Every Friday for two years I've been posting one of my favourite travel photos from around the world. If you've missed a few or are just looking for some inspiration for your next trip, feel free to check them out!
Stepping inside the grounds of the Grand Palace in Phnom Penh is a strange, almost surreal experience compared to the rest of the city.
The statues lining the road to Angkor Thom were fascinating, but to be honest I was more interested in jumping in the river behind them...
Wandering along the main road in Ubud there were several things that posed a danger for the unwary tourist, but none more so than the yetis.
Waking up early one morning on Koh Yao Noi to the usual symphony of wildlife outside my window, I pulled back the curtain to see ... this.
I don't remember much of my first few days in Alicante, but apparently I did do at least some sightseeing - including this great Roman aqueduct.
It's several signs, in fact, inside this beachside bar in Nai Yang. Build it and they will come, apparently.
A large pile of bleached driftwood stretching off into the distance was the highlight of this windswept beach on Vancouver Island.
What a difference half an hour made to the views in Bali...
Originally home to Australia’s most infamous penal colony, Tasmania's Port Arthur now attracts much more willing visitors.
There were plenty of punts on the river in Cambridge this fine summer's day but not a single punter to be found. Yes, I'm sorry for the terrible pun.
In a city as obsessed with bicycles as Amsterdam, it wasn't a surprise to find that someone remembered that they need to keep cosy too...
We could put it off no longer. It was just before 8am, we were about to leave Chiang Dao, and it was bloody freezing.
On a day trip from Zurich to Appenzell a straight piece of road seemed near impossible to find as our coach wound slowly through the hills.
Not much happens in a hurry on Don Khon. Even the fish couldn't be bothered showing up - they were probably having a nap like everybody else.
Lake Ohau in New Zealand's South Island is a temperamental body of water. Luckily this day was one of the calm ones, I guess.
Breakfast with the orangutans was the highlight of a day at the Singapore Zoo, though I'm not sure who was watching who as we all stuffed down bananas.
This washed out, grainy photo is the first picture I took when I started my travels nearly 14 years ago. Yes, I'm that old.
Of all the things I love about Amsterdam I think it's the canals that grab me the most. Or is it the weather?
Walking along a deserted beach on Vancouver Island I spotted hundreds of shellfish clinging to every available spot on an overhanging rock.
Seeing these fingers of sunlight poking through the clouds near Chau Doc in Vietnam made the trip up Sam "mountain" more than worthwhile.
Climbing three steep layers of weathered steps to the top of Pre Rup in the afternoon heat to get this view? Totally worth it.
Sydney has plenty of icons. Beaches, the harbour, a big bridge and a very distinctive opera house. You'd never mistake where you were in the world, that's for sure.
Checking out the view from the hills surrounding Pai in northern Thailand, this dirt track trailed steeply off into the distance.
Beauty, burners and not enough sleep at the 2011 Thailand International Balloon Festival in Chiang Mai.
I'm trying something a bit different with the Friday photo this week - a panoramic view of the north-western city walls in my current home of Chiang Mai.
When in doubt, just lean a wagon wheel up against the fence. Problem solved.
The giant fir trees in Vancouver Island's Cathedral Grove are not the only highlights. There are also disgusting looking mushrooms, for instance.
For me there's one thing that sums up Melbourne at least as well as the traditional icons. Not trams, coffee or the MCG. Nope, it's street art.
Near the top of Bangkok's Golden Mountain stand these large weather-stained bells. The sound they made could be heard up and down the entire hill...
One of the things I loved about Washington DC was how easy it was to get away from the frenzy of the city into a little slice of tranquillity.
Is it just me, or does this huge piece of public art in Vancouver's Olympic Village kinda freak you out as well?
Remnants of the old protective walls line the moat that forms a square around Chiang Mai's Old City. I can't wait to move back there next month...
In the interests of photographic integrity I present a new and exciting option: the Space Needle - from below. Don't forget, you saw it here first...
So this is summer in San Francisco? I think I'll take ... well ... any other option, thanks.
You can tell it’s been a while since I was last sitting on a beach with the sand between my toes. Is it any wonder that I start to dream?
I remember standing at that little viewpoint with the sun on my back and a smile on my face, looking at an idyllic scene from the little country I called home.
I absolutely loved my time in Copenhagen, and this picture always takes me straight back there...
I love taking road trips in Australia. They really serve to remind you just how bloody enormous this country actually is...
Continuing my tradition of great wildlife shots taken by somebody else, this week's shot is of Simba the Lion. Perhaps.
Continuing on with my theme of abysmal puns in Friday photos I present this picture of a large chunk of limestone somewhere near Phuket.
Cheetah reach speeds of over 100km/h as they hunt down their prey. That doesn't help much, of course, when you don't know which way it went...
Tasmania's Cradle Mountain features in every tourist brochure, and with good reason.
This slippery pier overlooks Lake Rotoroa, in the Nelson Lakes district of New Zealand's South Island. And lots of sandflies.
While enjoying a great cycle tour around some of the many highlights of Vancouver last month, these giant bronze statues caught my eye. Funny that.
I grew up in a country that was just packed with ... nature. Finding somewhere else that felt the same wasn't something that I ever expected to do.
This is the kind of evening commute I reckon I could handle - a fisherman returning home in the last of the setting sun in Tofino on Vancouver Island.
I'm just going to put it out there, I love Vancouver Island. The scenery, the views, the atmosphere ... it's just a beautiful part of the world.
Walking up the path towards the holocaust memorial wall in Portland I noticed a few items strewn around in my way...
