Ok, year 2010 and the beginning of this 2011 have not been that prolific for Monkeyrockworld. Without getting into too many details, I just would like to say that having to deal with an Asian university flamboyant requirements and trying to jet start a freelance writing career, without counting house and “da wifey” administration, is not the ideal situation to sit down and write. I also didn’t travel that much, in the first place, although yes, I do have many reports about Sri Lanka and my return to China still to pen down. Anyways, what I care to write now is about something I got back in. I did not think this would happen, but eventually, it did: I’m back into the music scene again. It seems I cannot get rid of this passion of mine; for it is too strong to be neglected… so let it be. I did not think also that an apparently sleepy place like Penang could hide so much underground talent… I knew Malaysia was full of hardcore, metal and punk, but all those kids seemed like hidden under rocks until three weeks ago more or less, when I shot a few emails here and there resulting in fast ties with the cream of the crop of East Asian punk, some metal and hardcore scenes. (more…)
The night was dark (and I have to tell you I am sorry for the video recordings), but you cannot really help when your country just switches off the generators and the electricity is non existent anyways: the moon was our lamp, the torchlight opening up the vision of the night… together with the cigarettes’ burning ends and the flashes provided by some lighter. And of course, Kit Yeng’s flashlight. The blues poured down the night’s throat like an ungodly wine… we needed a real singer, and we needed it bad, before Monkey Motherfucker decided to make it even worse… enjoy the RAWK from Myanmar first and most primitive BLUES PUNK, offered by the one and only BAGAN TIGERS… (more…)
Hell yeah, it took me so long to fix up a new computer, find a PCI card supporting a damn Firewire port, and finally unearth some fantastic, lost, incredible footage I shot in Myanmar almost one year ago. I almost forgot I found a band when I was there… a “one night stand band” in Bagan… THE BAGAN TIGERS!!! The best, most soulful rawk n blues to ever come out of Western Burma since the Britsh left!! Fuck yes, probably even before!! Possibly, the ONLY blues to have ever come out of Burma as of today!! (more…)
After one year, I finally made it to Langkawi to show the island to my family coming to visit from Italy. Langkawi to me was the idea of a tourist trap, the kind of place I always try to avoid. Partially my idea was true: Langkawi boosts all the kind of infrastructure you would expect from a super developed tourist destination. The good side is, among the hotels, resorts and parks scattered along its coasts, Langkawi still has a very wild, lush nature, and a predominantly Malay Muslim population making its more secluded corners look like some part of Malaysian East Coast. The fact this place has been declared as a tax-free zone and alcohol is finally readily and cheaply available is definitely a plus for tourists and drunks alike, making it look more like a verdant mix of Bali and some Thai island rather than an outpost of backward Muslim Malaysia.
This said, I’ve never been to Langkawi before because I thought it wasn’t cheap: on the surface, it is not, but as always, I can manage to find my places and this is why I am writing this article: The internet has a dreary shortage of cheap ass information about Langkawi, and this is exactly why I decided to give my two cents on the matter. (more…)
La Travel for Aid ha presentato la relazione dei 300 giorni di viaggio del progetto sportivo-umanitario “Dal Vietnam all’Italia in bicicletta per i diversabili”, che sta portando Matteo Tricarico a percorrere in bicicletta in solitaria la distanza di 30.000 chilometri dal Vietnam all’Italia. La finalità umanitaria dell’iniziativa consta nel sensibilizzare ed informare l’opinione pubblica sulle condizioni dell’infanzia disabile, andando ad incontrare i bambini in istituti per diversabili nei paesi attraversati.
In questi primi dieci mesi di viaggio sono stati percorsi oltre 10.000 chilometri, da Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, proseguendo per la capitale cambogiana, Phnom Penh (ottobre 2009) e poi per quella thailandese, Bangkok (ottobre 2009). Di seguito, l’itinerario si è snodato nuovamente attraverso la Cambogia (novembre 2009) e a nord sino alla capitale del Laos, Vientiane (dicembre 2009) ed è continuato per il nord della Thailandia (gennaio 2010). Sono seguiti il Myanmar (febbraio 2010) e tre mesi in India (febbraio-aprile 2010) per raggiungere l’estremo sud del Subcontinente e ritornare a Calcutta, prima di entrare in Bangladesh dalla frontiera est. Due mesi (maggio-giugno 2010) in Bangladesh e indi il viaggio è proseguito verso nord al confine sud-est del Nepal e successivamente per la sua capitale Kathmandu, per un soggiorno di altri due mesi (luglio-agosto 2010). (more…)
A collaboration between Sam Stavros and Antonio Graceffo. Twenty-two year-old Reuters photographer, Dan Eldon and was stoned to death in Mogadishu, Somalia. In addition to covering conflicts in Africa, he personally organized aid and relief missions to help the starving people. Dan’s mother. Kahy and sister, Amy published his diaries and art work in a book, “The Journey is the Destination.”(more…)
“Why?” I hope finally this time around, in the peaceful setting of the middle of a lake, without anybody hearing us, I’ll be enlightened by the conversation I’ve been waiting for three weeks to happen. (more…)
