Buddhist Symbolism

The posture and especially the location of the Buddha's hands are all symbolic. There is a posture for each day of the week, and the reclining Buddha pictured, is Wednesday. The fact that it is lying on its' right side means death. If it is lying the other way it means sleep. My favorite position is the Buddha standing with hands by the side and fingers pointing down. It means falling rain and is important when the land is suffering from drought.

Vientienne Buddha

Vintienne, Laos Stuppa

Throughout all of the Buddhist countries you can find the spires of stuppas like the one in this photo. Inside the stuppa, multiple statues of Buddha and other religious relics are incased. One stuppa in Vientienne was said to actually contain a rib of Buddha at one time in history.

Vientienne, Laos

Vientienne is the capital of Laos. The roof on this temple is typical of the Laos style with the roof extending almost to the ground.

Hanoi at Night

The city was decked out in colored lights and streets filled with flower beds, especially designed to celebrate the western New Year.

Cruising Hanoi's Alleys

Thankfully, our guide was from Hanoi and knew how to navigate through the crowded specialty alleys of the city.

Hanoi's Alleys

The last stop on the Viet Nam tour was the northern city of Hanoi. Hold-overs from its' early history are the alleys - small backstreets where the local vendors are gathered, based on their specialty, like rug alley, vegetable alley, or furniture alley. The streets have since been given modern names, but the locals continue to call them by their specialties.
Wedding doweries from the bride's family to the groom's family are often red colored symbolic gifts like those at this shop.

The Murphy's Law of Travel

The day before you travel to the most beautiful city of the tour, your camera will die. I'm in Luang Prabang in Laos, and it is now my favorite place of the Southeast Asian tour. It's a small charming ancient town that is being protected by UNICEF as a historic city. Before this tour I hadn't even heard the name, but now I won't forget it. Being small and charming also means no place to buy a new camera. Tomorrow I head for one day in Bangkok, Thailand and camera shopping, and then on to Dubai. I'm sure Dubai has cameras but I'm not sure that I could afford them.
The scene in the photo could be any of the cities we visited in Viet Nam. Driving is done by honking and plowing ahead. Lights and signs are ignored. It's survival of the biggest.

Ghosts of Halong Bay

Fish Pens, Floating Village

Floating Kitty, Halong Bay

Floating Village, Halong Bay

Floating Village of Halong Bay

Boats at Halong Bay, Viet Nam

Incense Sticks Drying

Which Ones Are the Tourists?

Sand as a Liveihood

Many people in Viet Nam survive by gathering sand from the Mekong to sell for construction.

Boat Guard

New Zealand's Finest

The stars were aligned when I signed up for this Viet Nam trip. The 12 other people were great - smart-funny-interesting and game for any hike or adventure. I was lucky.

Monks in Training

One lock of hair is kept until the novice decides whether or not he wants to become a monk.

Tranquility

Work on the Mekong

Plowing the Rice Field

Mountain View north of Da Nang

Mekong Ferry