Taungbyone Festival, Myanmar

In Myanmar, the daily challenges are many for a ferries wheels engine and brakeman. At the end of a long day's work, he might have collected two US dollars and admiration from local girls, who might help him to spend it. #gerhardjoren #ferrieswheel #taungbyone #natfestival #mandalay #myanmar

Dala District, Yangoon, Myanmar

A man is collecting water from a pond during the early morning.

Taungbyone festival, Myanmar

A woman on her way to attend the annual, spiritual Taungbyone festival, (Nat festival), near Mandalay, Myanmar

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

People often ask me if I have a favorite photo of mine. For the same reasons they ask me about my favorite country or food, to which I say none, since I don't have any, there is a life up for grab by your own imagination or mood never mind where you are, but for some unknown reason I do reflect on this image, taken on my birthday 32 years ago, while my journalist friend Kari Ahlberg was feeling less good due to some local flavors and the Vietnamese driver and our Cambodian translator had different opinions on most topics, so I wandered around alone. The girl has been in my thoughts many times since, with a hope that she has had had a beautiful life, far away from poverty or any kind of violence which had been inflicted on Cambodia for many generations... On the next day the Vietnamese tanks rolled out from the city just a hundred meters away from this location after a ten year liberation/occupation... Memories from Phnom Penh and her confident posture are still fresh, maybe I should give her a name, like Chhaiya... which means beautiful light.

Novice monks, Shwedagon Pagoda, Yangon, Myanmar

Novice monks climb the Shwedagon Pagoda, Yangon, Myanmar

Balloons, Bagan, Myanmar

Morning preparation for takeoff with hot air balloons over the temples in Bagan. The trip normally lasts 45 minutes.

Balloons, Bagan Temples, Myanmar

Early morning takeoff with hot air balloons over the temples in Bagan. The trip normally lasts 45 minutes.

East Timor

Early morning mist on a hill south of Dili, the capital.

Goat herder, near Manatuto, East Timor

A woman carries firewood back home while herding goats over a bridge.

Same, East Timor

A deer hunter with his dog, waits for his prey on a hill near Same, south of the capital Dili, East Timor

Same, East Timor

A farmer next to a graveyard along the road near Same, south of the capital Dili, East Timor

Fisherman, Dili, East Timor

A fisherman loads his harpoon near the capital Dili.

East Timor

A dramatic view of a traditional mountain home lost among the clouds that cover the surrounding jungle, 25 km south of the capital Dili.

Qingdao, China

People resting at a harbor walk, in central Qingdao, China

Hotel, Macau

Fake guards with fake guns at a tourist hotel in central Macau.

Businessman, Central, Hong Kong

Hong Kong businessman

Madonna of the Dew, El Rocio, Huelva, Spain

Who needs war, when you could fight for a blessing by “Madonna of the Dew” an 780-year-old virgin (La Virgen del Rocio). Social distancing was not a topic back then when men from different brotherhoods used their muscles trying to bring the virgin statue to their shrine to have it blessed. Religions appear in many different shapes, colors, and madness, but few beat this one. El Rocio, Huelva, Spain #gerhardjoren #elrocio #MadonnaoftheDew #LaVirgendelRocio #huelva #Spain

Poppyfield, Nong Het Village, Laos

Poppy fields forever...Just go to the hospital it has the most beautiful field in the village, a local told Kari Ahlberg and I, after a six-hour ride on an over-crowed barely functional bus from Phonsavan to Nong Het just 13km from the Vietnamese border. In those days no restaurant or guesthouse, still we managed to stuff ourselves than watched a James Bond movie in a small crowded hut and caught a few hours sleep despite a freezing cold night at the bus driver’s house, to which I must admit I never been as close to Kari sharing a tiny bed, both fully dressed shivering, then an early morning visit to different poppy fields documenting the harvest before returning on the same bus back with half of the passengers carrying their poppy harvest in a tiny plastic bag to sell to buyers in the next town... #poppy #poppyfield #Laos #NongHetVillage #gerhardjoren

Ovamboland, Namibia

Namibia, two girls walk towards an afternoon market, in Ovamboland. The photo was later used as a cover for Henning Mankells’s book “Eldens Hemlighet” (Secrets in the Fire) #Namibia, #Ovamboland, #Silhouette

Fish market, Egypt

A small fish market near Cairo, Egypt

Merchants arrive at The Great Pyramid of Giza, Giza Governorate, Egypt

Merchants arrive in the early morning at The Great Pyramid of Giza, which is bordering the Greater Cairo, Giza Governorate, Egypt

Transkei

Sheepherding early morning in a village just outside Mthatha (Umtata), Transkei

The Badshahi Mosque, Lahore, Pakistan

A silhouette of a man standing in front of The Badshahi Mosque (Punjabi: بادشاہی مسجد, lit. 'The Royal Mosque) is a Mughal-era congregational mosque in Lahore, capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan

14th Dalai Lama residence, Mcleod Ganj, Namgyal Monastery. Dharamsala, India

A young woman who had been waiting for many hours to be blessed by the 14th Dalai Lama.

Snake show, Dali, Yunnan Province, China

A burlesque snake show at a market fair in Dali, Yunnan Province, China.

Amusement park, Shenzhen, China

For some reasons unknown to me, married couples like to be photographed with doves... here is a bride at an amusement park, Shenzhen, China

Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet

The Potala Palace is a dzong fortress in the city of Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It was the winter palace of the Dalai Lamas from 1649 to 1959, has been a museum since then, and has been a World Heritage Site since 1994. Wikipedia

Battambang- Phnom Penh train, Cambodia

A blind man with his dogs sits at the back of the train.

Mysore, India

An elderly woman is having a sneak peek at some men performing a ritual at a temple.

Battambang-Phnom Penh Train, Cambodia

Battambang-Phnom Penh Train, which could take 10 hours along bumpy tracks.