one can drink and drink and not get drunk. But we gave Jim and fantabulous sendoff which was all that mattered!

Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Chalok Lum, Koh Phangan, Thailand

On Monday evening, while hanging at the Revolution Cafe, I met a bloke called David, an Irishman who is a dive instructor at The Dive Inn, Chalok Lum's local dive bar and diving center. I've avoided the Dive Inn on previous stays in Chalok Lum as it had an air of clique-iness that had always put me off. David had lived in San Francisco, was obsessive about music and was straight but queer-friendly - to the point of having done drag at TrannyShack while in SF. We got on really well and made plans to meet up upon his return from Cambodia, where he was off to for a few days on a visa run.

Tuesday afternoon on my way home from Thong Sala, I stopped in at the Revolution and a funnily drunken David was there with his friend Walter. I hooked up my laptop and we had a go listening to my music - David was chuffed to have found lots of music he hadn't heard in a long while and we made plans to download music to his mate Simon's computer when he returned from his visa run. I remained at the cafe and got Net to get the floppy disk with details of their new menu so I could edit it on my laptop. She and I took the floppy to a nearby internet shop to burn it onto a cd so I could get it onto my computer and in the end I emailed it to myself then connected my laptop to the net and downloaded the file. We returned to the cafe and I spent the remainder of the afternoon designing a new menu for the restaurant.

Headed home round five o'clock and had a note from David to meet him and Simon at the Dive Inn at half seven to download music and play pool. I figured I'd give it a shot and finished up the work I'd been doing on a tonypresents web flyer, showered and headed back down the hill to Chalok Lum town. David hadn't arrived yet but the dive bar was full of mainly men and a few Thai women working the bar. I ordered a Singha and ended up chatting with a few guys playing pool. I declined their invitation to join the pool tournament and found David's friend Simon, recognizable by his laptop. Simon is a young Swiss German lad, who according to David, refuses to speak German and has adopted a sorta east-end London accent. David arrived, I was introduced to most of the bar and I suggested hooking up my laptop to their sound system and doing a DJ set. Borrowed Simon's cable and I was on. I played a 4 hour set of old-school punk classics and the bar dug the music; David commented that Mark, the bar's owner, an older London punker, in Bangkok for a few days, would dig my sounds. We made plans to hook up when David returns from Cambodia and Mark returns from Bangkok to do a DJ night at Cafe Del Mar, a beachfront bar across from the Revolution Cafe. I got pleasantly drunk and made plans to visit Simon the next day at his house after he gets off work at the Dive Inn then slowly drove home, careful of the road in my somewhat inebriated state...

Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Chalok Lum, Koh Phangan, Thailand

Settled in nicely in Chalok Lum after an initial stressful day dealing with an insect infestation on the bungalow's balcony and having to pay for a replacement gas bottle for my cooker which will last for 6 months. Lucky future tenants. Nothing is ever perfect even in Paradise...

Over the weekend while driving home through the jungle, I happened upon "Ta Kuad", varanus bengalensis, a huge lizard native to this land, similar to an iguana. The magnificent lizard was lazily crossing the winding dirt road ahead of me and my motorbike, its stout body and stub legs gracefully swaying from side to side oblivious of me and the influx of tourism on its territory. According to Net at the Revolution Cafe, Ta Kuad are rapidly disappearing as people from the North hunt them for food. I feel lucky to have glimpsed such a beautiful creature.

Last night it was Net's birthday and we celebrated at the Revolution Cafe. Mon cooked a sumptious meal for our table of 10 of garlic pepper prawns, tom yum seafood, tempura chicken and a simple fresh salad. Net and her husband, It, provided the food and beer, a friend brought Regency Thai brandy and I supplied the champagne...and the soundtrack, a cd I burned for the cafe including The Clash's Armagedion Time, Guns of Brixton, Stiff Little Fingers' Tin Soldier, X-Ray Sex's Germ Free Adolescents and Audio Web's Policeman Skank. After a beautiful drunken dinner by the seaside, I carefully maneouvered the dirt road home and slept ever so soundly high atop the hill.

Today I had email from queeruption Barcelona with news of the collective's organizing plans and acceptance of my offer to help coordinate/organize the queeruption Barcelona kitchen. Nice one! Three queeruptions within a 12 month period: Amsterdam, Sydney and Barcelona, and I'm so pleased to be able to contribute my culinary and DJ skills to such a worthwhile alternative radical gathering.

This afternoon I put the final touches on making my bungalow my home for the next three weeks: hung a mosquito net and the purple tie-dye hammock I bought in town this morning. Unfortunately no skull and cross-bone hammocks available so I guess I have to settle for the pseudo-hippy alternative, hehe. Oh and I seem to have aquired a cat...

Thursday, March 17, 2005
Chalok Lum, Koh Phangan, Thailand

Bangkok was Bangkok. Home, or so it seemed. Checked into New Merry V as usual, and spent the day organizing my visa to India (left my passport at the travel agency in New Merry V as it takes 5 days to process an Indian visa), and getting the needed immunizations for India (Hepatitis A, Meningitis and Tetanus. Typhoid unneccessary as apparently I'm now immune after last years bout with Typhoid Fever while in Cambodia).

Got the air-con 2nd class sleeper train down to Surat Thani then a mini-bus to Don Sak and the Seatrans Express to Koh Phangan. Rang up Malee upon arrival and she sent a taxi to collect me from Thong Sala, stop at her and Simon's house to pick up the bag I left with them then take me to the house I rented on the mountain top behind Chalok Lum Bay. While this house is a bit smaller than the house I rented at Land Fine earlier in the year, the view is superb...directly in front is the whole of Chalok Lum Bay and to the west is coconut plantation after coconut plantation!

Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Bangkok, Thailand

Quite an eventful flight to Bangkok with my newfound friends from Saigon. The couple doing volunteer work in Aghanistan (see below), Christie and Tony, had overweisght baggage and our tour guide suggested we all share the weight allowance so they could avoid paying the extra weight penalty fee. Fair enough. While boarding the flight in Saigon, I got pulled over and asked to accompany the Vietnam airlines officer back through security as there was something suspicious in my luggage. I followed the agent back downstairs, out of immigration and through security, all the while wondering if it was my bag that was suspicious or one of the couples' bags that was checked in on my ticket - it was, in fact, my bag and I was asked if I had zippo fuel in it...I feigned ignorance and it was removed from my bag and thrown away...and I boarded the plane enroute to Bangkok, smiling yet zippo-fluidless...

Monday, March 14, 2005
Saigon, Vietnam

Arrived this evening in Vietnam and was met at the airport by the tour rep who made arrangements to bring us to the hotel couretesy of Vietnam Airlines. We are 6 people, an Australian and American couple working in Afghanistan and their baby, an Australian guy on his way to work in Japan and an Israeli girl. I'm heading out shortly for some food and fags, then want to get a good night's sleep in this posh hotel before flying to Bangkok in the morning...

Saigon hotel's
breakfast buffet!

Sydney, Australia
Sunday, March 13, 2005

Saturday night the queeruption gang met at 7pm for drinks at the Townie. Met a cute shaved-headed lad Joe, a friend of Manky's who apparently had a thing for bondage. After a few rounds, we decided to move on to the Impy in Erskinville. Nassim restrained young Joe by tieing him to the exit doors with the elastic straps leftover from the no-sex bands at the sex party. We tested his boundaries in this public space and I spended much of the night making out with him. Hot ;-)

On Sunday, Violet suggested we do a fasionista subversion anti-glamour fashion show at the Sydney Opera House. After moving my bags from Fleur's house to Central Station I returned to Manky's to prepare for the Fashion show. Manky, Norrie and Violet chose costumes and I volunteered to photograph the proceedings. We got the bus to Circular Quay and joined the throng of tourists heading to the Opera House. After spreading out the clothes on the Opera House steps, the models started dressing for the action. For two hours I photographed Violet, Manky and Norrie in various states of dress (and undress) and quite a crowd gathered to view the queer happenings. I filmed several short videos and a gallery worth of still; we then decided to return to Newtown and get ready for the evening. I decided to miss out on a farewell house party in St Peters and after uploading all the photos to the queeruption website I walked to Kings Cross for Kooky, a mixed/queer night club held every Sunday night. Hung with a few friends, drank a few beers, had a dance then walked back to Darlinghurst to get some rest before my flight to Saigon.

Saturday, March 12, 2005
Newtown, Sydney, Australia

Spent the last few days in Ashfield at Fleur's place and today I got the ferry out to Manly Beach. Manly is another typical Aussie beach town which I will remember as the place where I ate the worst shepards pie of my life at a backpacker cafe. It consisted of, and I kid you not, a tin of shepards pie meat (beef? beans? peas?), microwaved to luke warm, and served in a bowl with 2 slices of toast. Now I realize the English are not typically known for their cuisine, but I had so hoped for a real English shepards pie: ground beef sauteed with onions, garlic, tomato, peas, covered with a thick layer of fresh mashed potatoes, cheese then baked to perfection. Oh well. While on the topic of food, I did discover another typicalled Aussie version of a dish - Beef burger topped with the usual salad with the added addition of beetroot!

