My time in Seoul has been far more hospitable thanks to the assistance of a family friend, Ellen, who teaches English here. I am extremely grateful that we met in this distant land. It is one thing to have a local guide to show you around and another thing entirely to have someone from your own culture who really understands your motivations for travel. It isn’t simply that we communicate well, though we do—she also gets my travelling style in a way that most people wouldn’t, not without a great deal of explanation.

Here is a collection of various photos I shot in and around Seoul. Most of these images were captured in the Seoul underground or Jongno-gu alleyways.

Seoul is a fantastic change of scenery after the many challenges of Thailand. My experience here in South Korea has been fantastic from the very moment I stepped off the plane. The airport is extremely well-organized and connected to downtown Seoul by rail. I spent all of $3 to get downtown and transferred to the appropriate subway line to reach my hostel without mishap.

This gallery contains more shots from in and around Bangkok, this time with a focus on patterns, texture, grit, grime, decay, terror, and the sublime beauty that haunts the streets of this chaotic metropolis.

More photos from in and around Bangkok, this time focusing on transportation and commerce.

Gathered here are several more of the many photos I shot in and around Bangkok during my two months in Thailand in 2012.

There are many interesting temples to explore on the island of Koh Phangan. This gallery features several photos I captured at various sites around the island.

After the seething chaos of Bangkok I travelled south to spend a few days relaxing in Ao Nang, a small town in the province of Krabi, Thailand. I had expected to find tranquil paradise by the beach based on what I read online, particularly down around Railay, which is only accessible by longboat, but everywhere I went was massively crowded and overdeveloped. Still, I managed to take some good photos of the natural beauty of Krabi, as well as a handful of cool temples and shrines, pictured below.

The following post is an edited version of a series of letters I sent home to friends and family in Canada while visiting Hong Kong in January 2012. They are presented here as a series of disjointed vignettes that range from the mundane to the profound.

I have arrived in Hong Kong, setting foot in Asia for the first time in my life. I am now safely ensconced in the lovely little flat in the heart of Mong Kok I rented via Airbnb. It is a nice enough place, not too expensive, and seemingly authentic, though I wouldn’t know the difference. There is no lift in the building; it is eight flights straight up the open concrete stairwell from the bustling streets with two flats on either side of every floor. Though sparsely furnished my room emanates something of the style of In The Mood For Love, one of my favourite films set in Hong Kong, and I immediately feel strangely, suspiciously at home despite being so far from it.

Collected here are eight of my finest shots from a lamentably brief stay in Hong Kong in January 2012.