Category: Travelogues
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Georgetown, Malaysia: An Illustration of Contrasts
A stroll through Georgetown gives one a sense of being whisked to several countries in a matter of hours. In this largely Chinese city, bundles of smoldering incense scent the maze of bustling streets as crimson red lanterns sway overhead. Bollywood music rumbles in Little India, echoing off storefronts dotted with colorful saris and bins…
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From Gong and Drum Awakening to Sunset at Luang Prabang’s Wat Wisunarat
Our home away from home in Luang Prabang, Laos sat opposite from the city’s oldest operating temple, Wat Wisunarat (also spelled Vat Visounnarath). The temple was built in the early 1500s. Known for its quiet lanes and thirty temples, Luang Prabang feels authentically Asian. Monks of all ages, clad in saffron-colored robes, pound the pavement…
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A Morning Almsgiving or Tak Bat Ceremony in Phonsavan, Laos
In Laos, as in other countries that practice Theravada Buddhism, it is customary for monks to go on early morning alms runs, known as tak bat. They do so with alms-bowls in hand, donning their traditional saffron robes and pounding the pavement or dirt roads with bare feet. Devotees place food — such as balls of…
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Twinkle, Twinkle Wat Xieng Thong – Luang Prabang, Laos
In the late afternoon sunlight, the small shrine’s mosaic-adorned walls shimmered like precious gems. As I shifted my footing and perspective — moving only mere inches at a time — different vignettes were illuminated by the vibrant rays. This Buddhist shrine, on which the cut glass portrays Buddhist imagery, is one of twenty structures in…
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A Return to Angkor: The Tree-Adorned Temple of Ta Prohm
Regarded as one of Angkor’s most atmospheric temples, Ta Prohm is perhaps best known as the location in which the movie Tomb Raider was filmed (admittedly, I have not seen it). The circa 12th century temple’s gnarly, towering trees are at times indistinguishable from the stone walls, pillars, and foundations that they are devouring. And the setting…
