Giving Alms and Nourishing the Dead

I don’t go in for much ‘woo’. In fact being an atheist is an important part of who I am. And yet I jumped at the chance to tag along to a ritual-filled morning of blessings and prayers and feeding spirits of the dead.

The Lotus - some see a symbol of Buddhist thought - I see a pretty flower that would look quite nice in a garden water feature

After wangling myself an invitation to this morning’s ceremony, I couldn’t really complain about the sacrificed sleep. I got up early, donned a sinh and went to the wat.

Picnicking With the Elephants - my photo album

Last Saturday I went with a bunch of friends to see some elephants and to eat great food and to drink wine and beer.

We did lots of all of the above and here are my photos to share the love...

Mum, Dad and the kids out for a stroll

Bouquets and singing energisers

Meetings in Laos are not what I expected. Apart from looking, sounding and feeling unfamiliar, they seem to be strange machines running along unfamiliar tracks with engines fuelled by strange ideas. Strange to me, anyway. But pretty fabulous too! There is singing, flowers, tropical fruit, coffee and butchers' paper. A recipe for success if ever I heard one.

 

A conference