Best of 2013

With 2013 almost at a close it is time to look back and reflect on some of the key photographic moments of the year. It was a busy year indeed on the travelling front with 4 major trips to Cambodia, Nepal, Europe and China.

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At the start of the year I was involved in an interesting photo assignment for a property development company who had major investments in Kuala Lumpur and in particular in the Mont' Kiara area. I prepared a portfolio of images of the Mont' Kiara area to highlight all the key facilities such as schools, shopping centres and sporting facilities as well as photographing the properties themselves. This image is a large panoramic view taken from the roof of a property in Mont' Kiara looking over the Kuala Lumpur skyline.

Kuala Lumpur skyline from Mont' Kiara

In February we headed back to Cambodia staying in Siem Reap and this time visiting some of the more remote temples. One of the temples I had always wanted to visit was Preah Vihear which sits right on the border with Thailand in the north and has been in a border disputed area for some time. This magnificent temple sits on top of a large cliff and has a commanding view over north Cambodia and Thailand. More pictures can be seen here.

Preah Vihear, Cambodia

Malaysia has always been known for tin mining and one of the last few tin dredges (TT5) sits close to Tanjong Tualang just south of Ipoh. I made a visit here to capture this incredible piece of machinery. More pictures can be seen here.

Tin Dredge TT5, Tanjong Tualang, Perak

As part of an online video series on photography called "Behind The Lens" by Peter Tan we did one of the video shoots at a favourite lookout point in Damansara Heights overlooking the city of Kuala Lumpur. This is one of the images I captured at this location.

Kuala Lumpur skyline from Damansara Heights

In March it was off to Nepal to trek up the Everest Base Camp Trail from Lukla to as far as Tengboche. After a hair-raising flight from Kathmandu to Lukla it was a 4 day trek up through incredible scenery to Tengboche and then a 3 day trek back down. The views of the Himalayan mountains including Mount Everest as pictured below were just breath taking and worth all the effort of the trek. More photos can be seen here.

Mount Everest from the trail from Namche Bazaar to Tengboche

Kathmandu was a very interesting place to visit and after the trek up to Tengboche we had a few days there to explore. Boudhanath is one of the holiest Buddhist sites, full of interesting sights, sounds and smells as hundreds of worshippers visit and circle around the giant structure. More photos can be seen here.

Boudhanath, Kathmandu

In June we made our annual pilgrimage back to UK and took a visit to the historical city of York for a few days. Clifford's Tower as shown here is part of the York Castle complex. More photos can be seen here.

Clifford's Tower, York

Directly following the trip to UK we headed off to Italy and embarked on a 12 day Mediterranean cruise from Venice, covering Split and Dubrovnik (Croatia), Corfu (Greece), Naples, Civitavecchia, and Livorno (Italy), Monte Carlo (Monaco), Marseille (France)  and finishing in Barcelona (Spain). This was really a wonderful trip and the quality of the cruise could not be criticised. The view below is taken as we left Venice. More pictures can be seen here.

Venice taken from the deck of the ms Nieuw Amsterdam on the Grand Canal

Our good friends Paul and Lindsey left KL for Dubai in July so they hosted a great party with a Black & White theme. She asked me to do the photography so naturally this was done in black & white. 

Paul & Lindsey's "Black & White" Party

In August we returned to Ipoh for a weekend to stay at our favourite spot, Indulgence Restaurant & Living managed and run by the great chef, Julie Song. The food was as ever wonderful and the rooms in the small boutique hotel very comfortable. More photos can be seen here.

Indulgence Restaurant & Living, Ipoh

September was a time to celebrate my wife's birthday and as usual she likes to record this in a photograph taken at home as we toasted here a Happy Birthday.

Happy Birthday Suit Yoo

In October we went on a 12 day tour of China flying to Chengdu then on up to Juzhaigou for a few days. We then flew back to Chengdu and spent a few days in that area, flew to Guilin and completed the trip by taking a cruise from Guilin down to Hangshuo. The scenery, particularly in Juizhaigou was incredible with all the autumn colours of the trees and contrasted by the magnificent clear waters of the lakes. More photos can be seen here. 

Long Lake, Jiuzhaigou, China