All posts by Carl (Your Sherpa)

Happy New Years…Eve!

November 6, 2014 Carl (Your Sherpa) Leave a comment

New Years Eve just feels like the right time to get a little deep and cheesy.

A speech Steve Jobs delivered to a graduating class at Stanford University was one of the most impactful things I’ve ever read. When I was deciding whether or not to go through with this project, his speech was one of the many influences that helped push me to this chair on the top of the Mad Monkey Bar in Siem Reap Cambodia with a bag of cameras and a stack of releases.

I hope you read it and I hope it inspires your choices in 2013. And thanks again to everyone who has been a part of Backpackers Union; In it, supporting it and watching it! “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.”…

Steve Jobs’ commencement speech to Stanford in 2005.

“I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That’s it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out? Continue reading Happy New Years…Eve! →

Thailand

November 6, 2014 Carl (Your Sherpa) Leave a comment

I like Thailand a lot, but not for an obvious reason.

A friend from Bangkok looked at me and said, “You’re not very trusting and always suspicious of Thai people!”. I thought about it for a minute and realized she’s right. Because this isn’t my nature I had to think about why…

Bangkok, 2009 – Girl tries to smash bottle over my head for what some other kid said. Happened my first hour in Thailand.

Bangkok, 2009 – Turn down seemingly underage prostitute several times. She then asks me, “Take me with you?”; to rescue her. Female pimp waited to prevent this. Most disturbing experience in my life.

Bangkok, 2012 – Get on train. Find out a bomb blew up the train last week.

Ko Phi Phi 2012 – A friend was run off the road by two Thai trucks. They left him unconscious bleeding in a ditch. American Dr. was the first to stop and help.

Ko Phangan 2012 – 50 meters away from where I was filming a guy walks into a bar and shoots a man in the face. Shoots his friend too.

Bangkok 2012 – Was robbed of $115 US.

Koh Tao 2012 – Same friend who questions my trust for Thai people gets angry and throws a bucket of water into my bungalow.

And that’s just some of what I experienced. There are other stories about beatings, murder, scams, extortion, robbery and police corruption.

But, I still like Thailand. Why? Everyone’s friendly.

What needs to be understood about Thailand are the “extremes”. There is super wealth and extreme poverty. They are the friendliest people in the world and are some of the scummiest. Unparalleled beauty and rampant pollution.

Unfortunately when white boy American backpacker, Carl is walking down the road, the guy who cuts across six lanes of traffic to offer him a ride, usually doesn’t have charitable intentions; but he’ll still be friendly.

When you travel there’s always risk and you can’t stop bad luck, but you can make good decisions and prevent most of it. Staying off scooters, watching your valuables and smiling will prevent 99% of the bad from ever happening.

While I’m not a big Bangkok fan, I respect it. The rest of Thailand I love and would recommend it to anybody; from the mountains of Chang Mi to the amazing island beaches down south, I would take all of the bad for just a few days of the good… and that says a lot!

PS. – To get the shot of the rotary in Bangkok I had to stick the camera in a flower box dangling over the highway and strap it to the railing… but it worked!

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If It Ain’t Broke, Fix It Until Is…

November 2, 2014 Carl (Your Sherpa) 1 Comment

I use a software called WordPress to manage this site. Unfortunately what they call “updates” should be called “experiments”. I’ve been having issues loading media onto the site with the latest “experiment”, and while I personally believe my written content is pure gold, you may not agree. So, I include photos and videos to keep everyone interested.

I should have this sorted out in a day or so, but here’s a promotional flyer for a mustache party in Kiev to give you a smile.

Thailand

The Thailand Survival Pack

November 2, 2014 Carl (Your Sherpa) 1 Comment

Surviving in Thailand isn’t always easy. Weather you woke up with a sore ass or in a ditch on the side of the road, there is a guaranteed fix for anything Thailand can throw at you. First you must run over to the nearest 7 Eleven (The greatest store on earth and located every 20 feet in Thailand) and purchase the following.

1. M-150 Energy drink. Illegal in most countries because it contains actual amphetamines.

2. Ham and Cheese Toasty. Should be illegal for countries not to have them because they’re so damn good! Ham and melted cheese inside a croissant, cooked right at the counter and ready to eat.

3. Chang… Oh, Chang. If you’re not sure if you’re ready to get back out there after your Toasty and M-150, Chang will decide for you. Change isn’t mixed during bottling, so drinking Chang is beer “Russian Roulette”. The bottle may say 6.4% alcohol, but in reality the alcohol content varies between 4-12%, a range you’ll identify 10 minutes after your first bottle.

