Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Merry Christmas

Sharing my Christmas card photo this year. A white lotus at a stall near the "Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic" on Kandy Lake in Kandy, Sri Lanka.

I head home tomorrow so the blog will be on a break until the New Year.  

Advisory Outfits

Today was "Advisory Wars".  War seemsa bizarre name for what is essentially dress up morning. My favorite were the Jingle (Mr) Bell Rock group, (they all wore one of his famous patterned shirts), but Devo were judged to be the best. Kim Jong Il was there along with Arno the science teacher and his elements.My advisory struggled to come up with the idea to be Christmas ornaments, but turned up this morning with nothing, so we used tinsel left over from last year's effort.  Hao-Yang (in white) was adorable he said I don't need to dress up Ms Mary I am an angel and a star.  - And he is !

Great outfits

Amazing outfits on these people.  However, I have no idea what this billboard near the airport is promoting, except that it is purple!

A dog and beer lao

Lao beer, Beer Laos and beers made in Laos- Tuborg and Carlsberg, with a Lao dog.

Boom box at Patuxi

On Saturday I cycled around Vientiane,with others, following Mark on his "soundbike" and Hannah wearing her cycling skirt. We stopped here in front of Patuxi monument, then move on to a gravel pétanque rink for beers and pétanque, then to a craft beer brewery, ending with dinner but the Mekong at the Australia club. Good fun and a great way to celebrate Mark and Hannah's 30th Birthday.

Bangkok Skyline 2

Visiting Roof top bars is one of my favorite Bangkok passtimes.  They provide a great place to enjoy a cocktail (or two) and take in the amazing skyline of Bangkok.  I thoroughly recommend the Cinammon Mojito (and their Expresso Martini) at Speakeasy on the 25th floor of Hotel Muse.  We managed three visits in three nights - good effort.

Bangkok Skyline

A long weekend in Bangkok was a lovely break.  Sooooooo different to Vientiane.  Soooo different to Melbourne.  Soooo many multistory buildings in so many architectual styles, colours and balconies and many with pools.  

Google tells me condominiums in this complex, Langsuan Q, which was opposite our hotel are available from $600,000 USD.  The pool on about the 10th floor looked very inviting.

Darts and Prizes

The darts are multi coloured and so are the prizes.

Tweety Bird

Throwing darts at yellow balloons could lead to you winning a giant, stuffed yellow tweety bird.

A gift for the spirits

Spirit houses are found in the grounds of most Laos homes and businesses.  Each morning gifts are left for the spirits. Flowers, drinks, incense,  and food are common gifts.  Gift is the theme for the City Daily Photo community in December.  For other photos visit the website.