AMAZINGLY WELL-TRAVELED AND KEENLY TALENTED, WRITER AND PHOTOGRAPHER DAVID BOWDEN IS SET TO CONTRIBUTE GENEROUSLY TO A SERIES OF STUNNING TRAVEL BOOKS COVERING NUMEROUS DESTINATIONS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA.

He could be called a professional wanderer, but for David Bowden, traveling the world and documenting his experiences in photos and words is indeed a labour of love. His passion for travel and his eye for finding hidden gems has been well-documented in Senses of Malaysia and its sister magazine, The Expat. David has now been engaged to contribute to the ambitious undertaking of an entire series of image-driven books about some of the most fascinating places in Southeast Asia.

In the book that launches the Enchanting series, David takes us on a tour of Borneo, the world's third-largest island. (Greenland and New Guinea hold the top two spots, in case you wondered.) Borneo comprises bits of two countries, Malaysia and Indonesia, and the entirety of a third country, the Sultanate of Brunei. The vast island, which takes nearly 90 minutes to cross over by jet, is also an incredible treasure trove of biodiversity, home to a spectacularly rich profusion of flora and fauna, to say nothing of the immense variety of marine life off hershores. Charles Darwin called Borneo a "great, luxuriant hothouse made by nature for herself."

This diversity, and the stunning natural splendor in which it is set, is brought to life by an enticing array of colour photographs, covering the whole of the island, from Indonesia's Kalimantan in the south, to the twin Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak in the north. Bornean Pygmy Elephants, Proboscis Monkeys, and of course the amazing Orang-utan all take centre stage in David's selection of vivid images.

David is a native Australian who first visited Borneo as a consultant to the World Wide Fund for Nature, and I asked him about his inspiration and his passion for this exotic island, which is evident in the book's prose. He mused a bit, then answered, "You know, Sabah was really the first part of Malaysia I got to know when I arrived here 20 years ago. I just loved its raw energy with the basics of life being all important – putting food in your belly. I was fascinated by the markets and how people spend so much time satisfying their need to eat."

David continued, "I eagerly photographed all this and was then lucky to continue to return here regularly to do more of the same and to discover more about the place. There are still many places there that don't get visited too often." For a lover of scenic beauty, wildlife, and an abundance of rich and varied experiences, Borneo indeed offers a near-inexhaustible supply of them all.

Be sure to check local bookstores for David's entries in the Enchanting series, which is produced by UK-based John Beaufoy Publishing. The full series includes such locales as Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Bali, Singapore, Penang, and Langkawi.

For more information on David's books, you may contact him at davidbowden.travelwrite@gmail.com.