12 for '12 - A Year in Travel

Saying goodbye to 2012, probably one of my busiest travel years yet. Here are a few highlights..

I grew up in Michigan and I never thought I say this but when you live in the tropics snow is a thrill. This is just outside of Aksaray, Turkey. (More on Turkey and me, here). I am constantly amazed by the depth and diversity in this country.

No travel required to shoot my hometown of Penang for this story in the New York Times.

For the February issue of Singapore Airlines Silver Kris Magazine I headed up to Chiang Mai for a week of adventure. Chuffed when the shot above was the cover for issue. Hiking and climbing - certainly different than my other work in Chiang Mai.

March had me going in what seemed to be a opposite directions all at once. A trip to Siem Reap with my parents was temporarily sidetracked for an assignment in Vientiane, Lao for the New York Times. They call these stories '36 Hours' and in reality I was there for a little under 48 hours. Thanks to the some advanced planning on my part and that Vientiane is a relatively small, walkable city I was able to get what I needed and join the family for the rest of their holiday.

March /April also had me in the US - LA (twice), New York, Michigan and New Mexico. Some work, some holiday - all interesting to see 'my' country as a tourist.

May took me back to Turkey where I hiked through Kars and rubbed shoulders with sheep herders in Van. Look for articles on these journeys in 2013.

In July I headed off to Mexico City (my first time there) for this story for The New York Times. (Confession time - I rarely eat the props when I'm shooting food, but I ate most of this torta and much of the one behind - much to the chagrin of my hosts). MC was a real eye opener and a must return destination.

Returning to Asia I quickly headed off to Cambodia for a series of stories.

August brought me back to Malaysia but in Kuala Lumpur this time for a story about one of my favorite places in KL - Chow Kit Market. For a guy that digs markets, this was pretty much the dream assignment.

September took me to Koh Samui, Thailand for feature for Travel + Leisure SEA and a food excursion for The Wall Street Journal. (confession #2 - I ate 4 servings to this desert but I swear it was just to make Chef Alex happy).

Then back to Turkey for this journey and this kind of unbelievable hospitality. Throw in stops in Italy for an upcoming article, commercial work and some stuff back home and it's been an interesting, rewarding year. I'm excited for 2013 but I'm also kind of sad to see 2012 go..