-
Wat Xieng Thong: Waiting in the Wings During the Golden Hour
It’s the sort of environment that could hold my attention for hours. In a heavily carved and gilded structure that’s tucked away on the grounds of the Wat Xieng Thong temple complex in Luang Prabang, Laos, are stored a fleet of Buddha statues, crackling wooden devotional panels, nagas, and the Lao king’s cremation chariot. Adorned…
-
A Butterfly Fashion Show at the Penang Butterfly Farm
As a young girl, I was the epitome of a tomboy. I’d spend hours in my childhood home’s back yard in the Midwestern United States. I’d hunt for critters large and small, tend to my open air clubhouse, and maintain the ravine’s trails as if I were a park ranger. Because of this past, it’s…
-
Sculpting Buddha – A Meditative Exercise in Laos
On a shady street on which we regularly strolled during our stay in Luang Prabang, Laos, we watched a sculptor as he gradually turned rustic concrete into a smooth likeness of Buddha. I wonder what the man pondered on those quiet afternoons — as he was overlooked by other Buddhist figures in progress — in…
-
Scenes from Vietnam’s Markets
The stalls and baskets of Vietnam’s traditional markets overflow with a colorful spectrum of tempting produce: spiky green durian fruit, porcupine-like pink rambutans, chubby carrots, and spring-green onions that could inflict tickling torture. Ladies clad in nón lá hats share the new day’s gossip while selling mountains of rice paper, slabs of tofu, live chickens, flowers and herbs.
-
Frohe Ostern – Easter Greetings From Germany
Every spring, Osterbrunnen — or Easter fountains — herald spring’s return to Germany’s Franconia (Franken) region. Wells and fountains in town centers are dressed with boxwood cuttings, ribbons, and delicately-painted pastel eggs. This custom celebrates water’s life-giving properties. The decorations typically spring up one week before Easter Sunday and then grace the fountains for a…
