We just sent two guys off on the job of a lifetime. For 73 days they’ll travel the world, take pictures with famous photographers, and hopefully stay on brief.

So why  521 somewhere? Good Question.

5 continents, 2 dudes, 1 planet is the simple answer. But truth is, we wanted to see how how the mosaic of the world captured in a minute would look. What makes 1 minute in a day look different from the other 1439?

So here they are posting an image from wherever they are at 5:21 am/pm everyday along with a few words. It would be great if you could join them with your 5:21.

5:21PM adult legos or the world's largest container port?

I had one of the best meals of my life last night. The sun finally came out this morning. And still I woke up in a foul mood.

I’m hitting the 2-week wall that’s been pretty consistent on all of these legs. After 2 weeks, all I want to do is hang out with my family and sleep in my own bed again. But I’m only half way through this trip. So I trudge on.

Our schedule has been haywire here in Hong Kong and this stop hasn’t been as successful as I would have liked. Too many unavoidable twists and turns but we still have one jam packed day left that starts at 4AM tomorrow.

As for today, two of the more interesting stops were the world’s largest container port and Happy Valley race track in the middle of downtown. For a guy, the container port is mesmerizing. Its basically a giant erector set with pulleys and motors and things being lifted through the air. Its gearhead porn. My son is going to go nuts when he sees some of the video I took today.

The second stop was picturesque Happy Valley. Hong Kong loves its horse racing. Even on a wednesday night, the track is packed with the town’s who’s who. A massive grandstand lights the track which is completely surrounded by high rise buildings.

I didn’t win anything. And I left early so I could go back to the hotel and talk to my kids. That perked me up a little.

But now I need to get some sleep because my phone is going to start ringing in less than 4 hours.

5:21PM staring out my hotel window looking for good weather

More rain. More paperwork. Less actual work.

Hong Kong has proven to be the proverbial wall on our trip around the world. The weather is uncooperative. The rules aren’t bending the way we had hoped they would. Instead, we’re stuck with delays and postponements. Its getting a little frustrating.

But even in the darkest cloud, there is a hint of sunlight. Tonite that beam came from Alvin Leung, chief creator and michelin star chef of Bo Innovation, one of the hottest restaurants in Asia. Alvin is a renegade with the goal of bringing chinese cuisine into the realm of fine dining. He uses deconstruction. Molecular gastronomy. Curiosity. Happiness. And it all works incredibly well together.

Alvin was our host this evening. He took us ona  tasting journey unlike any I’ve ever experienced. The tattooed former engineer and self proclaimed demon chef brought dish after dish that impressed the senses.  Most of his dishes are difficult to describe, but the taste is always impeccable. From sweetbreads to pate to a dessert created to mimc a used condom, every dish inspires and surprises in a way that few chefs can parallel.

After an evening of stories, cigars, whiskey and amazing dishes, it was clear that this was one of those unique experiences and interesting characters that I may not come across again.

But I’ll always remember Bo.

Thanks Alvin.

5:21PM buttons on one of the machines inside a Chinese factory

On a cold, gray damp day, we trekked across the border into China. Shenzhen to be specific. Once a tiny fishing village, today Shenzhen has over 8 million residents and is one of China’s most successful economic development zones. Its massive, modern and sprawling.  And the traffic is unbearable.

Our first stop was Mission Hills golf club, the world’s largest and highest ranked golf club. Its also home to the World Cup of golf. Its a 25-minute drive from one end of the facility to the other. On the course, we were chauffered around by traditional Asian caddies—women. Here the women carry the clubs and hang on the back of speeding carts while wearing red outfits and helmets. There are hundreds of them all over the course. Mine got doused with water as a series of  course sprinklers blasted us while riding along the cart path.

But she quickly adjusted for the next series of sprinklers to avoid getting hosed.

But our shenanigans didn;t go unnoticed. Even on the golf course, Uncle Mao kept a watchful eye on us.

A taste of things to come when we spend next week in China.

