The early summer rains have been turning the WEX clubhouse in Illinois luxuriantly green, and the lawn mowers and hedge clippers have been going nonstop. The Kempton WEX club is getting a much needed facelift, and Johann Wallete is busy climbing on ladders about the walls, scraping away at old paint and getting the Victorian building (built in 1895) ready for a fresh painting.

The Arizona clubhouse sizzles in the summer heat, but evenings are cool in the mountains of northern Arizona. As the sun sets, various critters of all types venture into the night—the howls of the coyotes get closer to the WEX rec-room every night, or so it seems.

Jennifer Bolm and I returned from a round-the-world tour of WEX clubhouses and archeological sites in late May. We managed to leave London for Istanbul just before the ash cloud from that Icelandic Volcano (“what’s-its-name”) descended and closed down European airports for more than a week. We met up with WEX member and author Ralph Ellis while in Istanbul. He is a pilot and is flying for a Turkish cargo airline at the moment. He is dividing his time between Istanbul and Brussels—we have encouraged him to start WEX Clubs in both cities! More on Ralph’s efforts at a later time.

We flew to Ankara and then to Sanliurfa in southern Turkey near the Syrian border. This town, formerly known simply as Urfa, is mentioned in the Bible as a place where the ancient patriarch Abraham lived for a time. From Sanliurfa we visited the ancient Biblical town of Harran to the south, and then went northeast to the archeological dig of Gobekli Tepe, said by mainstream archeologists to be the oldest human structures yet discovered. See my article in this issue. Back in Istanbul, we caught a flight to New Delhi where we hired a car and driver to take us south to Jaipur, Pushakar and Jodhpur in Rajastan. Despite the heat wave that nearly melted us, we enjoyed the elephants, turbans, food and forts.

We flew to Kathmandu, where we met up with WEX manager Govinda Panta. Govinda helped us select a printer for the Nepalese edition of my book Yetis, Sasquatch and Hairy Giants. This book will be printed in Kathmandu, in the original English, and should be available for the tens of thousands of tourists who flock to Nepal every trekking season. Viva Nepal! Unfortunately, we got caught up in a general strike meant to bring down the current prime minister—a strike which paralyzed the city for many days. We were able to fly out of Kathmandu to Bangkok after a few days, but nearly all the shops, restaurants and businesses were closed during the last days of our stay. It is all over now, so when in Nepal be sure to look up Govinda at the WEX club offices in the Thamel section of Kathmandu.

Check out the latest adventure travel news and expeditions offered by Adventure Pilgrims Trekking at www.trekinepal.com. or give them a call at: 977-975-107-7190. Check out the Pilgrims Book House at www.pilgrimsbooks.com.

We are hoping to have a yeti-bigfoot conference in Kathmandu in October or November of 2010, coupled with a yeti expedition into the Arun Valley of eastern Nepal. Check out our web pages for the latest on this and other events.

After arriving in Thailand, we flew up to Chang Rai and the Golden Triangle area where Thailand, Laos and Myanmar (Burma) all come together with the Mekong River being part of the border. I purchased an interesting poster called Queen of the Nagas from a curio stall along the Mekong. It said the giant Naga Fish pictured was seized by the American Army at their base along the Mekong in Laos on June 27, 1972 and had a length of 7.8 meters. The photo is reproduced here, and it certainly is a gigantic fish! Is this rare fish the origin of the many Naga legends in Southeast Asia and India? Well, thanks to my webmaster, I discovered that this was a hoax photo, in a sense. The photo is real, but it is of an oarfish, discovered by American Naval crew in 1989 at the Navy base in San Diego. These fish are known to live in deep oceanic salt water. They apparently do not live in the Mekong—but perhaps another similar-looking fish does live in the river.

We finally left Bangkok, after having toured the barricades of tires and bamboo stakes set up by the anti-government “Red Shirts” in the center of the city. We left the day of the worst rioting and clashes with the police that ultimately left a number of people dead. We flew to Seoul, Korea for a few days, visiting WEX member Jason Kifer, and then returned to Illinois. It is good to be back at the clubhouse in quiet Kempton where we can reflect on our journey surrounded by the library and souvenirs from previous trips.

Filmmaker and WEX member Steve Zagata has started the new WEX Twitter page. It is just getting going, so check it out at www.Twitter.com/Wexclub. Last summer, Steve shot footage in Peru for our next DVD. We spent several weeks in the Cuzco area as well as around Nazca and Ica for the upcoming documentary Ancient Technology in Nazca & the Andes. This work will join the other installments in the series, featuring fascinating material filmed in Egypt, South America, Mexico and Central America. They are all available at: www.adventuresunlimitedpress.com

Keep an eye out for new episodes of the History Channel documentary entitled Ancient Aliens. The History Channel has said that this is their most popular series and while they continue to air the six episodes that they have already made, they are planning to make more episodes later this year.

When in The Netherlands, check out the Frontier Bookshop which is in the fashionable Jordaan district of Amsterdam near Anne Frank’s House. Located on a canal just north of the Westerkirk, the address is Leliegracht 42, 1015 DH Amsterdam. Tel: (+34) 020-3309151. Visit the website at: http://www.frontierbookshop.nl.

Canadian WEX manager Jim Honey continues to run his Sangrael bookshop-café-curio store in Elora. The address is 137 Metcalf Street, Elora, Ontario. The phone is 519-846-2999. See their new web pages at: www.wexclub.ca.

Hawaiian WEX member Patrick Roherty has created a new World Explorer pendant that is beautiful and classy. Check out the various styles plus his WEX ring on his special website at: www.worldexplorer.us

With the continuing housing crisis, it is a good time for the World Explorers Club to snatch up clubhouses around the country. Is there a WEX clubhouse to be acquired in your town in the near future? Be sure to contact us with any ideas about starting a retail outlet or clubhouse!

Also, send in your classified ad; remember up to 25 words are free for WEX members. We are always looking for stories or news clippings, so send those in, too! As the summer breeze drifts through the jasmine in your mind, settle back in the hammock and prepare yourself for another issue of World Explorer!

—David Hatcher Childress, Explorer