Last but not least, I rounded off the weekend with a super interesting and funny one day photo workshop with A Day of Photography in Chiang Mai. The workshop focused on street portraiture and allowed me to get up close to the local people and their daily life and experience very precious moments with and without my camera.

The towns of this Chinese province have an abundance of dental shops. Most ladies cover their hair but whoever can afford it proudly reveals their perfect gold teeth.

Selling Cattle
Kashgar, Xinjiang (May 2014)

The Sunday Life Stock Market is the place to be if you are into selling or buying cattle, meeting friends and eating local food or just getting dusty and taking interesting pictures.

Playing kids
Siem Reap, Cambodia (August 2013)

Away from the hustle and bustle at the Temples of Angkor these kids keep themselves busy building their own miniature temples out of mud.

Weaving scarfs
Mondulkiri, Cambodia (August 2013)

In this remote village an elderly lady spends her days in front of her house, weaving scarfs which will then be sold to as passing visitor or at the region’s market.

Invitation for tea
Bagan, Myanmar (June 2012)

Strolling through a somewhat remote temple complex this monk welcomed us and led us to his room. He invited us for tea and even so we were unable to speak a single word in the same language we had a very lovely conversation.

Family at Home
Bagan, Myanmar (June 2012)

After posing for the family portrait the kids showed us around their house and a small hidden temple and proudly pointed out that the fruits on their mango tree were delicious to eat.

Kite Runners
Pyay, Myanmar (June 2012)

School Class Excursion
Bangkok, Thailand (March 2012)

Shop Owner
Bangkok, Thailand (March 2012)

Our starting point was the city of Kashgar. It tells you a great deal on what to expect if you read that it is geographically closer to Teheran or Moscow than to Beijing; and even more if I add that I feel it is not only geographically! The largest ethnic group are the Uighurs, very friendly people who love to wear colourful silk dresses and hats in different shapes, who eat lamb – or rather sheep – as often as possible (as kebab, with noodles, with rice, with nan, as soup, the knuckles, the head, the liver and what other part you may think of…) and who as devoted Muslims have built mosques at almost every corner of a street.

All these characteristics are not normally associated with China and made this trip very special and so different from my previous adventures in China. Get a first impression (“it’s all about people”) with below pictures and then let’s go “wild west” in the second part.

Muslim Life

Yurt – Kyrgyz Style

Street Life

Bazaar