At the end of the day, we headed back across the border into Hong Kong to grab some dinner. At the final checkpoint, a woman wearing a mask reaches into the car with a weird looking gun to take our temperatures and make sure we weren’t bringing back more than just pictures to Hong Kong.

We passed. They want to make sure we’re healthy so that we can eat things like 100-year old eggs for dinner.

yum. not really.

5:21PM my view of Kowloon from the hotel while doing a little editing

Did I mention I miss Thailand?

I like Hong Kong. Its alot like NY. Good food. Good energy. Great skyline.

But yesterday when we arrived here it was 80 degrees. This morning when we left the hotel, it was 70 degrees and overcast. By lunchtime, it was 50 and rainy. This is what researchers and futurists call a ‘trend.’ And I don’t like it. Unfortunately its only going to get colder and rainer over the next few days. On a production like this one, rain is the enemy that can’t be defeated. We’ve been lucky until now. Maybe we should go back to Phuket for a few days and take advantage of the light…

This morning, we started out at the bustling bird park. The bird park is a happening place where locals bring their birds in birdcages to socialize with other songbirds. Its kind of like internet dating for birds. You see young and old men walking around the park holding their cages as the birds interact with one another through the bars. The park is also a bird market filled with small shops selling the hottest new cages and bird accessories. Like crickets. And square birdcages. Or if you’re feeling crazy, round cages.

But these guys love their birds and it shows.

And speaking of love, for lunch we hit the live fish market in Sai Kung. A massive wall of cute fish, crustaceans and weird looking sea critters in tanks all waiting for someone to point them out so they can become dinner. So you ordered crab? You have to walk over to the tank and tell the guy working the tank exactly which crab isn’t going to find out who will win best costume design at the Oscars tonite. It’s a delicious meal with a side of guilt.

After lunch, our afternoon shot was scratched due to weather. It was our first weather related casualty since we started.

Tomorrow we head across the border into China for the day where there is no facebook or twittering allowed. So if you’re following the photos on fb or the tweets and don’t get one, its not my fault.

5:21PM standing in line at customs in Hong Kong

Made it to Hong Kong. Sat next to an old German guy on the plane who had to pee alot. Staying in the exact same hotel room in Hong Kong as the last time I was here. Heading out bright and early in the morning.

5:21PM the shadow of me, crying, on our last day in Thailand

I think its safe to say there are many levels in heaven.

Our photographer Mike Yamashita told us before we left that we were saving the best for last. Thailand has cruised up the charts to #1 on my unscientific list.

The people are friendly and sweet and make the most amazing food. This whole country is a little weird, quirky and offbeat in a wonderful way because you never know exactly what to expect. But you always know you’re going to like it when you’re done. Even if you took all the people and the food and the weirdness away, you’d still have the most amazing canvas to simply stare out.

Today was the capper. We took a boat out to Phi Phi island, made famous in the movie The Beach. The water would bring tears to your eyes. A shade of turquoise not even available in photoshop. White sand beaches. Huge rock formations completely surrounding the small bay. Thai long boats drifting aimlessly in the calm water. It was definitely a moment to be recreated again at a later date.

A few minutes later at a different beach, the same effect. A massive inlet with the same clear blue water. Thatched roof houses hidden behind palm trees and a long stretch of white sand beach in the distance that cuts through the technicolor landscape like a knife. And it feels as good as it looks.

It is here at this very spot that I would happily drop all the accoutrements of civilization without a second thought.

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Exhibit C:

Exhibit D:

I rest my case. Off to Hong Kong tomorrow.

5:21PM from a private villa on the beach

There’s one thing I can always count on back at my desk in NYC. I don’t get sunburned. I barely even see sunlight there. Here, I bake. The sun beats down on us every minute of the day as we try to find shady spots when we’re not smoothing out sand on beaches, hanging out at ridiculous oceanside villas, riding in boats, swimming in the sea or directing elephants on a beach.

