https://www.alastairmccready.com/home daily 1.0 2026-04-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69e0b25d794c434555b45040/1776524197848-9QITCWOS36DPCSHNIU6I/IMG_5198.png Home A gambling hall in the Boten Special Economic Zone in northern Laos on the Chinese border. Nikkei Asia, Aug 2023. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69e0b25d794c434555b45040/0b3c795d-84ce-4e48-9393-1488085aec07/IMG_5196.JPG Home A view of Boten SEZ. Nikkei Asia, Aug 2023. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69e0b25d794c434555b45040/2b3fe173-add5-4d66-9acd-17766e501475/Boten-Yunnan+border.JPG Home The Laos-China border gate in Boten SEZ. Nikkei Asia, Aug 2023. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69e0b25d794c434555b45040/490a5df0-4603-43a9-816d-1715f44754b2/GTSEZ+Burmese+gambling+den.JPG Home A gambling den for Burmese workers in the Golden Triangle SEZ in Laos. Nikkei Asia, Sept 2023. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69e0b25d794c434555b45040/141b7109-06cb-41b0-8bb7-a51e7764677e/Boten+animal+parts.JPG Home Illegal wildlife parts sold in Boten SEZ. Nikkei Asia, Aug 2023. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69e0b25d794c434555b45040/a2efba0a-c19c-42d0-94cb-05b3918a53e6/DSC_0663.JPG Home A road in Arunothai, a community established by KMT soldiers and their families in northern Thailand. Al Jazeera, April 2024. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69e0b25d794c434555b45040/11a5c396-ceaf-4981-92f1-6399bb6509dd/DSC_0530.JPG Home A man fishes in Arunothai, northern Thailand, a village established by Kuomintang (KMT) soldiers who fled China following the civil war. Myanmar is seen in the background. Al Jazeera, April 2024. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69e0b25d794c434555b45040/bb751aec-28f8-4892-9d69-f8c854458fd2/DSC_0744-scaled.jpg Home A police officer buys food during a COVID-19 lockdown in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Southeast Asia Globe, April 2021. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69e0b25d794c434555b45040/56d37045-58e4-4abf-888a-77e8f8f3e817/North+Korea+1.JPG Home North Koreans prepare for Liberation Day at the Juche Monument in Pyongyang. The World Weekly, Aug 2015. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69e0b25d794c434555b45040/f650cd34-88d5-4dce-ae3f-99e69d3dc386/North+Korea+2.JPG Home North Koreans celebrate Liberation Day, marking the end of Japanese colonial rule, in Pyongyang's Kim il-Sung Square. The World Weekly, Aug 2015. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69e0b25d794c434555b45040/16aa74cb-70c9-4cda-97c7-b17f70b9aaa3/North+Korea+4.JPG Home North Koreans play volleyball in Pyongyang's Kim il-Sung Square. The World Weekly, Aug 2015. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69e0b25d794c434555b45040/469dce13-53a2-400b-9b2b-21e0a73dc4bc/DSC_0823-scaled.jpg Home Pedlo drivers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, during a COVID-19 lockdown. Southeast Asia Globe, April 2021. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69e0b25d794c434555b45040/5cda30c7-39d9-4469-b13e-143ec4bc726e/IMG_6455.JPG Home Cambodian breakdancers. Southeast Asia Globe, Dec 2019. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69e0b25d794c434555b45040/42f75eb8-2c52-448f-8bb7-b93c57804bf8/IMG_5608.JPG Home A Kun Khmer (Cambodian kick boxing) fight in Phnom Penh. The Phnom Penh Post, July 2019. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69e0b25d794c434555b45040/51b4294d-8ffd-42f4-8fb4-4015a66410c1/Cambodia+photo.jpg Home Forest rangers and gendarmes search for illegal loggers in southern Cambodia. Southeast Asia Globe, June 2022. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69e0b25d794c434555b45040/f51f7244-8c3f-4d12-a478-1cc936f5b748/Cambodia+2.jpg Home A forest ranger searches for illegal loggers in southern Cambodia. Southeast Asia Globe, June 2022. