Adieu, Asia

This is my last night in Asia. It's been a relatively quick and relatively eventful trip. I'm excited to get back to Baltimore (well, as excited as one can be when confronted with close to 20 hours of flying....and, in coach!).

Here as some of the new offerings on tap: new bags made from mosquito netting, and made especially for Three Stone Steps. One is specifically a women's bag, and two others are unisex. There will be a man's wallet, too. In addition to mosquito netting, some of these items will be offered in a woven black plastic bag material. Just wait until you see them!

I'll be some of the same great cotton and silk bags, but with some tweaking, and in some fantastic new colors. And, new, fantastic cosmetic bags are coming soon.

Anyway, there's more of course. But, I have a very early morning flight, and must try to get some sleep.

I promise some photos and more tales of travel soon.

Always on my, my, my, my, my, my, my mind!

Ok, this has nothing to do with Three Stone Steps, or silk scarves, or eco-chic, or Phnom Penh, or recycled anything. This is more along the lines with the protests, crackdown (cue: song from London Calling, Working for the Clamp Down) in Georgia. Georgia, and Tbilisi was a place I found lovely and lovable. Elegant and crumbling. Great, hospitable people who would do anything for you. Few, if any, other travelers. A wonderful city in a wonder country. So, it is with tears in my eyes, literally, that I've been scouring the web for stories coming out of that country about the protests and the ensuing crushing of the peaceful protests. I wrote a friend in Tbilisi this morning, and asked her how she was holding up. With typical Georgian elan, she was just sort of resigned to this sort of stuff happening, but what really bothered where was the press blackout. Here's what she wrote:

what is really upseting me is that
they closed 2 telecompanies..
one of them was
really tough with government but people loved
that channel as they were most
objective! so the soldiers with guns
and masks on their faces entered that
telecompany and just ordered them to stop broadcasting
 _ I was watching it while
that was going on! they put those
journalists on the floor (as they tell it
after) and took their mobile phones
and only after some time let them out from
the building.
and also, yesterday i had cnn and euronew
 _ and today i had no this channels
anymore!
so we are in information vacuum!
and pardon me but that sucks!
right now i'm home _ schools are closed for minimum till monday.. and i'm really
gald i still have internet!

But, I'm trying to remember the Tbilisi and country that enchanted me when I was there a
little over a year ago.   To that end, please enjoy the following photos, and if I can figure out what can
be done from the outside world, well, I'll post that, too.

[Ok.  For some unknown reason, I can't figure out how to post more of my lovely photos from lovely Georgia, but
in the words of another Beatles song, we will work it out!]

Thoughts on Burma

While I've traveled fairly extensively in South East Asia, I've never been to Burma/Myanmar. Most of this is due to the fact that I never really made up my mind whether travel to Burma is a good thing (i.e., it exposes locals living under the junta to people living in 'freer' societies, and helps with their dismal financial state) or that it really does prop up a truly repressive regime.

Although it seems to have been moved from the front pages, I really can't stop looking for news on the situation. I read in the New York Times blog today that apparently the deaths can be measured in the thousands, and not in the tens. I also read some expert in the region saying that it was "over."

Well, is it?
Is there nothing that we can do to help the situation there. Will traveling help?

And, I look at the photos, and think that I've been to many, many Buddist wats, but none that seem so lovely as the main one in Yangon.

I remain distressed, and helpless. If you can think of anything that regular people can do to help with this situation, please let me know.