On The Iron Rails of the Orient

From a disappearing train line to the highest train ride in the world, this collection of pictorial essays charts a photographer's explorations, often off the beaten tourist track, across four Asian territories. The first journey takes place in Thailand, one of Asia's most vibrant "tiger economies," with subsequent ones through Cambodia and Vietnam, a region that has only recently opened itself up to the realities and possibilities of the 21st century after decades of civil strife. A trip aboard the new train service from Beijing to Lhasa, breathtaking at 5,000 meters above sea level, dominates the final leg of the journey. Set against milieus as diverse as the bustle of cosmopolitan Bangkok through to the serenity of bucolic Battambang in Cambodia, each lovingly taken shot of life on and off the iron rails by Kris LeBoutilier captures the essence of the living cultures and faiths that make up the rich tapestry that is both the real and imagined Orient. On the Iron Rails of the Orient is not just a travelogue, but a deeply personal account of the realities of living in a region that is flourishing in newly found prosperity, but at the same time, trying to come to grips with a turbulent history. Seen through the photographic lens, these four train journeys through Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Tibet capture the pulse of the Orient in the 21st century. And as this collection of pictures shows, it is a reality characterized by the frenetic and the slow, the awe-inspiring and the crushingly dull, opulent excess and grinding poverty.