Silver sunlight and city magic.

Route: Tokyo – Nagano – Tokyo – Nagoya – Takayama – Shirakawago – Tokyo

 

Although we had just been through an 18-hour flight, the first thing we did after dropping off our bags at the hostel was to sprint a few streets down into the heart of Times Square. I was thrilled to be in NYC and shouted out in joy. Around me, a huge Starbucks café, the M&Ms building, the Morgan Stanley building, a huge C.S.I banner… it was all so familiar, just like on TV. I was in America!

 

Route:

Home as it is to me.

 

Route:

Reykjavik – Klaustur - Hvoll

I had been tasked to photograph three Singaporeans, who had each won a youth environmental award initiated by HSBC and the National Youth Achievement Award Council. As part of the honours, they were invited on a sponsored trip to Iceland to participate in an Earthwatch glacial expedition and work with scientists on the field. Although there were no sexy polar bears or exotic snow reindeers to gush about, there was a quiet yet powerful grandness about the ice and rock that have witnessed a part of the earth’s transformations over centuries. Having grown up in a compact city setting of concrete and managed plots of green, it was certainly a privilege to witness Nature as it was –– wild and free.

 

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This collection of images is mostly from Beijing, Hong Kong, Macau and Shanghai. I’ve always been fascinated with the Chinese culture, particularly how it evolves with globalization and western influence. It will be interesting to see how China’s rise to the international stage will affect its “Chinese-ness”, its people and their way of life through the years.

 

Route:

Paro – Thimphu – Punakha – Trongsa – Bumthang Valley – Phobjikha – Paro – Chele La Pass

“Walk to Guru’s Glory. Take back memories of a Kingdom
For here in this Kingdom. Lies a benevolent King.”
- a humble tribute on the route to Takstang monastery.

Bhutan is the antidote to every city-dweller’s fatigue. Lush green valleys, golden rice fields and the company of the “happiest people in the world” introduced me to a culture so self-contained and seemingly satisfied with their way of life. I’m not sure whether it was the calm in the air or the wonders of nature that gave me new perspectives about life and such, but I am happy I took home more than mere images.

 

Route:

Yangon – Pindaya – Inle Lake – Mandalay – Bagan – Yangon

Myanmar has a special place in my heart because it was here that I discovered my calling for documentary photography. While most Southeast Asian countries have developed their travel industries, a visit to Myanmar stands out as being one of the most authentic. To experience the real Myanmar, I encourage you to go beyond packaged itineraries — eat local and meet the locals. My ongoing project on monastic education has given me the good fortune of meeting children from all over the country and learning how Myanmar’s political and social situation impacts its people. Yet despite the adversity they face, the Burmese, most of them heavily influenced by Buddhist teachings, live on with grace and hope that is far lacking in other developed societies today.

 

Columbo – Minneriya National Park – Trincomalee – Batticaloa – Kandy – Nuwara Eliya – Yala National Park – Galle – Columbo

Home to around 20 million people, Sri Lanka, which means resplendent land, is a strategic point on major sea routes famous for producing tea, coffee and rubber. The island, which bore the wrath of the Asian tsunami four years ago, is burdened by years of internal conflict that has limped its economic prosperity and social growth. It is now eagerly trying to lift the war-stricken veil and jump on the bandwagon of progress with the rest of Asia.

I travelled to Sri Lanka with a group of photographers from The Rice Project in August 2008. Working with Habitat for Humanity we distributed 16,000 kg of rice that was sponsored by Canon to more than 500 families in Trincomalee and Batticaloa, which were two of the worst hit areas on the east coast. We also toured the island and had the privilege of enjoying Sri Lanka’s natural beauty.

 

Bangalore – Mysore – Delhi – Bikaner – Jaisalmer – Jodhpur – Udaipur – Jaipur – Agra – Varanasi – Delhi

People make Places. And when there’s 1.13 billion of them, or one sixth of the world’s people in one country, I knew travelling to India would be nothing short of an amazing adventure. It was in Bangalore’s City Market that I wondered where in the world I was. In the middle of honking buses, overpowering flower scents and endless streams of humans and cows, I stood rooted to the ground, unable to do anything but absorb the life that unfolded in front of me. In the course of documenting this mix of colour, chaos and character, I found another side to magic.