Monday 30 April 2018

Lake Mugecuo

Mugecuo means "Wild Man" or Yeti in Tibetan.  None were to be seen when I visited. It is at an elevation of 3200m on a magical snowy day.  There is a bus up  a long and very windy road from a car park to the lake and then a walking track following a river through forests back down.





Sunday 29 April 2018

My Drive last Saturday

Last Saturday I left the Khampa Eco-Lodge at Tagong and drove back to Kangding and then onto Chengdu. The drive over the plateau on winding roads with snow covered mountains on the horizon was spectacular.



Saturday 28 April 2018

Water Prayer Wheels

At Mugecuo Lake near Kangding, water was used to move the prayer wheels in these small sheds/buildings. It was cold but gorgeous.


Friday 27 April 2018

Prayer Wheels

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Whilst on holiday I became more obsessed with Tibetan prayer wheels.  These are outside Nanwu Temple, in Kangding, a Tibetan  temple with parts of three different sects ( nyima, gelug (yellow hat sect), sakya). Its called Lhamo Tse in tibetan.

For centuries  Kangding , (Dartsendo  in Tibetan) at about 2600mhas been the meeting place of many cultures and was on the Tea Horse Road. It has been a trading centre between the Han Chinese and Tibetans. Today the population is approx 40% Han, 40% Tibetan and 20% other minority groups.


Thursday 26 April 2018

Peonies and Ginkgos


Peonies and Ginkgos are two of my favourite plants, so I was very happy to spend time in this courtyard at Wenshu Temple in Chengdu.  Good photos for my 1000th blog post - WOW.






Wednesday 25 April 2018

Golden monks

 The monks at Wenshu Temple wore golden yellow robes.  When I visited close to dusk they were inside chanting mantras and walking around.  Later they filed out of the temple and walked in line to the residential buildings.



Tuesday 24 April 2018

Temple Lantern


Wenshu Temple was a calm, historic space in the bustle of Chengdu. With a history dating back 1300 years it some how survived the cultural revolution, with many temples, towers and other buildings spread throughout the extensive and exquisite gardens.

 

Monday 23 April 2018

Panda Love

They were soooooo cute

I am back from my 10 day Pii Mai holiday in Sichuan province in China.  First item on the itinerary was a visit to the Giant Panda Research Base in Chengdu.  It is a large park, but essentially a zoo. There were adult and adult and young pandas and red pandas and 1000s of school children and tourists.

Sunday 22 April 2018

Blue Tea

Blue tea and blue textiles. We were served blue tea at the Laos Textile Museum.It is Butterfly pea, a herbal tea made from a Southeast Asian flower (Clitoria ternatea)  and seems to be very trendy  as an additivie in food and drinks in Vientiane cafes, which follow the trends set in Bangkok. When I added a squeeze of lime it transformed into an elegant lilac/violet colour. As a chemist I loved it!!

Saturday 21 April 2018

Heliconia Heaven

 The gardens at the Laos textile museum were lush and beautiful with many spectacular Heliconia. 

Friday 20 April 2018

Laos Textile Museum


The Laos Textile Museum consists of a series of tradtional wooden buildings set in a lush, green traditional Lao compound. The carvings were gorgeous and the structure were open and spacious.  One building was 120 years old.

Thursday 19 April 2018

Laos Textile Museum



A wonderful discovery in Vientiane has been the Laos Textile Museum. It showcases a unique collection of antique textiles. The privately-owned museum is the first of its kind, established by the Sisane family  to preserve and promote Lao textiles, weaving artifacts and traditions, not only from their own family collection but also from varying ethnic groups throughout Laos.



Wednesday 18 April 2018

Sombrero Village

We were excited to find these sombreros for sale at a road side stall on our weekend away.  They were perfect for the swim gala - except it was a bit small for my big, falang head.  The kids were enthusiastic sales people. We bought every red hat they had. 

Tuesday 17 April 2018

Nagas wearing Sombreros

Here we are the Nagas (the red house) in our Pii Mai shirts and special red sombreros ready for last weeks Pii Mai swim gala and water games.

Monday 16 April 2018

Pii Mai Dancing

The Grade 6 girls wore beautiful pink sinhs for their traditional Pii Mai dance performance, and moved with grace and style.

