Blogging follows a trend in immediacy. What’s interesting about this, in conjunction with what I intend to initiate with Wingtrip, is the dualism that arises. As fast paced as the natural world can be, careful, exacting observation is absolutely necessary to make satisfactory conclusions. Time is paramount.

My two and a half month long trip seems a good length, yet compared to the expeditions of those I admire, it is slight. With many departures, countless hours slogging through malarial rainforest and slipping over verdant mountains, many natural historians have provided much to our comprehension. Alfred Russel Wallace, a scientist who tiptoed in prepubescent evolutionary theory with Darwin, spent 8 years traveling the archipelagos stretching between the Malayan peninsula and Australia. Emulating the collecting, the explorations, the things he saw, and his amazingly accurate theories will never be a possibility for me. That is a world past yet one highly worth looking back to.

So I embark for the time I have allowed myself, albeit financially deemed, to document in my modern way. It is no less exciting; there’s a chance I’ll photograph or witness something no one else has ever captured in image or word. Maybe that’s an overstatement yet the prospect is beautifully exciting. Possibly people don’t need to know everything about the ecosystems and organisms of Southeast Asia, but as far as I am concerned the more the better.

I write this on a 12 hour flight somewhere over the Seward Peninsula en route to Seoul, South Korea. Then it is another 6 hours to Bangkok where I grab my bag, hop a taxi, and meet my good friend Scott in the pulsing tourist lane of Kao San Road (or KSR) at 12:15 AM Bangkok time (EDIT – I’m here and in good health). The next night, Ryan (a birding friend) arrives and we all jaunt off into the North of Thailand. From there, we’ll see what happens. With luck we’ll have an opportunity to visit some Hornbill Research Group sites and travel to the tallest mountain in Thailand, Doi Inthanon before Ryan’s and my month long visa is up.

The items that I somehow deem necessary to observe wildlife are somewhat ludicrous. The point is to watch birds, monkeys, elephants, insects – whatever I come upon. Somehow I ended up with a backpack full of the minutia of documentation. I’m excited by the uncertainty of having yet to discover what I’ll experience. The first bird (Pigeons!), the first mammal (huge city rats!), the first body of water (Chao Phraya River). I’ve got a camera, a Grinnel Journal (I’ll let you all figure that one out), and a blog raring to go.

So long for now – I would check back in 3 days if you haven’t yet bookmarked or subscribed. Thanks for all your support and if you are someone waiting to see what this is all about before backing the project on Kickstarter, I will convince you of the worth shortly!

(quick note – because of internet issues in Seoul, I couldn’t get this posted until today in Bangkok. A few life birds, cultural delving, and tasty street food were had. More soon)