Tomorrow is my last day in Sydney - mates are staging a radical queer fashion walk in from of Sydney Opera House, then there's a farewell party at a friend's house then queer club Kooky! I highly anticipate a raging hangover will greet me for Monday's flight to Saigon - and hopefully I can sleep it off in the air and spend a cool nite in Saigon courtesy of Vietnam Airlines. Tuesday I get my connecting flight on to Bangkok and another episode in the Land of Smiles will begin...

Wednesday, March 9, 2005
Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia

After a lazy day wandering the streets of Newtown, Cotton drove Thomas and I out to Bondi Beach. We had a truly Australian evening picnic on a grassy knoll off the beach: kangaroo steak sandwiches, vegemite biscuits and tim tams - the locals, no doubt, would cringe in horror at the thought of eating their national symbol. Cotton informed me my look was feral, apparently wild or savage. I had to grin in glee...
We took a long walk down the beach, fortunately deserted by night, then a stroll down Campbell Parade before driving back to the City. I ended the evening with a few schooners of Carlton in the Newtown pub.

Tuesday, March 8, 2005
Newtown, Sydney, Australia
Saturday was Mardi Gras, Sydney's massive gay parade. Several queeruptors, myself included, discussed plans to stage some sort of political action at the parade but as the weekend approached no one seemed to have the energy to organize anything substantial. A group of us met at 1pm in Darlinghurst at N's house - E. and I designed flyers a few days earlier and the group spent the afternoon cutting up the flyers, drinking coffee and beer and fooling about. Rob arrived from Melbourne with his housemate Sebastien, a cute 18 year old queer punk boy. Nathanwe's friend Storm dropped in from up North - and we all got on really well. He has an eerie resemblance to Ron Apple, and I couldn't help thinking I had Ronnie back for the day. Bizarre.

Saturday evening we flyered the parade as it ended - walked down Oxford St to the CBD and got the bus to Enmore for Paul, Karen and Thomas' birthday party. Cool house party, about 100 people showed and I was one of about 5 ppl to dj. Mark's boyfriend Shannon arrived from Melbourne with his friend Jim and we all hung out, danced and drank the night away.

On Sunday I vegged out at home then headed to Oxford St at 6pm to meet my Thai fried Ta. We had drinks at a pub then dinner at a lovely Thai restaurant that Ta knew. Delicious soft shell crab and duck curry. Took a coffee after dinner and Ta went home to bed. I had plans to go to Kooky, a queer performance/club nite, and it was set to be a classic Kooky night being mardi gras weekend. I arrived as it opened at 10:30pm, and the basement soon filled to capacity. Everyone I seemed to know in Sydney was there as well as friends visiting from Melbourne. The beer washed away any sense of reserve and I was merrily chatting away with the gang - I was also trying to sort out somewhere to stay for my remaining week as Chris needed space and I soon had several offers to stay for a few days each at friends. An attraction developed between Shannon and myself and we found ourselves becoming more and more affectionate - unfortunately I had to refuse Mark's offer to stay at his in Melbourne as the transport over would cost over $100 and I couldn't justify the expense for a few days fun. Too bad!

Yesterday, Monday, I left Church St and moved down the road to Cotton's flat in Newtown. Quite the change from an old kinda run-down house to a modern 5 story block of flats with all mod cons - but in fact a welcome change. Gonna have a quiet day today in Newtown, then tonight Cotton is going to drive us to Bondi Beach...

Friday, March 4, 2005
Newtown, Sydney, Australia

Wednesday I did the obligatory Sydney tourist wanderings - the Opera House, The Rocks and the Botanical Garden. Tuesday I got the ferry to Watson's Bay and spent the afternoon on Lady Jane Beach, one of Sydney's two nude beaches. Tuesday night met for drinks at the Townie with some friends to discuss the planned Mardi Grad day action.

Last night I hung at the Newtown Hotel bar and The Town Hall Hotel bars. The Newtown is one of Newtown's gay bars, along with the Impy, The Imperial, a bar with drag shows and open late. Chatted with some guys then headed home to sleep it all off. Tomorrow is Sydney's Mardi Gras parade and some of us are planning an action and will be handing out flyers explaining why New Mardi Gras needs to change and commit to less corporate sponsorship and more community building. More of this soon. Community Not Commodity!

Sunday, February 27, 2005
Sydney, Australia

Sydney's a blast. Queeruption 7 came and went and I will write more soon once I process the events of the last 2 weeks (see below). At this point it's all a blur...

Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Newtown, Sydney, Australia

Arrived at the Regent St. venue at 10am which had been squatted the night before. I was let in by the info group, who unlocked and then locked the chained padlock. The building was an old club, on two levels, with huge windows looking out onto Regent St. Most of the necessary equipment had already been taken in and we began the task of cleaning the kitchen - sweeping, mopping, and filling the shelves with food for the week. After about 2 hours, I heard loud voices from downstairs - the owner's son had turned up and he and N. were having a scuffle. Everyone headed down in a show of force and my first sight was the son breaking a broomsick in half and swinging in toward anyone within reaching distance. We tried negotiating, explaining we would be gone within a week but he refused to listen. His father, an old-school Greek, and the police soon arrived and threatened to have everyone arrested. We agreed to leave voluntarily and everyone began the task of emptying the building of everything we brought with us. E. and I talked with the father, me in Greek, and aplogized for the inconvenience - in the hope he might agree to let us use the venue. No go. Apparently the police insisted the place remain vacant due to previous drug-related crime and a recent murder in the basement. Eventually everything was out on the pavement and we made plans to squat the second venue that night. A meeting was held in a local park and it was agreed a handfull of people would enter the new venue that night in Homebush.

We met en masse the following morning at Homebush train station and the group walked the 5 minutes to the Midnight Star, an old theatre that had been recently squatted for a New Year's Eve party. This venue, however, had no electricity or running water and we all entered and met upstairs for a planning meeting. We toured the theatre, locating possible exits and discussed the plan if the police were to arrive and split into groups to talk about specifics such as unarrestables and internationals, security and holding down the squat. After an hour, I decided to leave and get to the internet shop to update the website - I was feeling insecure as I was uncomfortable inside the building in the dark - and felt I would be more useful on the outside. I phoned the queeruption mobile in the afternoon and learned the police were at the venue and negotiations were underway to allow the unarrestables to leave. After another couple of hours it was decided to leave the building, the second evistion in two days. We met that evening at Alpha House to access our options and agreed to move the gathering to The Nunnery, an old big house, in Newtown.

On Friday, Queeruption Sydney started once again and we began the task of setting up a kitchen in the garden and setting up rooms for workshops and performances. Different venues were still under consideration for the various planned parties: band night, big party, sex party and film showings. It was all rather chaotic, organized chaos actually and slowing working groups were formed to deal with the different issues. Band night was held Friday at the Nunnery, and the Sex Party Sunday night at the Mudium Rare Gallery in Redfern. The Sex Party was amazing - more of a DJ dance night in the main room and smaller rooms for sex: a woman's room, a blood sports room and a vanilla room, which ended up becoming the main sex room. I dj'd for about an hour, playing the Clash, homocore, and garage and got the kids dancing. Around 2am, at the bar I mentioned to N. that I hadn't gotten laid yet and he put out a callout for me ;-) An older queerpunk boy answered the call and we retired to the Vanilla room where we did the down and dirty, along with his friend, a boy and girl.

My first shag of the week was on Friday night - with a lovely, intelligent queer punk boy, 20, from Adelaide. J. was tall, blonde and lanky and we had a night of hot punxxx sexxx in legokid's laundry where I have been living since arriving in Sydney. Thanx J!! Queeruption ended on Wednesday the 23rd - quite a successful queeruption in spite of the two failed squatting actions and on Friday we met again at Alpha house for a debriefing and potluck dinner. I've made some wonderful friends and met some brilliant people - and although this was probably one of the smalled queeruption gatherings, it was one of the most memorable...

Sunday, February 13, 2005
Sydney, Australia

Arrived Friday morning and after the obligatory chat with customs and immigration i was on my way to Newtown. Staying with the legokid and his mates in their lovely old house off of King St - my room was the old laundry room and is off the back garden - sweet! Spent my first night gettting to know the queeruption gang at the Erko hotel's bar and yesterday we had a building meeting at lego's. Edited and updated the Sydney Q7 website most of yesterday afternoon and last night went w/ legokid to a farewell party of one of his friends in a warehouse art-space in Redfern. Ran into Adrian and Alex from A'dam and met lots of rad folx. The combination of vodka-orange before leaving home, then red wine and beer at the party wasn't the best choice and this morning i experienced a killer of a hangover - my first in over a month, hehe. Fortunately it's receding and i plan a nice walk after getting off the computer :-)

Pics of Sydney coming soon...