Any traveler who has been to Thailand can identify these three at a thousand yards and there’s a reason; They’re not only good, they’re necessary to survive. You can thank me later.

Thailand

Drunk Kid Catches Face On Fire

November 2, 2014 Carl (Your Sherpa) 1 Comment

I have a theory.

My theory is that most people would rather a short entertaining clip of someone hurting themselves than one that was well thought out and put together. While this belief is not going to stop me from attempting to make the best backpacking movie of all time, I still think it would be fun to test it.

I was going to edit about 10 -15 similar clips together but instead I picked just one. I’m going to give it a provocative title and a funny description and keep it short. Let’s see if we can make it go viral! Share it, send it to friends, have fun with it!

URL, To Share: http://youtu.be/KF4bKfbIOJs

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Is Anybody Listening To Me?!

November 2, 2014 Carl (Your Sherpa) Leave a comment

The answer is yes, and it’s about time I say thank you! I fully appreciate it is everyone supporting this film and project that will make it successful! The website averaged 1,275 hits daily last month (38,256 total) which is insane and awesome. Keep reading and sharing it with others and I will try to keep it brief and interesting!

Thank you all!

Thailand

Homemade Condoms

November 2, 2014 Carl (Your Sherpa) Leave a comment

Things are going to get wild tonight! Just stopped by Mr. J’s, bought 10, and got 1 free! For years myself and millions of others have had to deal with the 98% reliability B.S. that Trojan has been selling, but not today, not on my watch. Mr. J’s “Home Made Condoms” comes with a 20 year guarantee! Thailand – 1: Rest of the World – 0.

*Free smile + Song applies to breakfast customers only.

Thailand

The Crack In The Bathroom

November 2, 2014 Carl (Your Sherpa) Leave a comment

So I’m in some Reggae Bar on the Island of Koh Samui. After using the bathroom the towel guy comes up to me, turns on the water and hands me a damp towel. He then gets behind me wraps his arms around me and tells me to relax. I think, “molesting?”. He then cracks my back and contorts my body into several positions cracking things I didn’t even know existed. He even cracked my ear lobes. I left the bathroom feeling loose and confused.

Thailand

Backpackers Guide To Thai Islands

November 2, 2014 Carl (Your Sherpa) Leave a comment

There’s a pretty standard route people follow through the Southern Islands of Thailand. All of them offer buckets of booze, people twirling sticks on fire, beaches and bungalows. So people often ask if it is worth traveling to the next island. After hitting most of the islands twice, here’s my cheat sheet on their differences:

East Coast Islands;

Ko Pha-ngan – Parties (Full Moon, Half Moon, Black moon, Jungle, Coral Bungalow Pool Party, and then some). When a party isn’t going on it’s a ghost town. Most of the parties are confined to Haad Rin beach, so plan accordingly.

Ko Samui – Resorts. If you want that small island feel but prefer sitting at your infinity pool with drink service while overlooking the ocean, this is your place. The popular beach is Chaweng and where you’ll find most of your resort options.

Ko Tao – Scuba diving. This is the quietest Island and the last to get touristy. It has multiple dive sites all over the island, some which are ranked in the top ten worldwide. Also, with approximately 52 dive schools to choose from, prices are competitive which makes it one of the cheapest places internationally to dive and get your certifications. I dove with Roctopus Dive and would highly recommend them; top notch people and way more personal than some of the others.

West Coast Islands

Phuket – Everything. It’s huge, so if you want it they have it. Where it differs is prostitution. You can literally walk into a bar and order a girl/lady boy by number (If that’s your thing).

Ko Phi Phi – No cars allowed and Leonardo DiCaprio. Very touristy and feels like one giant resort. Regardless, it’s a cool spot and many travelers favorite island. You walk alomost everywhere and it is where you can take a day trip to the beach, from the movie “The Beach”.

Thailand

World Wide Web…?

November 2, 2014 Carl (Your Sherpa) 1 Comment

My silence is not laziness… not entirely. I’m currently on the Island of Koh Tao Thailand which is known for scuba diving and beaches. While the stories over the past few weeks have been plentiful, the Internet has not.

So, I find myself stuck to recording video, snorkeling, scuba diving and drinking Chang on the deck of my bungalow, disconnected from the rest of the world… wide web.

But, stay tuned… more gold coming soon!

Never Stop Exploring.