"Namaste." The stony face quickly broke into a smile and offered me the same greeting in return. He then asked me where I was from and I proudly declared, "Malaysia". Having broken the ice I quickly conveyed my intention of wanting to take his picture. He obliged and I got my shot.

We arrived in Nepal on the fourth day of Chinese New Year, 2003. We were a group of eight, seven of us photographers. It was the tail end of winter and the weather was still quite cold. Daylight temperatures were a few degrees below ... (more)