Wednesday, February 9, 2005
Bangkok, Thailand

The Seatran Express boat got me into Surat Thani in record time - took a few pics aboard the speedboat and next thing I knew we had arrived at he harbour. The minibus drove us to the train station and after a simple lunch and coffee it was time to board the train to Bangkok. Soon after departure the smokers made their way to the smoking area: the doorway between train cars. The next few hours were spent hanging out with new-found train friends: Cherene and Mort, a New Zealand/Norwegien couple, Jason, from Wales and an assorted group from Germany, France and Italy. We smoked, drank beers and got to know each other only as one does while riding the trains. Everyone crashed out around 10pm and the valium lulled me into a deep sleep, waking just a few minutes before our arrival in Hualamphong, Bangkok's central station. Cherene and Mort needed a hotel for the day as their flight wasn't til midnight so we got a taxi together to Banglamphoo and checked in the New Merry V, my regulat guesthouse. Splurged for their top aircon, hot-water room ($12, feeling like treating myself to a bit of luxury before my flight tomorrow to Sydney :-) Had breakfast at Ricky's Coffee Shop next to the guesthouse with C & M then took a stoll before returning to my room where I now sit in air-conditioned comfort...

Cherene & Mort


Sunday, February 6, 2005
Chaloklum, Koh Phangan, Surat Thani Province, Thailand

My time on Koh Phangan is fast coming to a close and soon I will be on my way back to Bangkok and on to Sydney. The highlight of my last week was getting a flat tire on my Honda motorbike. The first repair ship patched the inner tube, not sussung that the air valve had come away from the tube. Clever. Had to borrow Scott's bike to get home then had the inner tube replaced the following morning at a shop that had it together. Tomorrow I'm packing a pack to leave on the Island for when I return from Australia - kitchen stuff - then Tuesday I take the boat/bus/train to Bangkok. Wednesday night there's a gig on at The Rock Pub (a heavy metal Czech group with Thai support bands) and although metal's not really my cup of tea it should be a fun night out. Thursday late afternoon I fly Vietnam Air to Sydney and Queeruption 7...

Tuesday, February 1, 2005
Chaloklum, Koh Phangan, Surat Thani Province, Thailand

February! What a splendid day out on Pong's longtail boat - we cruised from Haat Salat round 11am and made our way to Bottle Beach, a cove reachable only by boat or by hiking a trail throught the jungle. Scott and Sabine rented snorkeling gear and explored the rocky coastline while I topped up my tan on the beach and swam. Pong hung at the restauarant with his daughter Maya and some of the Swedes who came along on the boat trip and I had a simple lunch of friend rice and squid and washed it all down with a large bottle of ice cold Singa beer. While wading out to sea I was astounded yet again by how lucky I am to be in southern Thailand and with my charmed existence. Live for today!

Tonight I'm meeting Scott and Sabine for dinner at a seafood restaurant in Chalok Lum which I haven't tried yet and that was recommended by Nick. Til then just hanging at my bungalow and soothing after sun lotion on my burning skin. Hard fucking life ;-)

Monday, January 31, 2005
Chaloklum, Koh Phangan, Surat Thani Province, Thailand

Yesterday, Scott and Sabine arrived on Koh Phangan after trekking upcountry in the North for a week. Scott and I first talked about meeting up in Thailand a couple of years ago when I was working regularly at The Great American Music Hall in San Francisco where he bartends. He's a good friend, a very talented singer-songwriter and I helped him design his websites when we first met. It's always good fun when plans in the making come to fruition and I was excited that they were finally putting the plan into action and visiting Koh Phangan. I met their speedboat at the pier in Thong Sala and accompanied them to the bungalow they booked while on the boat. Scott rented a motorbike and we drove to the north of the island, stopping off at my house and then to several beaches which I thought they might prefer staying at. We had lunch at the Seaside restaurant and then they booked a bungalow for the next day in Chalok Lum, within walking distance of the fishing village and my local haunts in the town. We then headed over to Haad Salat and I introduced them to Pong and Katarina at Salad Hut, who arrived from Stockholm a few days earlier with their daughters Maya, 3, and Zora, 5 weeks old. Pong is making a trip to Bottle Beach tomorrrow on his boat and we arranged to join him for an afternoon of swimming and snorkeling. We then had ice coffees and shakes on the beach during sunset then drove back to Scott and Sabine's bungalow where we had a few ice cold Singha's. End of beautiful day.

This morning I helped them move to Chalok Lum then later this afternoon it's beachtime then dinner by the sea...

Mr. Nick joined us Scott, Sabine and I at The Revolution Cafe for dinner: a glorious decadent dinner of fresh barbecued fresh prawns, a red snapper in a sweet and sour sauce with pineapples and veggie curry. Sumptious! Three cheers for our hosts Net and Mon :-)

Tomorrow we're off to Botle Beach in Pong's speedboat!!

Friday, January 21, 2005
Chaloklum, Koh Phangan, Surat Thani Province, Thailand

Am I looking suave, tanned and cool in my in my Thai fisherman trousers at home or what, hehe?!

I hear I should be protecting my tattoo with sunblock but who wants a white tattoo'd patch, ya know? Thinking about getting another faux hawk. And going for a day trip to Koh Samui. Perhaps joining the jungle gym and getting rid of some extra baggage. Or maybe just lying in my hammock and dreaming.

Could be interesting to remain a bit longer in Australia - I'll decide once I'm down under.

The options are endless...

I just added an earlier travel log from the winter of '97-'98 when I left the UK to travel and eventually move to San Francisco. It needs editing, is not politically correct but what the fuck!


Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Chaloklum, Koh Phangan, Surat Thani Province, Thailand

Drinking coffee and listening to X-Ray Spex's Germ Free Adolescents. Had my first thai massage of the year on Haat Salat then late yesterday afternoon Ali, Bishop, Andrew and Rose called round the house on their motorbikes, giving me the opportunity to entertain friends for the first time at my bungalow. After a round of Singha beers we drove into Chalok Lum town for appetizers at the bar with no name (which I've nick-named 'Revolution Cafe') after the poster of Che hanging above the fridge. The cafe sits directly on the beach and is one of the few cafes frequented by farangs and locals alike. I ordered for everyone: seafood tempura, fried cashew nuts, thai fishcakes, yam seafood (a spicy thai salad) and a plate of the largest fresh prawns I've ever had the pleasure of eating. Three young Thai children played on the beach, trying to set free one of the long-tail boats, and the smallest of the three got a mild beating with a branch by his grandmother. After our snacks we drove over to Seaside restaurant for a dinner of fresh shark, red snapper and assorted pad thais and curries.

My swatch watch died this morning (old age and salt water) so gonna look for a cheapo digital watch while in town, check email and buy fresh eggs at the morning market. I'm heading to Sydney in February for a couple of weeks to participate in Queeruption 7. Several friends from Amsterdam, San Francisco and Canada are going as well and I'm volunteering my kitchen skills, as well as doing a dj night and possibly a work-shop on web-design. Then it'll be back to Thailand for 6 weeks before heading to the mountains of India...

Saturday night, January 15, 2005
Chaloklum, Koh Phangan, Surat Thani Province, Thailand

A glorious day. A simple lunch of pad thai on Haad Salat and an hour on the beach priming my still-pale skin for the deep dark tan soon to come. A couple of hours back at the bungalow relaxing to The Essential Clash on DVD and reading Let Fury Have The Hour. Then a sunset dinner of barbequed Red Snapper and rice washed down with a large Singha beer. Nothing less than exceptional! 7pm, back at home now, another Singha and a lay in the hammock before bed.

Detox was never this good ;-)

Saturday, January 15, 2005
Chaloklum, Koh Phangan, Surat Thani Province, Thailand

EXOTEPIKOY
Greek for outside or more precisely 'out of the country'. A word I've come to use often and for me it represents the perspective one gains from observing events from abroad rather than from within a country. The US has become claustrophobic for me. I sometimes feel that I need to get the fuck out to think clearly. I was reminded of this last night at the bar when that UB40 song with the line "I'm a British subject and I'm proud of it while I carry the burden of shame" was playing. Not that I'm proud. Far from it. But I was reminded once again of the collective responsibility Americans must bare for the acts of their government.

I'm currently reading "Let Fury Have The Hour, the Punk Rock Politics of Joe Strummer". Lester Bangs is talking about Punk. "so much of what's doled out as Punk merely amounts to saying I suck, you suck, the world sucks, and who gives a damn - which is, er, ah, somehow insufficient. To put it in terms of Us vs. Them, saying the above is exactly what they want you to do, because it amounts to capitulation. What is boils down to is: You can't like people who don't like themselves; and you gotta like people who stand up for what they believe in, as long as what they believe in is Righteous. A precious and elusive quantity, this righteousness. Needless to say, most punk rock is not exactly OD'ing on it. In fact most punk rockers probably think it's the purview of hippies, unless you happen to be black or Rastafarian, in which case righteousness shall cover the land, presumably when punks have attained No Future. It's kinda hard to put into mere mortal words, but I guess I should say being righteous means you're more or less on the side of the angels, waging Armageddon for the ultimate victory of the forces of Good over the Kingdom of Death (see how perilously we skirt hippiedom here?), working to enlighten others as to their own possibilities, rather than merely sprawling in the muck yodeling about what a drag everything is..."

