Behind the lens: Indochine with the Paxtons.
Michael Paxton, a passionate photographer, recently retired after years in the advertising business. With his newfound freedom, he and his wife, Pilar, decided to flex their travel muscles and see the world—their way.
“For years, we’ve received the R. Crusoe mailings and travel journals,” explains Michael, “and we always save them to use as escapist fantasy literature.”
Finally, the fantasy became reality. The Paxtons chose a journey to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Myanmar with Crusoe.
They took the journey alone, just the two of them and their guides. “Incredible,” says Michael. “We were treated like royalty. The arrangements were complex, but R. Crusoe smoothed the way.”
They met interesting people along the way. Michael was especially moved by a discussion R. Crusoe had arranged between the Paxtons and a journalist who’d been reporting from Phnom Penh for 20 years. “He’d seen firsthand the turmoil created by the Khmer Rouge. That was a very compelling conversation,” says Michael.
“With Indochina, and then Peru [where they subsequently traveled with us], our dreams came true. Crusoe’s guides have a knack for getting to understand exactly what your interests are. Mine is photography. In Indochina, there was no unnecessary, ‘You must stay here and listen to a talk about the palace.’ Instead, our guides took us places where I could get great pictures. For example, we went to two weddings, one in Hanoi and the other in Bagan [Myanmar]. Our guides arranged it with local people. I never could have gotten the pictures I did, otherwise. I owe them for every good picture I captured.”
At Inle Lake, in Myanmar, a similar thing happened. The guide suggested getting up at dawn to witness the local monks’ morning ritual, camera in hand.
“Our guide woke me up at six a.m., which meant he’d had to get up at five. I got a photo of the monks walking single file through the smoke of breakfast fires. They were out collecting alms and food. Like other R. Crusoe guides we’ve known, he went the extra mile for us.”
The Paxtons are taking a brief hiatus at home before their next jaunt with Crusoe.
Michael’s thinking India...
(Michael's photos are on display at the Bernardsville Public Library from 4 Jan - 29 Jan 2010)