Because, you know, apparently when you're a seagull in the Whitsunday Islands in Australia it's just too much effort to fly.Catching a lift on the dinghy behind a yacht, however? It would seem that's a much better idea.
I'm not a winter person - I'll take sunshine over snowfields any day. Something like this little island in the Philippines would do nicely right now.
The lighthouse at Cape Reinga, at the top of New Zealand's North Island, marks one beautiful end of a beautiful country.
An unexpected highlight of a bike trip to Versailles was the immaculately sculpted gardens surrounding the main buildings. They were simply stunning.
Be careful when you're walking around the Boston Public Garden. You might just get run down by a family of ducks...
As the light disappeared over Halong Bay I snapped a few last photos, including this one of a Buddhist temple perched high on a rocky outcrop in the middle of the bay
If there is a greater monument to the futility of war than this gravesite and the surrounding battlefields in Belgium, I haven't found it yet.
I typically don't really care too much about the time when I'm travelling unless I've got a plane to catch or am meeting someone for a beer. Still, it's good to know that if you're ever wandering around Wat Phnom in Cambodia's capital city, finding your watch will be the least of your concerns...
I'm not one to celebrate war at all, but regardless Iwo Jima is one hell of an impressive piece of art.
I was getting a bit lost when trying to find the Eiffel Tower while in Paris last year, so I flagged down this dude on a flying horse to ask which way I should go. He soon pointed me in the right direction.
Sometimes in life, the simplest pleasures really are the best.
Hue is one of those places that doesn't seem to have much going for it. Well, other than the bloody great Imperial Palace in the middle of the city.
Look closely at the picture above Do you notice anything ... well ... missing? Like, say for example, most of the apostles?
With Blog4NZ coming up soon it seemed only appropriate to feature a photo from close to my devastated home town of Christchurch. Looking over Banks Peninsula towards the historic little town of Akaroa, this shot was taken from just beside the Hilltop Tavern - the perfect place to stop for a quiet beer enroute from Christchurch.
The most sobering day of my six months on the road last year was undoubtedly my time in the Killing Fields and at the Genocide Museum in the Cambodian capital of Phonm Penh.
The photos you normally see of the area around Wineglass Bay in Tasmania look like something out of a tourist brochure. Often, in fact, they are something out of a tourist brochure. Blue skies, white sand, clear water, the lot. Not on the day I was there, however.
Mistaking the native marsupial quokka for a large rat, a Dutch sea captain named this small island off the coast of Western Australia 'Rattenest' back in the 17th century. Modern day Rottnest Island is a gorgeous place with no cars, great weather and a chilled out vibe. And not a rat in sight.
Watching cheetah hunt in the wild is a totally incredible experience.
Running into this guy taking his water buffalo for a walk was a highlight of an impromptu bike tour on the outskirts of Hoi An.
Pictures of the Grand Canyon just hadn't prepared me for this mind-blowing, monumental hole in the ground.
One of the things that never fails to amuse me about living in Australia is the highly imaginative place names. The Blue Lake is one of them.
This little fishing boat on the edge of the moat surrounding the temples of Angkor Wat was in a similar state of repair to the buildings themselves.
When a rhino wants to cross the road in front of you, you don't ask too many questions...
This curious little guy was hanging out in a tree in Penang's Botanic Gardens.
Gorgeous view out over the fields, towards the hazy hills in the distance.
Deep fried crickets, crowds of line dancers and a well dressed sheep. What more could you ask for?
Gazing at views like this for five days wasn’t the worst time I’ve had in my life.
I have a feeling this boat isn’t about to make a quick getaway anytime soon…
A lone fisherman casting his net in the fading light as he slowly drifted along the shoreline.
Ypres is a beautiful little town in Belgium, with flowing canals, medieval cathedrals and old city walls. Except it isn't.
Walking in the Cradle Mountain national park in central Tasmania.
Checking out the skulls in the famous Paris catacombs.
Amsterdam is a beautiful city all through the year, but when the sun is shining the place just sparkles.
The island of Ithaca off the west coast of the Greek mainland is one of my favourite places in the world.
The medieval city gates of Torres de Serranos loom over Valencia’s old town.
These kayakers didn’t seem to mind the cold as they glided underneath the bridge I was standing on.
View over the water back towards the Perth central business district.
The Tad Fan waterfall in Southern Laos is believed to be one of the tallest in the country.
Farming methods and technology haven’t changed much here in a long time…
In between checking out the sights, sounds and smells of the street, I took a minute to look up.
If you’re a Tomb Raider fan, Ta Prohm is the one temple in the Angkor complex that you just can’t miss.
There wasn’t much more than driftwood and footprints on this beach on the Coromandel peninsula.
Out the back of the Cantonese Assembly Hall in Hoi An, Vietnam.
You’d never believe that this beautiful spot is only a few miles from downtown Washington DC.
Juxtaposition of the old and the new on Boylston St in Boston.
This gorgeous little village sits at the end of a small peninsula on the island of Kefalonia.
Colourful fishing boats on the river, looking towards the Old Town in Hoi An.
Coastal Redwoods in the Redwood National and State Parks, northern California.
The Roman arena in Pula, Croatia, lit up at night for all to see.
Sunrise through the branches in Phinda game reserve, northern South Africa.
Sunset from the back of a yacht in Butterfly Bay, Hook Island.
View of the Space Needle from Volunteer Park in Seattle, Washington.
Taken in the Catlins area at the bottom of the South Island of New Zealand.
I'm Dave Dean, and I've been backpacking, wandering the world and living the travel dream for well over a decade.
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