Travel
I retired in June 2012 and left Belize after 17 long years. Free from responsibilities I decided to travel the South East Asia, a fascinating part of the world I didn't know. It is such a different environment, different people, different religions, different traditions, different cultures, different languages, it has been an amazing experience. Mostly images of people, ethnic minorities and rural markets. Images from Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Peru, Thailand, Vietnam.
10 Photos
The Kingdom of Bhutan is a small country in South Asia located between India and China. It's a mountainous country, close to the Himalayas, and a small population of 750,000. People are extremely religious, mostly dedicated to agriculture; the last few years tourism has become a new player. Although strictly regulated by the government, independent travel is not permitted, tourists must buy and prepay a full package in advance. In Bhutan the GDP is not the main development indicator but the GNH, Gross National Happiness!
34 Photos
Cambodia is the smallest of the South East Asia countries and by all means the poorest. The land is very flat with few mountains and a part from the Mekong it has few small rivers. Water is very scarce and not available for agriculture during the long dry season, rice cultivation produces only one crop per year, while two in Vietnam and in certain areas even three. Cambodia is home of Angkor Wat, the largest religious monument in the world.
57 Photos
An interesting experience in the south of the Yunnan Province of China in search of ethnic minority people, so plentiful in this part of the world. The Republic of China recognizes 55 ethnic minority groups which represent 8.5% of the entire population of the mainland. I already came upon some of these minorities in different countries of South East Asia such Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar, they wear similar costumes and speak identical languages. The journey has been fascinating, it was by all means 'off the beaten path', during the whole month we didn't meet more than five westerners. Billy, my tour guide from Xishuangbanna, a well educated Chinese young man fluent in English, has been of great assistance, he is very informed on ethnic minorities.
111 Photos
Laos, officially Lao PDR, People's Democratic Republic, a country with small population if compared to neighbors Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand. Laos is luxury green, plentiful of mountains and rivers, people are very religious, simple and kind. The north part of the country, close to the Chinese border, is home of many ethnic minority groups, all speaking different languages, wearing different costumes and practicing different religions. These are poor people indeed, but hard working people and agriculture allows them a simple but decent life.
97 Photos
Burma, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar has finally opened its doors to tourism only recently, visitors are really flooding. I traveled during the low season, but my guide told me from November can be extremely crowded. The country is extremely religious, you can see Buddhist monks and temples at every corner, not even considering Bagan; people are very kind and simple, especially in the country side.
96 Photos
My journeys to Peru were mostly dedicated to the quest of wildlife in the Amazon Basin of the Rio Madre de Dios, but I also traveled this large and rich country intensively, visited small towns, markets, and met people in remote areas. During my month long trekking in the Cordillera Blanca I have seen impressive landscapes and some amazing people living in high altitudes fighting against a very harsh life.
69 Photos
Thailand is probably the most visited country in South East Asia. Mine was a short trip, but successful in photographic achievement. I was in Phuket during the Chinese Vegetarian Festival, a colorful event happening each October, the quintessential display of body piercing.
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In January 2013 I started a two months journey in Vietnam on a motorcycle, I visited almost every corner of this beautiful country, from the Mekong River Delta to the northernmost at the China border. I was fascinated by the people from the countryside, they are very simple, humble, extremely kind and friendly, by the beauty of the Vietnamese women and by the amazing variety of the ethnic minority groups living in the north.
138 Photos
South East Asia is very rich in culture and tradition, popular dances are a strong evidence of this. Traveler will have many opportunities to watch artists from different countries wearing ancient costumes and perform traditional dances.
89 Photos