Good stuff.

Friday, January 14, 2005
Chaloklum, Koh Phangan, Surat Thani Province, Thailand

Explored the dirt road running beside my bungalow and discovered a small beach with the dilapidated ruins of what was once a cafe and 4 tiny bungalows. Two Thai boys were fishing off the rocks and batting stones with a piece of wood. I lay in the sun briefly, had a swim then walked back to my house. The sun was intense and my skin was burning.

After an unplanned for nap, I drove over to the Reggae bar where my mate from last year, Scot, tends bar. He showed me the plans for the house he's building on a plot of land he just bought and we talked about working and making money (or not) in Thailand. He went off in search of his dog and I had a couple of beers during sunset. Mr. Lek, the bar's owner thought my Clash tattoo was a magic mushroom. Ha! Tomorrow I have plans to meet up with my San Francisco friends Chris and Ali and have dinner at the Seaside restaurant, a fish tavern in Chalok Lum Bay...

Been on the island since Monday and am gradually settling in to the chilled pace of life. I'm renting a wooden bungalow atop a hill on the north of the island - quite remote, accessible only by motorbike with the nearest shop or cafe a 15 minute walk. The bungalow is rather like a studio flat: bedroom/living room with kingsize bed, bamboo table and hardwood floors. Small kitchen with gas cooker, fridge, rice cooker and the usual utensils, wok and plates, glasses and cups. The landlord delivers a 20 liter bottle of drinking water whenever needed for 10 baht (25 cents) and I've rented a 125cc trail bike to be mobile.

Since arriving, I've bumped into several friends from last year - English Scot, now a father and working at the Reggae bar, the Scottish contingent from Double Duke, who are soon to be opening an art gallery, and Kit (Crazy Boy) and Jip, from Salad Hut. Pong and Katis are in Sweden and returning to the island the end of January.

Taking life slow at the moment. I feel no need to party, drink much or stay out late. Quite the opposite from life in San Francisco - and a welcome change. The weather's hot and sunny for the most part with the occasional bit of rain cooling down the island and challenging perfection.

My daily routine, for those still with me, hehe, consists of waking with the sun, making the habitual cup of PG Tips tea, a coffee, egg sandwich for breakfast then driving into Thong Sala town around 9am. Found an internet shop to plug in my laptop so I get work, emails and surfing (natch) outta the way by noon, do my shopping and buy proper thai curries to go in plastic bags from an amazing curry shop, then head home. Head to the beach early afternoon for some sun and lunch then catch the sunset at 6pm in the fishing village of Chalok Lum.

That said, it's time for dinner and the rice is cooked and the curry needs reheating...

Thursday, January 6, 2005
Banglampoo, Bangkok, Thailand

Finally back in the Land of Smiles!!
Many folx back home were questioning why I would want to go to Thailand after the Tsunami. If the truth be told, I so love this country and its people and after the devestation caused by the earthquake, I realized how much I wanted to be here with these brave souls.

Spent today with my friends Chris & Ali, newly arrived from San Francisco. Tour guide Spike. Chatuchak Weekend Market, then tonight we are going to see a live show in aid of the tsunami...

More news and photos from Bangkok shortly, then Sunday night it's off to Koh Phangan and beachlife...

2004 TravelBlog

Wednesday, June 16, 2004
The Mission, San Francisco, California

Back in SF. More on that later

My first 10 days in Amsterdam were spent reaquainting myself with the city and getting to know the core group organizing queeruption. Bunning, Omar's friend from London, let me crash at his and Kernow's squat in Zeeburg, in the Oost. A very cool neighborhood, not unlike the Mission, but with Turkish and Moroccan groceries, Javaplein, and squatlife. I got hold of an old black bicycle that Adrian repaired for me so I was mobile. Got to know Amsterdam's streets, the best markets for dumpstering, and spent everyday at the Afrika House, preparing the kitchen for the onslaught of 300+ for queeruption. Got online daily at an internet cafe downtown and worked on the various sites I maintain from there.

Once Q6 started, I found myself spending practically every waking hour in the Afrika's kitchen. By the Friday I had had enough and put a callout for others to help take on managing the kitchen and overseeing the lunch and dinner shifts. Yoti had asked to have one person keep the key to open the kitchen area every morning and as I volunteered I opened the kitchen for breakfast each morning. Several people took over the management of the lunch and dinner shifts and I then had more time free in the afternoons - but returned in the evening to help and close the kitchen. Got to know Amsterdam's Costco and other food wholesalers - the same awful enormous spaces one finds in every major city - but chose to do most of the daily shopping at smaller local shops. Every morning I needed to restock jams, peanut butter, soya milk, and tea so made a pitstop on the way from bunning's to the afrika.

Wednesday night I told Roy (who was coordinating the sound system) that I'd dj from my laptop. It was as if Club KY manifested itself in Amsterdam -- and everyone dug the sounds and danced to punk and indie for hours and hours. A highlight.

The sex party on Thursday night was, umm, interesting. A lot of thought was devoted to making it accessible, safe and rules were posted at the space's entrance. Before entering you were required to read them and get your hand stamped. I entered several times throughout the evening. Had some fun briefly but nothing terribly exciting. The highlight (was it even this night?) was making out with Roy. At nights end, one everyone had gone upstairs to sleep, I found a warm space in the darkroom used by the sex party and slept the night off there.

My last night I spent at the Q6 closing party at the Vrankrijk, a local squatter bar. Great music and a classic rock'n'roll punk bar.

Flew back Tuesday to the states and was welcomed back in Washington DC by US customs, apparently regarding me a suspicious character. Spending time in Thailand, Cambodia and the Netherlands set off bells and I was duly questioned and searched, and released. Had a ciggie in the airport's smoking room (gasp) then continued on with my flight to SFO. Rich and Sue met me at the airport and Rich drove us back to my flat where we had a few beers before I crashed.

In the week I've been back home I went to a few shows, hung out at the Hole and Powerhouse and made the rounds of the Mission thrift stores. Sweet being back in my apartment with my comfy bed, hot shower and organized kitchen. Tomorrow I start work catering again...

Tuesday, June 8, 2004
The Friendly Skies...

Amsterdam was full-on brilliant. From the day I arrived at Centraal Station and was met by Bunning til last night's final party at the Vrankrijk, my time was consumed by cooking in the Afrika squat for Queeruption's 300+ attendees. The first week and a half was spent organizing the kitchen, installing drainage, putting up shelves and planning menus. What made it so special was meeting the core organizing group: a multi-culti mix of squatters, ex-pats, and anarchists. We became fast friends through working together and my heartfelt salute goes out to Omar, Roy, Bastien, Bunning, Kernow, Sarah, Bre, Alex, Adrian, David, Dee, Pym, Maruva, Herbert, Linda and Yoti. By day one of Q6 I more or less had complete control of the Afrika kitchen and set about the task of organizing breakfast, lunch and dinner for a rag-tag bunch of international radical anarchist queers. I eventually ended up spending up to 12 hours a day coordinating the food production and then bowed out of cooking lunch and dinner the last couple of days due to borderline exhaustion. The Sunday before Q6 began I was driving back to Bunning's on my bicycle in the rain and took a fall, bruising my shoulder, hands, cheek and chipping a tooth. The core group of organizers were all dealing with high stress, lack of enough volunteers to cover security shifts and finally the arrest of approximately 75 queeruptors at an anti-fascist protest in Den Haag.

Wednesday, June 2, 2004
Amsterdam, The Netherlands

So much to say. Yesterday was the first day of Queeruption and it looks like we already have around 200+ attendees. The kitchen is going well - lots of volunteers although only a few with restaurant kitchen experience. I'm coordinating the kitchen, ordering, taking inventory and cooking/managing. Sunday night I fell off my bicycle driving home in the rain (damn tram tracks!) and sprained my right shoulder and bruised my arms and face. They tell me I'm now a real *Amsterdamer*.

I'm in dire need of sympathy sex ;-)

More later...

Sunday, May 23, 2004
Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Spent my last few remaining days in Athens meeting up with friends. Had coffee with Mariannaki in Thisio, and met with Vlassis, Nick and Christos. Continued the interview with Christo over lunch in Kolonaki and touched upon AIDS, gender and trannyfags. Got a lift to Athens airport on Friday morning and flew to Dusseldorf where Eliane was meant to meet me. She was late due to the Dutch train system's shutdown after a train collision in Amsterdam but we eventually met up and caught up over beers. The journey to Eindhoven was slow but this gave us a chance to reaquaint ourselves with each other after 7 years apart. In Duseldorf Bahnhof we met a very cool black american woman working in Frankfurt and eventually made our way to Eersel, Eliane's village near Eindhoven. I was treated to a night in a small bed and breakfast hotel in Eersel's old square as my friend's flat is small -- quite nice after doshing on Sheila's cot in Athens for 10 days. Coffee and a continental breakfast in the hotel then a proper English brekkie at Eliane's set me up for the train ride to Amsterdam. Made contact with Bunning then Eliane saw me off in Eindhoven.

