Japan - Shinto shrines and pagodas

Shinto shrines have certain things in common...

Entry through a gate

Lanterns mark the border

Guardians flank the inner gate 

Ritual washing of hands and mouth

Hiit the gong.  Toss a coin. Bow twice, clap twice, bow once more. 

Leave a prayer tied to a string

The center of the shrine is empty. I learned that there is always a mirror -usually hidden  - to reflect back both nature and an image of ourselves. 

 

My favorite shrine - Fushimi Inari-taisha has thousands of gates leading up a mountain - Christo must have thought of these when he did the Central Park Gates 

Pagodas 

Hoi An - Food Lovers' Paradise

The Marketplace

 

Cooking school with Ms Vy of Morning Glory Cafe - I'm now a groupie

 

I actually made this glorious cabbage soup - see the hand tied wonton

And this mango salad

And a criispy pancake

Hanoi - An explosion of color

Large temples are filled with images of generals and kings

Smaller one may have images of the Mother Goddess

And then there is Ho Ch Minh , the true patron saint

 This most extraordinary Buddha has 1000 heads and hands - Vishnu-like.  Seen in the Fine Arts Museum

Other amazing finds in the Fine Arts Museum

 

Luang Prabang Highlights

Luang Prabang is magical.  It is located  on a tiny spit of land surrounded by two rivers, The Mekong and Nam Khan.  At the northern edge of the city they are only 1/2 mile apart.  Cafés and terraces line the rivers. There is an extraordinary density of temples and saffron robed monks. Lovely gardens and French colonial architecture are seen in dense jungle.  The Laotian people are gentle and welcoming. It's going to be hard to leave. 

A view of The Mekong with banana palms in the foreground. 

Monk on bamboo bridge on Nam Khan

On the street. 

Wat Xiengthong

Mosaic at the rear of the temple

Tiny temples called haws

Buddhas everywhere

Morning market

At a weaving workshop

My new friend Trish from Australia.  We explored Luang Prang together. Trish's last job was managing a research station in the Antartic. Next she'll be tracking red belly parrots in Tasmania with her partner.