Panos photographer Chris Stowers left the UK in 1987 with a one-way ticket to Karachi. He has lived and worked in Asia ever since

In 1988, after meeting a group of French adventurers on a remote Indonesia island, he embarked on a month-long sea voyage to Singapore aboard a Bugis spice ship called “Kurnia Ilahi” (or God Bless). He documented his trip on colour slide film and this became his first ever published photo story – and the beginning of his career as a photographer.

This adventure is now retold in Chris’ debut book – Bugis Nights.

To pre-order your copy, please click here for a link to Amazon.

“This travel book reads like the mother of all backpackers’ tall tales. Photojournalist Chris Stowers returns to the raw, lived feel of those glorious days of falling off the map in Asia … the story races ahead like a high-octane road novel.” – TAIPEI TIMES

“Bugis Nights tracks a dramatic journey by photographer Chris Stowers – each risky step, ride, and voyage. You can almost say he’s seen it all. Then he survived to write this book for us.” -Ralph Jennings, South China Morning Post