Arrived in Amsterdam round 3pm but the train was diverted to Muideport station due to the chaos in Centraal station. Took the bus to Centraal to drop off my bags in a locker but learned half the station was closed after the crash so rang up Bunning who I fortunately got a hold off easily on his mobile. He met me at the station and carried most of my bags on his push bike to Afrika Huiset where I met up with the queeruption gang who were continuing work in preperation of queeruption next week. Caught up with Omar, met lots of new folk and checked out the space at Afrika, an old building on 4 floors which was squatted and will be used to house the sixth queeruption gathering the first week of June. Much work to be done cleaning, laying down rugs and mattresses for sleeping and building stairs and a kitchen. Went with Bunning to his apartment to leave my bags, then to Sanders birthday party and then back to the Afrika for a benefit party for ASCII, an underground computer center in Amsterdam. Met Jeremy there, a friend from San Francisco, then headed back to Bunning's squat in Amsterdam's eastern Indian district. It's now Sunday morning and I'm heading out to explore...

Wednesday, May 12, 2004
Athens, Greece

Back in Athens after a week and a half in Patras. Jon and I caught up and compared notes on our previous trips to Asia and he rekindled long forgotten memories of our times traveling through Sumatra and Java in '89 and '90. Spent my mornings in town checking email while Jon worked with Thannasis renovating furniture for Patra's premier hotel. Despina always prepared a beautiful lunch of traditional Greek food which we feasted upon at 2pm then time for siesta. Evenings we hung out at home, watching telly, drinking heineken and sleeping early. Saturday night we went out to a *meat taverna* and had pork roasted on a spit and souvlakia. Meat and more meat. Sunday I cooked Thai curry for lunch. On Monday I got the morning train to Athens then headed into the center to check on flights. Flying to Dusseldorf next week and will visit a friend in Eindhoven before going to Amsterdam. Have a very kind invitation to stay with a friend of a friend in a squat in Amsterdam-Oost before joining the others for Queeruption 6 at the Afrika squat at the start of June.

This afternoon I met my anarchist friend Christos in Exarchia for lunch. A friend of his who publishes a radical activist zine asked to interview me for insight into San Francisco's radical activist queer movement; apparently in Greece radical queers are not involved in activist activities so he was very interested to learn about gay shame and queeruption in particular. We spoke over lunch and beers in a local taverna then went to a tiny cafe-bar, Sellas, for coffee...very curious to see the results of the *interview*.

No major plans til the weekend until a dear old friend returns from the islands and then we plan to go a bit mad and check out Athen's (few remaining) cheap bars. Woke this morning and was given a gift from Christos: a silver bracelet with leather strap engraved "karfias", greek for spike.

Saturday, May 1, 2004
Paralia, Patras, Greece

We piled in the car this morning in Petrolona and headed out toward Corinthos enroute to Patras. After picking up our Jacobs coffee and my *Stuyvesants kokino* we got on the motorway and headed east. The drive took 3 hours and we arrived round noon in Paralia, a seaside town near Patras. After beers and lunch we drove back toward Patras and had coffees and beers at the old Slaughterhouse, now renovated and a cafe/restaurant. The kids played in the playground and Jason, Jon and Despina's son fell and ate sand. After a few tears all was good and we returned home and Despina made pizza (handmade dough and all fresh ingredients :-). Very comfortable indeed. This morning I cooked frittata for the gang and we're off to the mountains for the day.

Sheila, Christos and the children took the car and I went on the back of Jon's motorbike. Walked in the mountains. Fresh water streams cascaded down gentle hills and wild flowers emerged from every crevice of the landscape. Spring! Stopped off in Krini's main square for a few beers and invaded a wedding reception. Or a funeral. Jon's carpentry workshop is nearby and I'll be returning in the morning to help for a few days. And hopefully scope out the waiter at the taverna in the square. Whoahhh. Talked about Sunday as a day of rest, the sunshine, trannyfags and transitioning. Back home now and Elvis Costello's "Blame It On Cain" is playing on the laptop.

Photos forthcoming...

Thursday, April 29, 2004
Aboard the Pegasus Express,
Cyclades, Greece

Another lovely warm day, the sun shining. Cleaned and closed Nancy's house, packed and walked up to Apano Hora for a final coffee. An Austrian friend turned up, then Robin and Jane, and we sat with Pascal and Strato enjoying the tranqility of the square and taking in the heat of the sun.

Even after all these years, it's damn hard leaving Serifos. I'm extremely emotional, have a heavy heart and want to cry.

Had coffee at Stou Stratos yesterday, my last full day and Pascal introduced me to an amusing English couple they met the night before at Stamatis taverna. The girl Jane runs a backpacker hostel in Torquay, Devon and the boy Robin sells mobile phones when he's sober. Or not. He's a somewhat typical English lad, loves the drink, and very funny when pissed. They had planned to leave Serifos for Milos that evening but after Stratos offered them Cretan raki, then two more, and more again, they decided to stay the night and we spent the afternoon up in the plateia taking in the sun which chose to reappear after days of wind and rain. At five we drove down to the beach where they had a quick swim in the cold sea (after Thailand I opted out of that) and more beers on the beach. Then spent my last night at E's house, halfway between Livadi and Hora, on her massive balcony overlooking the port. Eight of us had a beautiful dinner of spinach salad with parmesan, a creamy saffron fish soup stocked with prawns, mussels and fish and then a lemon pie with fresh strawberries for dessert. Heaven!

Christos is picking me up at Piraeus port this evening and tomorrow I'll wander the streets of Athens. Saturday morning we leave on a roadtrip to Patras where we'll visit my old mate Jon and I'll probably remain there a few days and get the bus back to Athens mid-week. Waiting on news whether I have a place to crash in Amsterdam the two weeks before Queeruption and depending on that I'll either stay in Greece all of May or head north mid-May and help with Queeruption organizing. Looks like I'll be heading home to San Francisco in June...

Tuesday, April 27, 2004
Kato Hora, Serifos,
Cyclades, Greece

A quiet week. Last night had a delicious dinner at Frangiskos and Joisette's house which is perched atop the mountain under Hora's ancient fort. We were six, and spent the evening engrossed in philosophical conversation, local wine and a simple meal of risotto, olives, cheese, bread and horta. After three days of rain, wild wind and cold the weather seems to be clearing and the sun has begun to appear from behind the clouds. On Friday I borrowed a friend's motorbike and toured the island. Visited the old deserted mining village of Mega Livadi, with its bridge hanging over the cliff and sea. Kyria Maria cooked me a huge plate of kokonisto and potatoes and I explored the mines and crystal beds by the sea. During the afternoon I drove the new road connecting Kentarxos and Psili Amos and had a look at the new homes built on Psili Amos, Agios Sostis and Lia. Tomorrow is my last full day on the island and Pascal will cut my hair then a meal is planned for my last night.

Tuesday, April 20, 2004
Kato Hora, Serifos,
Cyclades, Greece

I often forget the breathtaking, majestic beauty of this place. The walk down from the dimarxio (town hall) to Kato Hora is pure magic. Every turn made down the overgrown winding cobblestone steps presents you with a view of stark beauty. At night, alone, the eeriness is frightening in its simplicity. If only it were possible to somehow transport those I love to this most magical of places -- I would give anything for this. This of course is one of the reasons I always return here and always will.

I've slowed my rythym to the island's rythym. People come and go with the ferries yet I stay. I've spent 7 summer seasons here, 6 months at a time, and when here it seems as if I've never left. Drifting in time. As if in a dream. Yet I know it's real as long as I am here.

Enough sentimental ramblings. I have one more week here then Athens. The weekend of my return I may take a road trip to Patras with my friends Sheila and Christos. We have a mutual friend there, Jon, who I've known for about 20 years and who I haven't seen in 10. We originally met in Serifos, back when the island was a haven for punks, misfits and anarchists and Jon was an English punk who along with all the rest found their way to the island. Jon was my traveling companion when I first went to Thailand 15 years ago so it'll be brilliant to catch up with him and revisit past memories...

Thinking of staying in Athens for a week or two after Patras then heading north to stay with friends in (possibly) the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany. Plans seem to change at the toss of a coin so I'll see what fate has in store for this not so young nomad...

