bhaktapur

Improved the exposure on some shots,

during a lovely quiet christmas

One of my favourites, the spout for a bathing place

A great door - that must have seen some rather

large & hungry rats..

art radar asia

nepal-4

This was part of the view from my guesthouse roof

in Pokhara, at dawn.

It would be sublime to be walking amongst

them, if you had the stamina. At different seasons, the 

light may be different, I loved the softness, & perhaps

the air pollution adds to the luminous light.

I enjoyed staying at the Sacred Valley  Inn

nepal-3

There are thangkas

temples. altars, candles

statues, more temples, stupas

incense, bells, & all of it quite different to

anywhere else.. 

how to describe how it is, when their experience

will be different again?

.. & oh, the mountains..

himalaya maps

nepal-2

I've friends who come from Turkey,

where deep history is everywhere evident,

much as it is in Nepal

there's some different beasts, 

but similar overlays of different

philosophies & religions

I like how the buddha appeared to move,

though it was me/my camera. 

Cadogan guides don't seem to have one for Nepal,
but theres one for Turkey:
check out the free download for Istanbul,
I like how they write about history, don't you?

nepal-1

Some friends are going to Nepal, thought to

post some shots for them of my trip there..

like this door, notable for the cutout metal

animals on the top half - did I see them at the time?
So much to see !

Sure, it was dusty, dirty, etc, but the

stronger memories are of vivid details,

the patina of age (& sometimes animal products)

the people kind despite an excess 

of tourists for so long

Fabulous carving in wood, stone, metal,
& still craftsmen who practice the skills.

7 world heritage sites in the Kathmandu valley

heart

At the centre of a lotus leaf is a heart,

at least it was so on this plant.

thehourglasssea

stay cool

Looks like a fine way to stay cool (its been hot here)

its one of the younger elephants I saw in Chiang Mai

here's another way, some fine art prints of ice, 

wish I could afford one 

inclusive

To me, these stalls are as good as some installations

in art galleries

add an abundance of plastic flowers

Hindu, Buddhist & other

gods have been friendly neighbours in Asia

for ages

so fine, that inclusiveness.

glass beach

keeping out

A large lock, made in London, seen in Nepal

Seeing the photo again, I thought about how many ways

we devise to keep others out

with physical barriers, that is

sometimes they become great works of art. like the 

wall around Istanbul

or even this old door in Nepal.

Keeping the 'others' out takes so much energy!

chasing ice - hope the movie comes to Byron

water's edge

My friends have a great spot near the water.

I liked how each branch of the tree fern right,

had left it's own distinctive signature

The water & trees make it a very peaceful place.

An attractive canoe at Balmoral Beach.

sydney, mca

Not sure if this was being assembled or what, it

looks like an installation.

Don't you love this one? 

Both are at the museum of contemporary art

in Sydney.

 Anish Kapoor is coming in December,

but doubt if I can get there again so soon
unfortunately.

waterfalls

waterfalls 

in a small stream

at the Royal botanic gardens, Chiang Mai

diana vishneva

sydney

Went to Sydney for the memorial service for my

friend Bryce Courtenay. We knew each other for

many years, I'll miss him a lot.

While there I enjoyed parts of the city,

especially the parks & the MCA

My favourite Valamanesh was not on display, but there

were things I liked, in other ways.

bamboo

Don't you love bamboo?

Looks like something is making a windowed tower.

These are also in the botanical gardens

in Chiang Mai

All those near the paths had names scratched into them.

Somehow it wasn't so annoying because I cant read Thai,

but why do people do that?

the wonderful V.S. Ramachandran

elephants

Was hesitant to visit the elephants in Chiang Mai,

because I'm not a fan of animal tricks

however they really seemed to have fun

adding little extra flourishes, hooting/laughing, it looked

quite spontaneous

& has to be more enjoyable than hauling logs around?

I had the sense that one of the older ones was tuning in 

to the human systems nearby, it felt similar to swimming

with whales..

an elephant that speaks Korean

marvellous

The marvellous Sal tree, 

it's seed pods as big as cannon balls.

I wanted to bring home seeds, but they may need

a more tropical location than Byron Bay.

Even after they fall to the ground, they are

really beautiful, don't you agree?

Migration installation

old

Still in Chiang Mai, that is my photos are.. 

more old shop houses, 

the door left must have been splendid when new.

Nearby is a fountain shop.

These two so faded you can barely see the

intricate details.

Now I'm over the 1000 posts mark, & wondering

how to change it all..

artistic barns

calm

So wonderfully calm at the main beach in Byron Bay

yesterday.

Have just been checking through some sites re 

the coal seam gas issue, before I wrote an objection,

 here, & here

tigers

Visited some tigers, magnificent creatures, 

& sat with some cubs, surprised by how hot & damp

they felt, just like me.

& the Queen's Botanical gardens were wonderful

particularly the giant Bamboo, each as big as

a large palm tree. 

William Blake's Tyger