January 26, 2006 was the departure date on my airplane ticket from San Francisco to Bangkok. From Bangkok, I’d go to India, and from there to Bali.

India has beckoned me for years, especially Kerala. With more and more jobs being exported to India every day and with its new role as an emerging world power, India seems destined to be a next best place. I wanted to meet the Americans and Europeans who are moving to India, to get a glimpse of what their lives are like.

Bali - On this island I’d felt so at home during my five months there, that I left some money in a bank account and a box of personal effects with a friend. How is it that three years later, I’ve yet to return? There have been things like bombs that went off in the night. And the sticky web of time and commitments in the States. But maybe its just that at some level, I fear that I will discover that, Yes, Bali is home. Which means taking the final (or first?) step and going.

On January 30: A week before my planned departure, I received a call from EscapeArtist.com. They were hatching a new online travel magazine and wanted to know if I’d be interested in wearing an editor’s hat.

And so, one week before departure date, I aked my travel agent to re-route my trip to Argentina.

Two months later, March 26, 2006 - I began my stay in Argentina last month on a 75-acre farm in the wine and orchard region of Mendoza.

Today I am sitting in my lovely apartment in Buenos Aires, Argentina finishing what will be the first issue of EscapeArtist Travel Magazine.

There have been rabbit trails, oh yes. Like the emergency appendectomy I had in a rural hospital, followed by a move to Buenos Aires, and a trip to Uruguay for an international real estate conference. I’ll tell you all about it in EscapeArtist Travel Magazine, www.escapeartist.com.

See you in Turkey June 3 for the experience of a lifetime!!! Sign up now!

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“Candles for Burma” Campaign Lets Supporters Send Birthday Greetings to World’s Only Imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize Winner.

Copyright 2005 Ethical Traveler

(San Francisco, CA) Ethical Traveler and the Burmese American Democratic Alliance (BADA) have launched a new campaign to highlight the plight of democracy advocates in Burma. The two groups are asking supporters to send birthday wishes to opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose 60th birthday is June 19, 2005. Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest in Burma for most of the past 14 years.

Ethical Traveler’s Executive Director, Jeff Greenwald says “We have created a website where people from around the world can post digital greetings, offering Aung San Suu Kyi birthday wishes and reminding her of our support for freedom and democracy in Burma,” The URL for the “Candles for Burma” campaign is www.ethicaltraveler.org/candles .

“By sending a digital greeting, supporters will be letting Aung San Suu Kyi know that people all over the world are standing behind her. Sometimes, that knowledge makes all the difference.” says Victor Win, President of BADA.

Greenwald explains, “Our initial idea was to send letters of support to Aung San Suu Kyi via the Burmese embassies. But the arrogant and brutal generals who rule Burma — which they’ve renamed Myanmar — would never allow our greetings through.” Instead, the groups chose to create a forum for sending online messages to the imprisoned leader. Campaign organizers point out that the electronic birthday greetings act to highlight the strong international support for democracy in Burma. Greenwald adds, “While the junta may not acknowledge Aung San Suu Kyi’s leadership, this campaign is a simple way for the rest of the world to demonstrate its support for her cause.” Organizers hope that one day Aung San Suu Kyi will be able to read the greetings herself.

A military junta has ruled Burma since 1988. This junta refused to hand over power to opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi after her party’s landslide 1990 victory in parliamentary elections. Instead, the junta placed her under arrest. From confinement, Aung San Suu Kyi continues to work for democracy in her country.

Aung San Suu Kyi received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her commitment to peaceful change. She is the only Nobel Peace Prize winner in the world currently living under house arrest.

Burma is located in Southeast Asia, between Bangladesh and Thailand.

Ethical Traveler is the first grassroots alliance uniting adventurers, tourists, travel agencies and outfitters — everyone who loves to travel, and sees travel as a positive force in the world. Ethical Traveler feels that all travelers are, in effect, freelance ambassadors. By joining the voices and economic power of travelers, Ethical Traveler seeks to strengthen human rights and protect the environment.

The Burmese American Democratic Alliance (BADA) is an umbrella organization for pro-democracy Burmese activists in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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Additional Resources:
• www.ethicaltraveler.org
• www.badasf.org
• Aung San Suu Kyi’s website: www.dassk.org
• The U.S. Campaign for Burma (USCB): www.uscampaignforburma.org

Special thanks and acknowledgement to www.sorryeverybody.com for the concept behind the Candles For Burma campaign.

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