Later, Spike

April 12, 2004
Kato Hora, Serifos,
Cyclades, Greece

Traditional Easter, or "Pascha" in Greek. Strangely I slept in Easter morning and woke at 11:30am. After my tea, a shower and checking email, I walked down to Livadi. There are old steps used by pedestrians and donkeys which go all the way from Hora to the port and it is a lovely tranquil walk. Andonis, Haroula (short for Zacharoula, meaning sweet or sugar - zachari) and Christos, my new Greek anarchist friend already had the sacrificial lamb on the spit, and people were ceremoniously taking turns turning the spit which must be spun the entire time the lamb is roasting over burning coals. This process takes approximately 5-6 hours and I imagine would be hell for my vegetarian or vegan friends. Midway through cooking, the lamb's head broke off as the neck was thin so the head was barbecued seperately then eaten as it is a delicacy in Greece. I abstained. Eventually the lamb was served with roast potatoes, Greek salad, feta cheese, bread and hard-boiled eggs. Delicious. The beer and wine flowed. After lunch Christos and I joined his cousin Poppi, her husband Alekos, my friends Anna and Teresa at Marguerita's taverna for local wine. Marguerita's is one of Serifos's only remaining traditional restaurants, set in a field where Marguerita and her family raise chickens, goats, pigs and grow vegetables. Her food is very basic but tasty and her wine is hallucinogenic. I fondly recall an evening many years ago when a group of friends and I spent a raucous evening there -- then while walking back along the beach to the main part of town we started laughing hysterically then all had to stop and crawl around in the sand. If she patented that wine she'd be a millionaire 10 times over, hehe. Upon arriving to meet our friends Easter afternoon, we were greeted by 2 large tables of innebriated folk, our friends included. What to do but order "miso kilo grasaki", half a liter of wine, and join in the merriment. Two very drunk Serifiotis were playing the violin and bouzouki -- and singing old Greek songs, many being about hashish, police busts and rebels. The entire table was singing along and random people would get up and start dancing, together or alone, young and old. We left around 10pm and went to Karnigho bar, Serifos's rock and roll bar, which was empty till we arrived. Back in the day it used to be the happening place but now people seem to think it's too rock and roll - because of its back and red chairs. Not to mention owner Dimitris' previous stance against the music police who tried to close all the bars at 1am. Those *were* the days. Serifos has a history of anarchist rebellion and modern Serifos was no exception until a few years ago when the island was turned from a cheap backpacker/free camping free-for-all to an exclusive island for rich Greeks weekending from Athens. A huge shame but those of us who knew the island then still appreciate its history and beauty.

Today, the day after Easter, I had coffee up at Stou Stratou with the boys then joined Christos, Poppi and Alekos and Alekos drove us in his jeep to Koutalas beach, across the island, for lunch. We were greeted with "Christos anesti", meaning Christ has risen, and Christos and I joked "christ rising" - neither of us the religious sort and always taking the piss. We met some friends there, pushed together 2 tables to seat 10 and ate a simple lunch of horiatiki salad, my favourite Greek cheese meziethra, fava, tzatziki, olives, calamarakia, tiny whole fried fish, horta, bread, beer and safron raki. Delicious. Tonight will be quiet -- I plan to go up to Stratos' cafe and drink some wine then sleep...

April 10, 2004
Kato Hora, Serifos,
Cyclades, Greece

Arrived in Serifos late and got the bus from Livadi, the port, up to Hora, the island's capitol which lies on a hill overlooking the port. Nancy's house was in good condition considering it had been locked up for the winter; it was a little damp, quite dusty and bits of paint had falled from the walls but the damage was minor. I turned on the electricity and water and unpacked. The slept.

Thursday morning the sun was shining bright. I did some food shopping in Livadi then returned to Hora and stopped by Stou Stratou to see Stratos and Pascal. Pascal is my ex and Stratos his current partner and Stratos owns the cafe in the upper plateia of Hora. The location is stunning, a tiny square next to the town hall and church reachable only by pedestrians up steep steps or by donkey. We had a lovely reunion and I spent the early afternoon in the square drinking iced coffee and Cretan raki and taking sun. The weather has been perfect, about 22 degrees with a slight breeze which is unusual for this time of year. Lucky! On Friday, I visited my friends Andonis and Haroula -- Andonis is now selling plants (Serifos is notoriously dry in the summer) and he seems much happier than when he ran bars and restaurants. Sunday I will join them for Easter lunch at their home and help turn the lamb on the spit. Another traditional Serifos Easter! Saturday night I watched the procession of candles from the church in Kato Hora to the church in the upper plateia while sitting at Stou Stratou drinking wine -- and talking politics with Christos, my friend Poppi's nephew. Christos is somewhat of an anarchist and we had a great time sharing protest stories and comparing the Greek and American anarchist movements. I stumbled home at 2am feeling sufficiently inebriated after two half kilos of red wine and an interesting conversation. Today I remained in Hora, drinking frappes and beer, and helped Stratos and Pascal install their new stereo system in the cafe. Tonight I will spend back at the cafe then may join friends for "magiritsa", the traditional offal soup eaten at midnight the morning of Easter Sunday...

April 7, 2004
Aboard the ferry Romilda
The Agean Sea, Cyclades, Greece

Sunday night I spent at Carmen's bar in Stockholm, having farewell drinks with Bjorn, Vickan, Danny and Karin. Before Danny and Karin's arrival Bjorn and Vickan confessed their love of *small trains* and of their experience travling in Croatia on a *small train* from a station to a port in a Croatian village. The conversation quickly degenerated. Danny and Karin arrived, Danny sporting a freshly shaved head to accent his up and coming mohawk. He was looking good, and knew it, and if I wasn't extremely fond of his girlfriend I almost would have come on to him. Nothing like a tattooed punk boy even if he is 50 years old!

Tuesday morning's trip from Stockholm to Athens began the previous afternoon. That afternoon I took my bags to Central Station and placed them in a luggage locker. Monday night at 2am I woke, drank lots of coffee at Bjorn's, then got the night bus from Medborgarplatsen to Sergelstorg. I waited til 3:30 am for the station to open, collected my bags and took the Flyggsbussarna to Arlanda airport. Check in was relatively painless as was the wait til my departure at 6:20am. The flight was uneventful and we arrived in Athens on time at 10:55am local time. I rang Sheila to let her know I had arrived then got the airport express bus to Syntagma. Carried my bags to the metro and headed over to Sheil's in Petrolona. Had a warm welcome from Sheila, Christos and their kids Gordon and Helen and settled in my room, the *playroom*. Took a nap for a couple of hours, phoned Ritza to arrange a rendevous in order to take Nancy's house keys for Serifos then took a long walk through Plaka, Monastiraki and Thission. Something about Greece always make me feel as if I've come home and it's a wonderful feeling. On my way back I stopped off in Thission to visit my old friend Michel, a French guy who has lived in Athens for many years. He was well, and we caught up on the last 3 years since I had been in Athens. Back at Sheil's I cooked myself a breaded chicken steak and chips and we all drank local Greek wine from Christos' village. Round 11:30pm Sheila and I went off to meet Ritza at Loop bar -- a nice enough small bar in Thission playing live new jazz music and we ordered drinks and waited for Ritza. Athens is now very very expensive especially after converting from drachmas to euros last year. A small heineken and a gordons gin bottled cocktail cost 11.50 euro, about $12.50. This is the standard price of drinks now in Athens, and a frappe, the greek version of an iced coffee with nescafe costs 3.50 euro. Guess I'll be cooking in and drinking in a lot in Serifos...

This morning I woke early and walked into Plaka around 10am and visited my old boss Chris Petropolous at Magic Bus. We had a coffee in his office and talked about old times and again I caught up on the last 3 years. Magic bus is a story in its own right and maybe one day I'll devote a few pages to desribe those days and times in further detail.

Returned, packed my bags again and headed off on the metro to Piraeus to get the ferry to Serifos. We've been sailing for almost 2 hours now, I'm sitting at a table in a smoking area, surrounded by Greek families on their way back to their islands for the Easter celebrations.

To be continued in Serifos...

April 1, 2004
Stockholm, Sweden

Arghhh. The entire travelblog on my stay in Stockholm has somehow been deleted so this is an attempt to recreate those memories.

Paris. I was fortunate enough to stay with my friend Corinnaki, petite Corinne, who lives in central Paris, a few metro stops from Bastille. I arrived early morning, we drank coffee together then I headed out to explore the city. Forum Des Les Halles, Chatelet, a walk down rue du Rivoli, Le Marais where I took an espresso at my favourite cafe Le Pik Clops, and then a baguette with merguez and frites for lunch. That night we ate a late pizza in Bastille and went for drinks at Objectiv Lune, a small mixed bar with a happy hour and a closing time of 4am. We settled in on stools across from the bar, and observed a group of drunken American expats at the bar. Corinne met a boy she knew and he and his friend joined us and we carried on drinking and talking til 3am. We all then staggered back to C's flat and finished the night with ouzo. The following day I went to Magali and Laurent's house in Livry-Gargan for aperitifs and to collect my warm clothing which I left there before leaving for SE Asia. Fred & Outi also were there and we a lovely evening drinking wine and me telling stories of my escapades in Cambodia and Thailand.

