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On Time And The Past: My Pilgrimage To The Birthplace Of KFC

This was a must. “I’m going to Corbin, Kentucky – the birthplace of Kentucky Fried Chicken.” As soon as those words left my mouth, there was an understanding between me and my friend, Danielle, that this was something important.

Kien Lam
4 years ago

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  • A few days ago, I climbed out of an 1940s era biplane mid-flight and gave the pilot the signal to do a series of acrobatic moves while I hung on. It was a surreal experience. They call this "wing-walking" and it's pretty self-explanatory. While in the air, you climb out of the cockpit of an airplane and walk along its wings. And because that apparently doesn't sound exciting enough, you also hold on while the pilot does loops, barrel rolls and something called a "hammerhead." @cnntravel is producing a little documentary about my experience, so I'll hold off on sharing the video footage, but I wanted to share a few thoughts and photos ahead of time. First, this was, by a clear margin, one of the most exhilarating things I've ever done. Second, while in the air, I felt an incredible sense of gratitude for my life, and just life in general. Every breath up there felt precious, and I nearly wanted to cry trying to comprehend how I got to this point in my life where I'm lucky enough to be able to do some of the things I've done. Lastly, the reason I wanted to do this has nothing to do with thrill-seeking or risk. I really believe that you should try to the best of your abilities to go after the things you want to do. For me, I'm just a hyper curious person and knowing the sacrifices my parents made and continue to make to give me and my siblings the life we have, I don't want to waste any part of it not satisfying some of these curiosities and missing out on so many of the experiences that the world has to offer. So what was wing-walking like? Making that deliberate decision to unbuckle my seatbelt and begin the climb out of the cockpit was by far and away the most worthwhile part of the whole thing. As soon as I put my left hand up to reach for the first hold, I felt the force of the 60 mph+ winds that I would be fighting against. I was so focused that I honestly had no time to be nervous or afraid. I never felt for a second that I would slip or fall off, so the real climb felt very similar to all my practice climbs while the plane was on the ground. A full write up will be on my site soon. #wingwalking
  • My bags are packed (almost) and I'm ready to go...again. A quick update since I clocked out about 5 months ago from social media. I went into hiding in Mexico to decompress and figure out the purpose behind my travels and what motivation I needed to continue to do it meaningfully. It took almost the entire 3 months of walking barefoot most days in Sayulita before I found it again for myself. As if the universe was listening, I was asked to fly around the world for 5 weeks to film for Daimler/Mercedes Benz. In less than 30 days, I would end up taking 16 flights between Mexico, Brazil, the US, Germany, India and Japan. I got to travel and do what I wanted to do, which was to find and tell stories...and get paid for it. I've been back in my own home for about 10 days now and it's time to go again and I'm excited to know that the next two months of travel will not only be about the places I'll venture to, but the people I will share the journey with. I'll leave you with one quick teaser. Weather permitting, I will be in Washington next Monday to do the craziest and scariest thing I've ever attempted. And CNN will be on hand to film a mini-documentary about it and my travels. I've been waking up both excited and a bit nervous about this adventure and then spending the better part of the day stretching and working on my grip strength. :) That's all for now. Photo by @jcpalacio7
  • Like children and wild animals, our eyes will always be drawn to things that flash and shine. It’s no different for photographers. From hundreds feet away, I spotted this welder working on the chassis of a @thomasbuiltbuses and spent the next 10 minutes transfixed while he worked, sparking away. #usa
  • Over the last 5 weeks, I flew around the world to find and film stories for Daimler and their many companies. Over 30 days, I was on 16 different flights in Brazil, the US, Germany, India and Japan and woke at the craziest hours to begin our days. I got a front row glimpse into all the working phases of commercial vehicle productions, but more than that I got to take a small step into the lives of the people whose sweat and hard work make it all possible and hear their stories. This is why I love my job. This shot was taken at the Thomas Built factory where those famous yellow school buses are made. I’m looking into the room where the buses are painted by 4 robotic arms using just a gallon of paint for an entire bus.
  • I’m alive. Sort of.
  • Some of you may be surprised that I’m online since I had planned on turning off my phone after the World Nomad Games. I did not. Plans changed. Life happened. For the last weeks, I have had such an experience that no words I find can begin to describe it all with just one post. I have encountered love, loss, friendship and witnessed near death. I’ve felt the warmest hospitality and kindness and also unnecessary hostility. I’ve seen a culture that is in ways completely backwards and ugly and yet within it, some of the brightest souls I’ve ever met. People who have have changed my life. I’ve met people who deserve much more than Bishkek or Kyrgyzstan could ever offer them. And some who don’t truly believe that yet. I’ve been on the news for both good things and bad. I’ve spent many sleepless nights at times and yet some days I feel fully energized despite those few hours of slumber. I’ve found friends old and new who have been there for me at all hours of the day and night. You know who you are and I love you from the deepest depths of my heart for that. I’ve felt butterflies in my stomach and I’ve felt my heart go empty only for it to be filled again. I’ve seen wonders and curiosities that made me stare wide eyed and some that made me laugh. I’ve seen behaviors that make me sick to my stomach. If I’m being vague, let me clarify something. There are some amazing women in Kyrgyzstan and I’ve met no men here that deserve them. In fact, I’ve met no men here that have made me feel anything but anger or disgust. I’ve seen very little of this country and yet I feel like I’ve learned more about this place than most of the other countries I’ve explored. Yesterday, I finally left Bishkek. Part of me wanted to stay for the rest of my trip and part of me knew it was time to go. I’m alone for the first day since arriving here. Today, I hiked to the top of Sulaiman-Too in Osh and watched the sunset alone. It was beautiful and my mind was clear for the first time in months. Life is so...strange sometimes. There have been moments where I have wanted time to stop forever and hours that never seemed to move when I pleaded for tomorrow to come.

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