Dispatch Number II: Title: You have very nice hair Mr. Brian!

Good afternoon all, as COO of our Life on Point team
I would like to share with you Brian's latest submission
from our work in Asia.
Please enjoy-

Its 12 September 2010–the weather has been both HOT and 
raining when its not raining the humidity is through the
roof–last night we crossed over into Burma with no
issues and we have begun to make our way to the link
up site. I have 2 porters with us who if not kept on
a short leash will take off and run with the gear…
these guys are marathoners! We are overlooking the river
and waiting for our boat to arrive…yes our boat. The next
phase of our insertion will be up river during darkness–
a ride of approximately 4 hours. We walked a total of 11
hours yesterday – you can already see how the terrain
takes its toll on the body…suffice to say that the
military checkpoints that we skirted around had no idea 
we were there…the rain helped cover any noise!

I made a couple of calls via SAT PHONE last night–
the first was to Ian but his phone was off....or
like any teenager he was ignoring his Dad...the
next one one was to Jake – he has not chatted with
me via this communications channel since he was a
very young kid and suffice to say he was perplexed
with the way I sounded. My COO assured him via email
and follow-up calls that it is the signal from
within the jungle…”dad is fine!”

We are on our way to Mong Pan – you may not initially
see it when you look at a map but as it is midway
down in Burma…this is our initial destination where
we will work extensively. The walk has been both
exhilarating as well as demanding and the weight loss
I encountered over the past 6 months has served well
here – when I say the humidity is a killer even the
locals state that “we need to rest Mr. Brian”

We have seen several villages or what is left of them
in this location. Government forces have come through
and executed a slash and burn campaign while telling
the world they have “relocated the people” …when you
see what this means first hand you really understand
what genocide is all about. It is ironic that our next
linkup point is an orphanage where children from the
villages we passed through yesterday once lived…
I’m not looking forward to that.

I have made a couple of tactical errors in coming here
…nothing that will get anyone on my team killed…but
suffice to say my “long hair” is not an asset in the
jungle environment. If I had the means right now I
would shave my head…the porters look and chuckle as the
sweat pours off me…in a comical sense one looked at me
and told me (in broken English)…”you have nice hair Mr.
Brian” …as I told me COO…”you can’t pay enough for
this quality entertainment!
 
Will keep you up to speed on the Life On Point Team
location as we move deeper into the jungle…many more
dispatches with many more pictures…till then...stay well! 
Cheers 
Brian