| Weather: in Asia | Asia/forecast_map |
| News: of Asia | CNN/ASIA - Washington
Post - New York Times Univ. of North Carolina News Online - Guardian. |
| Cheap flights out of Bangkok | Asian Trails travel agency Bangkok |
| Transport
between: Big Bear & LAX |
MARTA
Schedule to San Bernardino. Metrolink Schedule to Los Angeles. FlyAway bus to LAX |
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After a good deal of research I've finally decided to carry along a small, light Pocket PC. The iPAQ HX4700 is a remarkable Windows based personal computer. Check out this balanced comprehensive review of the iPAQ HX4700 Pocket PC. This extraordinary wireless PC stores mountains of data including books, maps and my entire web site. The little gadget is wireless so I can go online whenever I find a hot spot and with Skype loaded the iPAQ becomes a wireless phone! |
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Voice Over IP (the Internet) has come a long way from its early beginnings. It now performs pretty well. It works with Skype VoIP anywhere there is a WiFi network and that is just about anywhere these days. I bought my first SMC Wi-Fi phone in Bangkok last time I was there. Even at the Pantip electronics shopping mall it was an appalling $180! To make matters worse, I lost the first one and had to buy another after becoming totally addicted to the gadget. Street price in now closer to $150. It is not as easy to use as a regular cell phone, but one gets used to the lengthy connection negotiation once a hot spot has been located. International Skype calls are dirt cheap and calling the United States is free, with the right Skype package. If you receive a call from me while I'm traveling, it will be from this phone. |
 Camera:
Philips
KEY007 Wearable 64MB USB Key Ring Camera.
Newest toy for my trip
to India & China |
I bought mine on e-bay for $65; list is $100. The 1.3 mega pixel camera processes photos on board and the camera itself plugs into the USB port of any computer. No drivers or photo processing software are required. Shoot 400 VGA photos and recharge the internal battery while you are processing the pictures. Perfect for an adventure traveler like me. So simple no manual needed! |
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Research revealed a successor to the KEY007. With remarkably enhanced features, the $250 KEY019 Philips Wearable Camcorder (photo at left) is an extraordinary piece of modern technology. I bought mine online from J&R for $200 last year. The higher resolution will make wily candid photos more practical: no need to attract attention with precise aiming, just point a steady hand in the general direction of the subject, shoot and crop. The enhanced dynamic range means I can now take photos inside without a flash. |
 Camera:
Aiptek
Mini PenCam 1.3. I first used this during my Southeast Asia trip |
I got mine from BestBuy for $100, though Aiptek offers refurbs for $50. It takes 40+ high resolution (1248 x 960) shots or up to 170 VGA (640X480) pictures. Memory is non-volatile. |
 Garmin
GPS: eTrex
Venture Should come in handy for finding my way back to the hotel in big cities with Chinese street signs. |
I won an ebay auction for $112. The eTrex Venture is designed to provide precise GPS positioning using the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) giving a position accuracy of three meters in the U.S. It comes preloaded with a worldwide large city database ( population above 200K). Waypoints/Icons: 500 with name and graphic symbol. Tracks: Automatic track log; 10 saved tracks let you retrace your path in both directions. Route: 20 reversible routes with up to 50 waypoints. Trip computer: Current speed, average speed, time of sunrise/sunset, resetable maximum speed, trip timer, and trip distance. I ended up retiring this high tech gadget; it really was useless on a trip. |
| Foreign Embassies | Throughout Asia. |
| Detailed
maps of Southeast Asia. |
World
City Maps from the University of Texas. Detailed Country Maps from the Univ. of Texas. Orientation maps from Mapquest.com. |
| Holy books online | Qu'ran
(Koran): Bangladesh. Sayings of Buddha: India, Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet. Bible King James Version: NE India. |
 Maps |
Click on the icon link for maps. |
 References |
Click on the icon link for reference material |
 My
Photos |
Click on the icon to link my photo album; now defunct as os July 2012 |
 Reference photo
August 2002 |
