Bob Brown (and his adventuring hat) introduced this week's speaker (and fellow Rotary Club member), Jeff Petersen.
Intrepid traveler Jeff explains his logistic conquest of a 10-week backpacking trip to Southeast Asia, primarily Thailand. At the rate of almost a slide a minute, he clicked through a series of photos taking Rotarians across the globe. He only had one-way tickets and literally road in “planes, trains, and automobiles” (plus ships and motorcycles).
Backpacking means travelling light and that’s just what Jeff Petersen did. Pictured here is Jeff’s backpack gear and a few souvenirs he brought back.
Rotarian Jeff Petersen said he had only a backpack for supplies and a one-way ticket to Thailand for his trip to Southeast Asia. He called his ten-week adventure “incredible.” Petersen said he typically planned his visit one-to-three days at a time and used phone apps extensively to find tourist sites, lodging, and transportation. He said he slept in 29 different beds of varying quality. His longest hike was 19 miles in one day. Because of his reliance on his cell phone, he backed up essential information in a paper dairy just in case he lost his phone or had a technological failure.
Transportation was really quite easy according to Petersen. For example, while trying to go from Bangkok to Ching Mai he had a choice of 12 trains and 43 buses plus their “Grab” service (equivalent to Uber). Petersen said he learned not to take taxis because drivers didn’t use their meters, they just negotiated a price. Large passenger vans were frequently used for tourist travel. His most unique experience was a 13-hour night-ferry trip. There were no chairs, only beds.
Jeff said that fortunately he knew a few people living in Thailand and Southeast Asia and had guidance on how to navigate his solo journey. He did pass along some important lessons learned for the future, such as having at least two cell phones on the trip. He found Google translate a valuable resource. He learned food was very spicey and many times only available through street vendors (fortunately he never got sick). He admitted he’s eaten his quota of rice saying it was served everywhere at all meals.
Petersen’s talk was mainly focused on logistics of his backpacking journey. Perhaps a future appearance will highlight the many tourist sites and nature areas he visited.
May 12, 1820 – The founder of modern nursing, British nurse Florence Nightingale, is born in Florence, Italy .
May 12, 1907 – Four-time academy award winning actress Kathryn Hepburn is born in Hartford, Connecticut.
May 14, 1727 – Physicist and perfecter of the thermometer Gabriel Fahrenheit is born in Gdansk, Poland.
May 18, 1897 – Hollywood director Frank Capra, known for “It’s a Wonderful Life”, “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”, and “It Happened One Night”, is born in Bisacquino, Italy.
May 12, 1949 – Soviet Russia lifts its blockade of Berlin that began June 24, 1948. American and British flyers had successfully executed an airlift that delivered 2.3 million tons of food and supplies during 278,000 flights to the isolated West Berlin citizens.
May 14, 1796 – The first documented medical test of the smallpox vaccine was initiated by Dr. Edward Jenner, a rural English physician.
May 17, 1875 – The first Kentucky Derby horse race is run at Churchill Downs in Louisville. It is the oldest continuously held major sporting event in the U.S.
May 17, 1954 – In Brown v. Board of Education, the U. S. Supreme Court unanimously rules the segregation of public schools “solely on the basis of race” denies Black children equal education opportunity. The case against segregation was argued by future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.
Birthdays & Club Anniversaries
Member Birthdays
Jim Walter
November 6
David Hamilton
November 14
Dorothy Stoddard
November 14
Bob Hammon
November 25
Join Date
Michele Jurkovic
November 2, 1998
26 years
Donald W. Clayberg
November 28, 1984
40 years
Jeff Keicher
November 30, 2005
19 years
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS, 2024-2025
President – Steve Wilder
President Elect – Jonelle Bailey
Director (President Nominee) – Becky Springer
Director (President Designee) - Matt Nelson
Past President – Brandon Diviak
Treasurer – Dr. Michele Jurkovic
Secretary – Pat Shafer
Sergeant at Arms – Paulette Renault
Monthly Committees
July: Board of Directors
August: Brandon Diviak, Jeff Keicher, Pat Shafer
September: Dave Hamilton, Jeff Jacobson, Jim Stoddard
October: Paul Callighan, Matt Nelson, Paul Stromborg
November: Sue Emberson, Jeff Frank, Phil Meyer
December: Larry Berke, Ray Dembinski, Riley Oncken
Fellowship: Paulette Renault, Larry Berke, Sue Emberson, Dave Hamilton, Pat Shafer
Foundations:Paul Stromborg, Jim Buck, Sue Emberson, Matt Nelson, Jim Stoddard
Membership: Jonelle Bailey, Ray Dembinski, Brandon Diviak, Bob Hammon, Jeff Jacobson, Steve Kuhn, Phil Meyer, Matt Nelson, Riley Oncken, Jeff Petersen, Bob Wildendradt
New Generations: Chip Houdek, Julie Sgarlata, Becky Springer, Steve Wilder
Public Image: Bob Brown, Paul Callighan, Jeff Keicher, Joyce Klein, Tasha Sims
Scholarships:Tim Neubert, Don Clayberg, Ray Dembinski, Michele Jurkovic, Steve Kuhn, Julie Sgarlata
Service: Brandon Diviak, Alicia Cosky, Jeff Frank, Michele Jurkovic, Rob Mondi, Tim Neubert, Brendan Wilson
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