Nice little surprise – in their recent Sunday edition the Guardian Observer published my photo of the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto! The image was taken during my trip through China and Japan in December 2016.

A fine reward for the effort it took to actually get the shot in first place. The Kinkaku-ji was rammed with people this particular afternoon, most likely because it was a mild, sunny and calm winters day.

There is is this one vantage point from where you get to see the whole beauty of the pavilion and the reflections of the entire scene in the calm waters – and on this day hundreds and hundreds of people where  there to witness one of the most iconic pictures of Japan with their own eyes.

But here it’s an advantage to be small – at least once in life! You can squeeze your way through the crowds easily, and so I made my way to the front and was able to fend of the masses for a couple of minutes to take this photo – which is one of my favourites of the entire trip – yet it doesn’t do the place justice. It’s SO beautiful.