Arrived in Stockholm after a long journey from Paris Beavais to Stockholm Vasta airports (Ryanair flies from airports outside major cities and the bus trip to the airport is atleast as long as the flight). Got the tunnelbana to Medborgarplatsen on Sodermalm in Sthlm and walked to Bjorn and Vickan's flat. Had a hero's welcome and spent the first 3 days with them before moving into the borrowed flat which Bjorn had arranged for me in their block of flats, which is a cooperative with a central kitchen, playroom, sauna, etc. On the Saturday night, Bjorn and Vickan tended bar at their karaoke night where I got to see a bunch of drunken middle-aged Swedes make fools of themselves -- amusing. Bjorn cooked some lovely dinners including his version of swedish meatballs - and I still must get the recipe from him (hear me dude?!) We spent many afternoons in their back patio smoking -- couldn't smoke in the flat which was reminiscent on San Francisco but colder. Freezing in fact.

Visited Danny, an old friend who used to drum for The Avengers, a late 70's punk band from SF. We drank Jim Beam, smoked and listened to Johnny Cash, old punk and the Eddie Haskells. Walked to the park on the hill where he played ball with his daughter while I chatted with a mate of his, Jesper, who I had met 3 years ago while in Sweden. If only he were queer, hehe. Had lunch at Hermans, the vegetarian restaurant where Danny has worked as a cook for the last 13 years then headed home. Spent a couple of days with my friends from Thailand, Helle, Dave and their son Elvis and had a nice dinner at theirs with other friends from Koh Phangan, Uffe, Yemese and their son Erasmus. Saturday I met up with my friend from SF, Victoria, and we had a delicious lunch on Gotgaten then coffee in a tiny cafe on Soder. Good to see her in her own country and reminisce about Ron and life in the states.

Monday, March 22, 2004
Bangkok, Thailand

Yesterday afternoon I hung out at Babylon sauna. Drank beers round the swimming pool then got lucky :-)
In the evening I headed over to Mao Ka Jai bar for the second installment of Bangkok Punk Rock Hardcore Weekend. This time I stayed for 4 out of 6 bands, including Pus of Social, Brand New Sunset, Adulterers -- (band #5 was RAMBO, the American thrashcore/metal outfit I saw Sat night who were unimpressive...decided to give em a miss). Grabbed a taxi back after exchanging emails with Dani, my Swiss punk friend from Bern.

It's raining outside, and hot and muggy so spending my final afternoon in the air-con internet cafe at my guesthouse. Checked out and waiting til 3pm to get the minivan to the airport and my flight to Paris...

Sunday, March 21, 2004
Bangkok, Thailand

Back for a last crazy weekend in Bangkok.
Spent yesterday at Chatuchak Weekend Market with Helle, Dave and Elvis then got my bowling shirts embroidered at MBK. Round 3pm headed over to the Rock Pub for a punx rock hardcore extravaganza live show...the place was jumping, all the kids hanging outside sitting around driking beers and chatting. I headed over to 7-11 for a couple of LEO beers then joined a group of westerners smoking and drinking. A motley crew, couple of aussies, a canadian, 2 swiss and a few amerikans. The show was cool, the music wasn't particularly good -- or punk -- the 4 or 5 Thai bands were mediocre and the headlining band, R.O.C.K.Y., from the states was more heavy metal than hardcore punk but the crowd was into it and the moshpit was happening ;-) After the gig we went w/ everyone to a bar and sat outside and drank thai whiskey and beers...then i got a taxi back to Banglamphoo, ate then crashed out. Today may head over to a sauna/swimming pool for some last minute sun and entertainment then another punk show tonight. Tomorrow I fly to Paris...

Monday, March 15th, 2004
Thong Sala, Koh Phangan, Thailand

I'm back on Koh Phangan and it's brilliant being back on the island and staying at Salad Hut Bungalows again. My friends Dave and Helle from Stockholm arrived back on the island from Koh Tao the same day as I arrived from Bangkok: quite a reunion! My mate Pong is building a new restaurant on the beach which he hopes to open next March and he's offered me a cooking position at the restaurant! Could be interesting...
I'm feeling much better, and just enjoying relaxing on the beach for my last week in Thailand. On March 22nd I fly back to Paris then after 2 days I fly on to Stockholm to visit my friends Danny, Karin, Bjorn, Vickan, Peter and Victoria. Once in Sweden I will gain a better perspective on work prospects and decide how long I remain in Europe...more soon!

Thursday, March 11th, 2004
Bangkok, Thailand

To Hell and Back Again...

I arrived in Sihanoukville, Cambodia's *beach resort town* on the southern coast and checked into a lovely guesthouse called Holy Cow. Our hosts, Naomi and Steven, an Aussie/English couple, were most welcoming and my room was perfect...especially the price of $4 per night. Spent Sunday night out with Angie having Sri Lankan curry then retired early.

That night I came down with a fever, thought it must be flu or a cold coming on so decided to rest and see. Well, by Thursday morning the fever only got worse so Naomi encompanied me to see the local doctor. I was diagnosed with Typhoid Fever, which is caused by contaminated water and/or food. The next 5 days, and $300 later, I spent holed up in this doctor's office/hospital of sorts - 3 days on a drip, confined to the bed. I've never spent so much time in from of a tv in my life and that adventure only confirmed why i despise CNN so much. The first couple of days I was unsure I'd pull through as the fever wouldn't break and the conditions were far from favourable. On the 3rd day the fever broke and although I still had no appetite I began feeling better. This was also probably the 1st time in my life I went with no food for 5 consecutive days - and in fact lost 20 pounds in the process. I prefer to think of myself now as slim rather than gaunt ;-). I was released on Tuesday morning and got the express ferry to Koh Kong, by the Thai border and crossed over from Cambodia into Thailand.

Arrived in Trat at 7pm, tired and shaken and spent 4 1/2 hours wandering Trat: the night market, Trat department store, and waiting in the bus depot for the 11:30pm aircon bus to Bangkok. Finally it was time and what was to be a 7 hour trip only took 4 hours, leaving me at the Eastern bus station at 3:30am! I sat around bored, smoking, people watching til SkyTrain started running at 6am then got the train, then express boat to New Merry V guesthouse where I was fortunate enough to be able to check in immediately. At last, back in Bangkok and feeling well again!

Yesterday I caught up on domestic shit like laundry, emailing, web design work, collected my laptop ffrom Toshiba where I had left it to be repaired and napped. Had an early night and was up this morning, bright and early making plans. I am thinking of returning to Koh Phangan for my last week before flying to Paris on March 22nd...

Friday, 27th of February, 2004
Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Met up with Angie today and we visited The horrific Killing Fields:
The History They Didn't Teach You in School (indymedia)



Wednesday, 25th of February, 2004
Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Fuck yeah! Phnom Penh is rocking! The first two nights I stayed at Capitol Guesthouse, a dive catering to backpackers but it was cheap and cheerful and a good introduction to life in the City. After wandering the city I understood the area the Capitol is in is one of the noisiest and the motodops (motorbike taxis) are constantly hassling you so I moved to the Okay GH this morning, a few metres from the riverfront. The riverfront is brilliant - a large boulevard lined with palm tress and colonial architecure left over from the French who redesigned the city in the 1800's i think. Bars, cafes and restaurants line the boulevard along with internet cafes, flower and newspaper sellers. While the town in dirty and hectic, it's a beautiful place and i'm getting incredibly comfortable here -- fast! The nightlife is happening and although I haven't found any rock or punk bars, i'm still hunting. Drinks are relatively cheap (large 50cc Ankor bottle for about $1.50) and meals about the same. My room costs me $4 a night for a single with fan and bathroom. Can't complain, hehe! I plan on remaining here through the weekend then head south to Sihanoukville, on the beach, next...

Sunday, 22, February, 2004
Battambang, Cambodia

Woke up bright and early Saturday morning for the 7am "express boat" from Siem Reap to Battambang. Due to it being the *dry season*, the big boat can not run and smaller 40 seat slow boats are used instead. The trip usually takes 3.5 hours but w/ the long tails it exteands the journey to 7 hours. We settled in for the ride. The scenery was spectacular: small floating villages, naked children waving and playing on the river banks, and huge bamboo fishing nets used like a crane to catch fish by fishermen riding bamboo raft houses.
Halfway thru the journey we docked at a floating restaurant and were told we would be changing boats to two smaller 20 seater long-tails as the river was too shallow to allow the larger boat to pass. We ate some rice, pork, egg at the *restaurant* and after an hour the smaller boats arrived. The remaining trip took another 6 hours after numerous groundings on the river bank, engine failure and a rudder needing to be changed! We arrived in Battambang round 6:30pm, exhausted, dirty and in need on a shower and meal. As we docked, we were bombarded by touts trying to get us into their minivans to take us to their various guesthouses...$3 room, $5 room, hot water, cable tv. Climbing up the dirt steps of the riverbank, I fended them all off saying wait, wait, then jumped in a van going to the centre of town. Ended up at a guesthouse next door to the one the van took us to and got a room for $3 a day with bathroom and fan. Sweet! After showering, I strolled down to the "White Rose", a clean restaurant by the river and ate *lok luk*, a Cambodian dish consisting of sliced beef, a sauce combining oyster, tomato and soy sauce, green beans, rice and french fries -- all for $1. Two beers later I walked back to the Green Parrot Guesthouse and retired for the night. Today I chilled. Had an early breakfast of baguette, pate and salad and walked the river past the old colonial French buildings. The governor's mansion could have been straight out of Paris! Chatted and wandered with an eccentric old German queen called Kurt, terribly flamboyant with his long hair, skull cap, thai fisherman trousers and a flowing robe shirt from India picturing the burning world trade towers -- all in glorious technicolor. Hysterical. The next day we sat in front of our guesthouse and he ate roasted locusts from a platic bag. Yum. Tomorrow I am getting the early morning air-con bus to Phnom Penh, Cambodia capitol city, known to have a Wild West reputation. We will see...

