Ox cart - Cambodia.

Slow progress.

Ox carts like this one are quite common in rural Cambodia. They provide an eminently practical form of transport for farmers but have to compete with trucks for space on the roads.

Fresh is best!

Plastic wrapped Buddha awaits a buyer.

Iconoclastic or practical?

Buddha images in Bangkok are carefully prepared for sale and then wrapped in plastic. There is something disquieting about the meditative serenity of the Buddha covered by a membrane of plastic. These images never fail to catch my attention - you feel as though there is something you should do, but you are not sure what.

The big dipper.

Dip net fishing - Cambodia.

These huge dip nets, mounted on rafts, were being used to catch schools of small fish in areas flooded by the Mekong during the wet season. They were all made of bamboo and neatly balanced so the net, on a counter balanced arm, could be easily dipped in and out of the water by one person.

Water frontage.

There is no place like home.

A small house on the Mekong flood plain, central Cambodia. (Photo taken September 2006)

In the wet season, this house is well located to take advantage of fishing activities. During the dry season, however, this house overlooks a dry and dusty plain. By December of 2006, all the water had gone there was barely enough feed for a buffalo.

As you can see from the construction of the house, people here are very poor ... although they can somehow afford television.

Larger than life

Priced to sell.

Mannequins wearing price tag chokers on display in an open shop front, Kunming. It seems my wide angle lens had an alarming effect on the mannequin on the right.

A nation of cyclists

Bicycle parking lot.

This photo taken in Kunming in 1995 shows bicycles parked en masse. At that time everyone owned a bicycle and riding through the streets of Yunnan's capital was a lot of fun. Now however, many people own cars and few ride bicycles.

Chinese restaurant

Fast food.

Food being prepared frenetically in a small "restaurant" in Southern China. This photo was taken in available light using a slow shutter speed, hence the blurred figures.

In a similar eating place in the same town we ordered chicken. My wife, sitting with her back to the alcove that served as a kitchen, commented that she hoped that the chicken would be fresh. I didn't have the heart to tell her that the chicken was having its throat cut on the floor behind her as she made the comment! Yes, it would be fresh.

Mountain people - Southern China.

Mountain people.

In the hill and mountain country of Southern China, you find the mountain people, minority groups, who occupy land that is not as economically viable. These people live in villages that cling to hill sides and grow cash crops on slopes where most people would have trouble walking. Because of the steepness of the terrain, they cannot use machines so all the work is done with hand tools.

These women are waiting for work in a Han town. Their baskets and palm fibre capes are traditional. Building contractors hire these women to carry rocks, dirt and bricks for minimum pay. This work allows the women to earn a little money for essentials.

Life for minority groups in Han dominated China is not easy.

Mekong, dry season.

The Mekong River, Northern Laos during the dry season.

The Mekong River changes dramatically during the year. In the wet season it is a mighty river that not only carries the monsoon runoff, but also meltwater from the eastern Himalaya. The river scours its bed and banks as vast quantities of water swiftly flow towards its mouth in southern Vietnam.

During the dry season, the water level drops drastically leaving a shadow of its former self meandering through a vegetation free lunar landscape of sand and gravel.

This will change of course, now that the Chinese are building dams along the Mekong in Yunnan Province. The seasonal cycle that Laotians, Cambodians and Vietnamese have come to depend on over countless centuries will come to an end.

Mekong journey.

Travelling by slow boat, Northern Laos.

In parts of Laos, boat travel along the Mekong was the best way to get to some towns and villages. This is changing now as new roads are built and old roads are upgraded. This photo takes me back to a time when boats slowly navigated the river and Western travellers were few.

Is there life beyond the suburbs?

Boys playing with roosters, Northern Laos.

Is there life beyond the suburbs?

In my home country of Australia, almost 90% of the population live in urban areas (it is the most urbanised country on the planet!). Most people never leave the suburbs and experience the places and people that give the country its character, let alone travel overseas.

It is now 20 years since I left the suburbs behind and set off on a life of living and working in interesting places and travel to parts of the world most people only read about in National Geographic magazines. The adventure has been amazing and it has only just begun ... there is so much more to see.