Introduction

May 2003


Sawasdee, Sok sobai !

There's a couple of reasons why I took this trip.
First and foremost because I could, I should, and - not really coincidentally - I simply had the opportunity... Throughout my life I always had a somewhat inexplicable and mysterious bond with southeast-Asia, and I reckoned this would be a good chance to put my feelings to the test. Secondly because I had a really lousy year behind me, and I had to somewhat re-orientate in life and get my priorities fixed - a sabbatical so to speak. Finally because lately my career as an artist is heading more towards photography (as opposed to multimedia design), and the light in SE-Asia is downright fabulous -- golden photo opportunities were surely awaiting me !

When I left in early March, I didn't really have a plan or schedule. The only certainties were my arrival and departure in Bangkok, and from there on I was going to improvise along the way. Carpe diem, go with the flow, and that kind of stuff... Vague ideas about visiting Thailand, then Cambodia, Saigon and up north through Vietnam, then backtrailing through Laos and northern Thailand were in my mind, but I might as well have ended up in Malaysia. None of that happened, because I kinda got "stuck" in Cambodia for most of the time, so Vietnam and Laos have to wait for the next visit, which no doubt will happen soon.

At the very last moment - almost minutes before I left - I decided to "go completely digital", instead of just taking my Hasselblad XPan camera with me. In retrospective I have to say that I don't regret that decision for one second. There were a lot of unknown risks and factors (vulnerability, stability, and the hassle of hauling all this expensive & fragile equipment with me), but now I'm convinced I could have never taken the same shots with analogue cameras. Also, the immediate feedback (from people) one gets with a digital camera turned out to be the biggest advantage of it all.
I shot about 3500 pictures during those five weeks, and 2700 of them survived a first pass (checking locally, when downloading to my laptop). That amount would have been a major pain to deal with when I would have gone traditional - if only for all the possible problems a photographer has to face at different airports - and what with the sheer cost of pro-film, development and scanning of 100 rolls of slide film ?
You can read more about the technical stuff in the "Photo Equipment" section.

This diary - although being a rather accurate account of my daily activities - is not meant to be a guide of some sorts, nor does it claim to be a "great or unique achievement". I've met quite a few people along my trail who were travelling for a much more extended period of time, and who had to face far greater challenges and ordeals, or simply had a more adventurous travel experience. To be honest, I'm not even sure why I wanted to put this diary on-line. Perhaps to remind myself someday - given my bad memory - that I had a great and wonderful time, that I met really nice people, and that I ended up in the most incredible situations just because I opened up my mind to whatever was bound to happen. Perhaps because I wanted to simply share my photos and thoughts ? Or perhaps to show my gratitude, and to realise that life - after all - is a great and wonderful thing by itself... But most likely because I wanted to prove for myself that southeast-Asia is a marvellous place to be, the place where I can simply be myself and feel right at home.

Whatever my reason might have been shouldn't hold you back, so please enjoy the diary and the photos ! Feel free to leave a comment in the Guestbook, or contact me via email.

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