Friday, 20 February, 2004
Siem Reap, Cambodia

My last night on Koh Phangan, Pong (my old friend whose bungalows I was staying at) invited me, 2 other farangs (that's the Thai word for westerners) who have a bungalow they've bought on his property out for a traditional Thai meal. We all piled into Pong's 4 wheel drive pickup - all mod cons - stereo blasting - and drove the 30 minute drive to Thong Sala town. The restaurant was an Issan place (NE Thai food) and was about a kilometer out of town. We were joined by about 6 other Thais who Pong knew so we had a table of about 10. We ordered beers and small plates of delicious Thai food just kept appearing... laab, som tom papaya salad, barbecued pork, and soups. Once we were full up, we drove to the Long Shot Bar in Thong Sala, the hip hangout for late night drinkers and pool players, both Thai and farang. Settled in for a few drinks, Pong joined a game of pool and everything was chilled. Until -- the English guy that was playing Pong intentionally fouled. Pong, being one of the islands best pool players, called the guy on it and an argument ensued. The English bloke was rather rude and obnoxious and after telling Pong to shut up, Pong ponced on the guy and the guys had to be seperated by about 10 Thais and foreigners. Let me add that Pong is not your typical Thai guy. He is married to a Finnish/Swedish woman, and has lived and worked in Sweden for years. He is generally very easy going but doesn't take shit from no one. So, the fight was broken up, Pong went after the guy again telling him to step outside, just the two of them and have it out. The bar's Thai owner jumped in and pushed Pong who immediated went outside and got on his cellphone, screaming into the phone for reinforcements. We all piled back into the truck and parked a few meters up the road on the main street. Dan and I walked a block to the 7-11 to buy another round of beers and when we got back to the truck 5 minutes later, motorbikes and cars and trucks were arriving from every direction to support Pong. He's a local boy made good and is obviously well-connected. Some would say he has mates in the local mafia but in any case he has many friends. The police arrived and eventually the bar's owner came out to the street and apologized to Pong in front of everyone, saving face for everyone, and we then drove back to Salad Hut. A perfect finale for my stay on my favourite Thai ialand! After an idyllic 3 weeks on Koh Phangan, I arrived back in Bangkok with the night train, a very comfortable 2nd class sleeper train which took me into Hualamphong station at 10:00 am. Got a taxi to New Merry V Guesthouse by the river and immediately checked into a decent room with fan and bathroom. Sweet. Spent the day in Bangkok shopping for last minute necessities for the trip to Cambodia and taking my new laptop in for repair - the heat must have fucked with the monitor's display circuit so although I could still use the computer, the screen flickered. The toshiba repair shop was in a very modern shopping plaza called Silom Complex and the folks there were extremely helpful. I left the laptop there to be repaired and will collect it on return froCambodia. Convenient as I didn't want to travel to Cambodia with the computer due to possible safety concerns. I then had an early night as my bus to the Cambodian border was leaving at 7:30am. Got a taxi to the Northern Bus termainal at 6:30 am and met my friend Angie there and we easily purchased 2 1st class air-con tix to Aranypathit, the Thai border town. After a 4 & 1/2 hour smooth ride we arrived and got a tuktuk to the border. Now the fun begins! Departing Thailand was a piece of cake. On arrival in no mans land between Thailand and Cambodia we were swarmed by totuts offering to carry our luggage, but souvenirs, help w/ visa, yada yada yada. We made our way to the Visa on arrival window, gave in our passports, $25, photos and forms then sat and waited. After about 20 minutes our passports were returned to us with Cambodian visas. We then carried our baggage past a line of massive casinos built for Thai gamblers still in no mans land and finally arrived at the Cambodian passport control. Filled in the arrival/departure card and again gave in our passports. 5 minutes later, passports in hand, we exited immigration and walked into the notorious *traffic circle*. Those familiar with England's roundabouts will recognize this - but here in Poipet it is an unpaved, dusty roundabout swarming with bicycles, motorcycles, moto-remarques, and toyota camry taxis. Immediately numerous touts approched us with "where you go? Siem Reap? Battambang? Taxi? Pick-up? Phom Penh?" We waved them off as best we could and made our way to the parked Camrys and asked who the drivers were. Luckily we found a smartly dressed driver who spoke good English who immediately agreed to accept 1000 Thai Baht (about $22) for the 350 km drive to Siem Reap. Between 2 people a good deal on a horrific, unpaved, pot-holed road but atleast we were in a very comfortable air-conditioned car! Our driver stopped to but gasoline (as well as put a large plastic contained of gas in the car's trunk) and bought us both cockes for the trip. The drive was rather uneventful except that my contact lenses were giving me grief from the dust - and I eventually removed them and opted for my glasses. We arrived in Siem Reap around 5pm, looked at several guesthouses and settled on "Get Lucky", a few blocks from the Old Market and "Thirsty Street": where all the bars are ;-) Several of the bars are western owned and run and we did a pub crawl from the Red Piano to Temple Bar to Angor What? Lots of westerners, both interesting and not but ideal for a few beers and a few shots of Jim Beam. Yesterday Angie and I did the temples of Angor Wat, a 5 hours excursion that most people do in 2-3 days.

Spike is not a *temple person* - but it was certainly worth seeing as it is magnificent. Worth $20? Debatable but done. Today I'm wandering around the town of Siem Reap, going to get some lunch at the old market (curry and rice for $.75 cents) then do happy hour back on Thirsty Street. Our express boat to Battamband, Cambodia 2nd city, leaves at 7am to we've arrange a moto-remarque to collect us at 5:30am to take us to the port. The boat journey lasts 3-5 hours and is meant to be remarkable. More on that in the next blog...

Til then, take care,
xoxo Spike

Monday, 9 February, 2004,
Salad Hut, Haad Salat
Koh Phangan, Thailand

The questionable highlight of week three was the monthly Full Moon Party on Haad Rin beach where hordes of ravers, backpackers, hippies, package tourists from Koh Samuii and first-timers descend upon the island. I seriously debated going but at the last moment decided to brave the masses and check it out. One would have thought a queer punk could find something amusing among the 7000 partyers but it all started going pear-shaped when a stoned/pilled-out/drunk (?) European boy dropped onto my friends' Simon, Diane and my beach table sending all our drinks flying and covering me in sand. I suppose one could say I had the boys falling at my feet but as I'm hardly into necrophilia, the moment proved unpleasant. Neon-painted bodies, house and trance music blaring from every bar and and having to push through the crowds to walk down the beach were annoying at best but I managed the four hours on the beach uneventfully although it was extremely tempting to hide away in one of the internet cafes til it was time to return to Haad Salat. Simon and Diane would have none of it and convinced me to hang with them on the beach. Our pre-arranged taxi never turned up so we sat in a small roadside cafe until we could get a pickup back to Thong Sala and on to Haad Salat. So good to be home!

Much of last week was spent planning and organizing onward travel and driving to and from Thong Sala on my rented motorcycle to check email and get online. I found myself a travel companion to Cambodia, Angie, who was visiting the island with her son Pete - Pete is an Englishman with a huge alcohol problem who was on valium his entire stay and he was dealing with his friend's recent death from alcohol poisoning. Misery loves company I suppose. Angie is an Englishwoman in her 50's who recently completed three years work in Bangladesh as a health-care worker and we should have a fine old time drinking cocktails in Phom Pen and exploring Angor Wat. Tomorrow I start my regimen of Doxycycline, the recommended Malaria pills necessary for travel in Cambodia. Hopefully the side affects will be mimimal.

This morning we had a raging storm on the island and it was my luck to be halfway between Thong Sala and Haad Salat on said rented motorbike. I was thoroughly drenched but a day out of the sun was a nice change as my forehead is peeling (but my arms, chest and legs are a beautiful brown tan :)

Tuesday, 3 February 2004,
Haad Salat
Koh Phangan, Thailand

The past week, my second in Thailand, has been spent at Salad Hut Bungalows on the northwest coast of Koh Phangan island. Haad Salat is a half-moon shaped cove about a 30 minute drive from Koh Phangan's capital, Thong Sala. The bungalows are located in the center of the beach amidst palm trees, flowers and a small waterfall. The restaurant is built on a raised wooden platform overlooking the beach and Gulf of Thailand and is strung with numerous hammocks, triangular Thai cushions and coffee ta