WithMarco.com - A photo documentary by Marco Silvestri

Asia

Some of my old reportages about Asia : following the step of Marco Polo i've always felt a "call" from the orient. To us europeans Asia always meant a mysterious continent where strange and often unknown civilizations waited to be discovered. At first it's indeed a weird place and that's exactly part of it's charme but the more you know Asia the more you will discover what's really going on and this can easily take a few decades if you're really into Asia or if you're an "orientalist". But don't worry, the modern side of Asia is changing so fast many cities resemble nowadays a bad copy of America or Australia and the westernization of food, fashion, music, design, and lifestyle is almost scary compared to my first oriental travel just a few years ago. Where is Asia going is the million dollar question, the more i live here the more i spot details that make me rethink my previous assumptions and conclude that if anything is gonna change it will be in a typical and fashionable oriental way, which can be all or nothing as every country and territory here has a strong and ancient culture and personality. Said that, China and Japan are the place to go for a fruitful culture shock and to get a quick idea of the huge differences between East and West.

TIBET 2007 - My journey in the "snowlands" from Beijing up to the Everest Base
Camp passing thru deserts, ghost towns, monasteries, yaks, and dreaming about
Shang-Ri-La.

BEIJING 2004 - Quite a different city from today's bustling capital but in these pictures you can see what it was like before the bulldozing of many historical
areas nearby Tian An Men square.

HONG KONG 2004 - My second home in Asia, i will guide you on foot thru the major locations and hot spots this city has to offer.

TOKYO 2005 - Mainly focused on Akihabara this reportage covers all the major districts of central metropolitan Tokyo, my nr.1 recommended destination in Asia.

SHANGHAI 2005 - The impressive economic capital of China as it looked a few years ago.

TIBET 2007 - Portraits of urban tibetans from Lhasa, monks in the major monasteries, and rural people living in ghost towns.

CHENGDU 2005 - World famous for the Panda Reproduction Center, the tea houses and its booming high-tech economy.

SINGAPORE 2005 - The "Switzerland of Asia" is not just a banking and shopping paradise, there's much more if you've an eye for the details.

TAIPEI 2005 - The IT mecca of Taipei can be also a very interesting place if you're into chinese culture.

MACAU 2004 - The only portuguese city in East Asia, now world famous for having overthrown Las Vegas as the world's gambling queen.

Europe

Europe rightfully retains the crown of the world's leading tourist destination. Nowhere else there is such a concentration of art, culture, history, languages, traditions, all easily reachable in a few hours of train. The beauty of Europe lies often in the details, and it's not uncommon the most rewarding destinations are small villages or old towns away from the metropolis. As the heart of the Western civilization missing Europe means you're no idea what the West really is so at the very least you should do the typical tourist trail (London, Paris, Venice, Florence, etc) but as Europe has such a strong personality to really understand it you must travel in every country especially the small ones. Unfortunately i don't have many photos about my european travels despite having been in almost every european country but i hope the few i have in store can give you inspiration anyway.

LJUBLJANA 2005 - Quite underestimated, a great place if
you love the old Mitteleuropa.

DUBROVNIK 2005 - The old
"pearl of the Adriatic" is still a jewel and should not be missed.

SARAJEVO 2005 - A gorgeous city surrounded by fiery mountains with plenty of history and a unique
cultural and ethnic mix.

sasasa
BELGRADE 2005 - Surrounded by
the Sava and the Danube rivers it's
a city with plenty of history and
focused on the future despite the
turmoils of the '90s. it

Oceania

At the time of writing i only visited Australia a few years ago so i can't give a fair opinion of Oceania as a whole. Australia was quite worth the trip especially coming after months of traveling in the deep of China it was a welcome "culture shock" compared to the Orient. It might be a young country but it's already well on track to become a modern and powerful place. There are immense spaces between the few big cities and as a european it will take some time to adjust seeing green fields with nothing and nobody outside the window of your bus for hours and hours. The cities i've visited on the other side are pretty modern and clean with plenty of life by day and by night. And finally, the aussies are probably the happiest and friendlier among the western country i've been so far.

SYDNEY 2005 - The biggest and most famous western capital in Asia-Pacific. Coming from China in full winter it was quite a shock to switch
to the heat of New South Wales. It's a cozy metropolis offering both
modern and colonial attractions along with the world's famous
Bondi Beach and Manly Beach.

MELBOURNE 2005 - Australia's second biggest city is world famous for the F1 grand prix and St.Kilda Beach but the rest of city should not be missed offering plenty of green parks, a modern downtown, and a cozy nightlife.

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