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69e0b25d794c434555b45040/4938213a-8b11-4247-968e-1ea5673f603f/Angkor+wat.jpg Home Guards at Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia, amid drastically reduced crowds during the COVID-19 lockdown. Southeast Asia Globe, May 2020. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69e0b25d794c434555b45040/146b1a16-bb18-43bc-abbf-b394ba3b538e/DSC_0156.JPG Home A woman from the Akha ethnic group in her home in northern Thailand. Self-published, April 2024. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69e0b25d794c434555b45040/b382daa4-f915-4265-b324-dd2370e8758d/Scams+.webp Home A shop sign advertising stablecoin USDT in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. VICE World News, July 2022. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69e0b25d794c434555b45040/4495d6e4-97b5-4276-aa81-9689ec8a227f/Scam+2.webp Home An anonymised photo with the founder of a human trafficking NGO in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. VICE World News, July 2022. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69e0b25d794c434555b45040/e5e44a4e-bb1f-44b5-9dc8-16046a2b0929/DSC_1436.JPG Home A woman at a religious festival in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The Phnom Penh Post, April 2019. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69e0b25d794c434555b45040/e2af90a2-1d75-4b92-82a7-59d2f42bcb89/Mist+rises+over+the+Huanya+Smart+City+Project.+July+1%2C+2023.jpeg Home Mist rises over the Huanya Smart City Project, a known scam compound on the Thai-Myanmar border. The South China Morning Post, July 2023. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69e0b25d794c434555b45040/7b15974b-e2b4-4e59-a3e5-2ce29905f8f8/Yaba+user.JPG Home A patient at one of Laos' few privately-run drug rehabilitation centres near Vientiane. Al Jazeera, August 2023. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69e0b25d794c434555b45040/9f789239-e971-4edf-8234-dc1aa387244f/The+Patuxai+monument+in+Vientiane.jpeg Home The Patuxai monument in Vientiane. The BBC, Aug 2023. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69e0b25d794c434555b45040/90e2dca8-0118-4172-b45a-331ef12d737c/EDSC_0132.JPG Home A Vietnamese community leader in London, England, shows the photo of a man he saved from a human trafficking ring. Radio Free Asia, Sept 2024. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69e0b25d794c434555b45040/47cf2ebe-67fd-4cb6-85e0-021abe61ba6a/DSC_0993.JPG Home Cambodian military personnel, holding a photo of King Norodom Sihanouk, mark Independence Day in Phnom Penh. The Phnom Penh Post, Nov 2020. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69e0b25d794c434555b45040/0c5ba7fe-0cdc-42d1-ac2a-ac1f266406ab/IMG_4936.JPG Home A man fishes in the Moroccan town of Fnideq, on the border with the Spanish exclave of Ceuta. Euronews, Sept 2018. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69e0b25d794c434555b45040/eb62c7cb-a269-4868-a943-b136a6d91e4f/DSC_0008.JPG Home Neon signs in Taipei, Taiwan. Self-published, July 2025. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69e0b25d794c434555b45040/b31b54fe-054f-49b3-bc0e-2d115a4aa378/KMT+1.jpg Home Pauronee, the daughter of KMT General Lee, at her father’s former military base in the mountains of northern Thailand. Al Jazeera, April 2024. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69e0b25d794c434555b45040/e62c3aa1-9100-4e29-ae40-d763978d664a/DSC_0942.JPG Home Jahow Chang, the son of a former KMT soldier who fled to northern Thailand following the Chinese civil war, has opened a cafe celebrating his 95-year-old father’s legacy. Al Jazeera, April 2024. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69e0b25d794c434555b45040/41a634bc-e636-49c3-9702-df157a1b4277/Xi+Jinping.JPG Home ‘Xi Jinping Thought’ for sale at a new Chinese-funded school in a KMT village in northern Thailand. Al Jazeera, April 2024. https://www.alastairmccready.com/about-me daily 0.75 2026-04-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69e0b25d794c434555b45040/827d42ac-62f8-4cb9-a0bd-2e67d5375e5e/5313f325-b19b-451c-ae5b-640e2aae0d15.JPG