It is unbelievably hot everywhere we go and its so much hotter when you step into the sun. The people we meet look like lobsters. Shiny, red painful ones, while we emit our own milky white glow. I wouldn’t be surprised if some people even got burned simply by standing next to us.

Luckily the cooling water is never too far away.

But that’s all I got, really. Its hard to find anything that sucks about Phuket. The food? Great. Beaches? Please… The water? To die for. The light? Always there when you need it.

I did hear stories about giant spiders in hotel rooms the size of your fist. But I don’t care. As long as they don’t carry me away in the middle of the night or make international phone calls on my room phone while I’m running around, they have my blessings.

Only one more day left here in paradise. Tomorrow we’re back out to Koh Phi Phi, then back to Phuket for an afternoon at a spa followed by an evening at an absurdly opulent house by the water. Then I have to pack for Hong Kong in the evening.

I may break down and cry at that point. In fact, I’m pretty sure I will.

5:21PM being chauffered back to the yacht from the beach

Thesaurus.com lists 31 synonyms for stunning. I propose the word Phuket becomes #32. As in, ‘Wow, your homemade turquoise earrings are Phuket!’

I was going to write about how Phuket it was out on the boat today, but my wife reads this and she’s sitting at home in 12 feet of snow while I’m, well, here in paradise writing about being on a boat all day. As the wise man once said, ‘Michael, shut up.’

So I will.

Let’s just say today was Phuket in every way and leave it at that. Anything else has a high probability of doing permanent damage.

If you need to know more, email me.

5:21PM a front row seat to one of the waiters in heaven

So this is what paradise looks like. Sitting courtside to a sunset just a stone’s throw away from the soundtrack of rolling waves from the warm Indian Ocean.

This is as good as it gets for me. The smell of salt water. The glow of the declining sun. A breeze blown from the gods. The cadence of the tides. And sand. Oh, how I love sand.

Just give me the wife and kids and a deserted tropical island and I’m set. You can keep the people and the blackberrys and tv’s and traffic lights. I don’t need them.

After traveling this morning on the exhausting one hour flight from Bangkok, it was nice to have a couple hours to recuperate and regain my bearings. To top it all off, we even get to sleep in tomorrow morning before hopping on our charter yacht for the day in search of the white sand beaches of Ko Phi Phi island and Krabbe. It will be a particularly demanding day at the office. Lesser men would cave under these circumstances. But I will find the will to keep going. Because I really want to take more pictures with my feet in them. Maybe start a scrapbook.

But first I’m going to take a nap.

5:21PM hanging out with the locals in Ayutthya

Adventure with a side of heat stroke. That was what today was all about. It started at 6AM as we caught a turbocharged long tail boat for the 5-hour boat ride up the Chao Phraya river from Bangkok to the old capitol of Ayutthya.

It was a chance to experience the ‘Venice of the Far East’ part of Thailand, on Buddha’s birthday no less, and it didn’t disappoint. Navigating the countless narrow klongs(canals) along the way, we got to see what life was like along the river. People hanging out on their porches. Many houses only reachable by boat. Old women tending to their water gardens. Dogs barking as we drove by. Kids swimming to get away from the oppressive heat of the sun.

We stopped for breakfast at a riverside stall and ate fresh street food served in plastic bags while watching the giant catfish breach in search of food. Then back up the river.

Many hours later after passing dozens upon dozens of new temples, we arrived at Wat Chai Watthanaram in Ayutthya. Absolutely stunning. These massive temple ruins originally built by the king in honor of his mother in the 1600s pierce the blue sky along the water’s edge. Steep steps lead up to towering temples and headless Buddhas line the walls from one end to the other. Quiet, peaceful and relaxing.

This and many of the other ruins all over Ayutthya are like mini versions of Angkor Wat. They dot the landscape all around this ancient city. There’s the giant sleeping Buddha at Wat Lokayasutharam, the Buddha tree, the Royal Palace and on and on and on. If you visit Bangkok, its worth the trip up to the old capitol to see history untouched.

Happy birthday Buddha.