Saturday 14 April 2018

Pii Mai at VIS



Pii Mai, Laos New Year has arrived.  It is marked at school with a swim gala, water games and a morning assembly/concert, focussed on Laos culture.  The grade 11 Laos girls dressed in a variety of tribal clothing to perform a traditional dance.  A gorgeous group, smiling and enjoying their dancing.

Friday 13 April 2018

Thursday 12 April 2018

Headless Shirts

Pii Mai - Laos New Year is approaching  and the shops and street vendors are displaying their newest Pii Mai shirts - inspired by Hawaiian shirts. Why are all the mannequins headless?

Wednesday 11 April 2018

The rocket is on the way

 The rockets were paraded along the main street with inebriated revellers.  This was one of our favourites with the Beer Laos bottle on the roof of the ute.  The rocket was long and shaped like a naga .


Tuesday 10 April 2018

Rocket Preparation and Beer Laos

The process of making the rockets was complex and involved packing the prepared PVC rockets with gunpowder.  Traditionally they were made from bamboo, but today more modern materials are used. The tradition of firing rockets into the air is a ceremony believed to bring the rains so that rice planting can begin.  Beer Laos is the traditional accompaniment for the festival!

Monday 9 April 2018

Gun powder and beer laos

A relaxing weekend away at "The Laos Lake House"  turned into an opportunity to join in local festivities.  Boun Bang Fai is the rocket festival.

Yesterday preparations were being made for the rocket festival. The village was a hive of activity and maybe just a little bit of mayhem. The front garden of every house was filled with a karaoke machine and partiers steadily drinking Beer Lao, occasionally punctuated by a toast of (Lao Lao) rice whiskey.

This afternoon with a party atmosphere, the rockets were launched from this wood and bamboo scaffold. 


Sunday 8 April 2018

Victoria and her Monks

Victoria Jones, the art teacher at VIS has an exhibition of her work, together with her colleague Jamie Lowe, at iCat gallery for the next month.  It has been a joy visiting Victoria in the art room as she teaches, creates and inspires the students. Her series of drawings of monks capture their spirituality and the spirit of Laos.

Saturday 7 April 2018

Beer Lao at Sunset

The Friday night local - Naga views - well that's what I call it.  Essentially a shack over hanging the banks of the Mekong, it is a great place for a Beer Lao at the end of the working week as the sun sets over Thailand.

Friday 6 April 2018

Great spot to Breakdown

An obstacle on my ride home.  This lorry with a load of water bottles was jacked up with blocks in the middle of the round about. Two men were tinkering in the wheel hub. It was gone this morning so I assume some progress was made.

Thursday 5 April 2018

Motorcycle and a Palm Tree

A typical Laos scene - motorcyle (an old one with a side cart), farmers (working hard), greenery (salad greens and herbs) a temple and of course a palm tree.

Wednesday 4 April 2018

Temple wall and leaves

I liked the decorative structures on the wall of a temple, shaded by a Bodhi tree.

Tuesday 3 April 2018

Marigolds and a Temple

Marigolds are a sacred flower in Buddhism.  On our Saturday morning bicycle ride we stopped to admire this small barbed-wire enclosed field of marigolds in front of the village temple.  A man was walking through the field collecting a bucket full of marigold blooms ready to prepare temple offerings.

Monday 2 April 2018

Golden Buddhas

Golden Buddhas -all one colour - in a temple in a small village downstream from Vientiane.

One colour is the theme for the City Daily Photo community for April.  Click here to see other photos.

Easter - Sacred Heart Catholic Church Vientiane

This morning I attended Easter Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church.  I arrived early - not a Harrington trait- as the Vientnamese service was finishing. The community gathering was very Laos -beers at 10am, ladies wearing their best sinh - selling blue Virgin Mary statues.  Is it the same gender split as at home - men chatting and women tidying, sharing food and raising funds- The Catholic Church!!!

There was also a priest- maybe bishop with his red hat- sprinkling water on motorbikes and scooters.  Many of the scooters and cars had yellow flowers on them as they do when getting blessed with water by Buddhist monks.


Sunday 1 April 2018

Tobacco Kilns - Laos Style

On my bike ride this morning, exploring downstream along the Mekong, with my colleague Sheryl, we stopped to explore these tobacco kilns.  They obviously haven't been used for a while as huge trees were growing in the centre of them.  The rusty remains of metal heaters and tubes inside as well.  We also met a young man collecting insects (maybe cicadas) to eat!!