Tag Archives: environmental portrait It is a different world… Temples and monasteries are an integral part of life in Myanmar. They accommodate about half a million males, who are either vocational monks or novices, and around 50,000 nuns. That is: roughly one percent of the population actually lives in one of the many monasteries or nunneries, completely dependent on the laity for all their […]  Got your gumboots? Got a raincoat, plenty of water, a folding chair and/or an inexhaustible supply of energy? The Byron Bay Blues and Root Festival is the place to be on an Easter (Autumn) weekend in Australia. There is nothing like music to lift your spirits. Add good company and wholesome food, and you have an unbeatable […]  Temples in Southeast Asia are living places. This is certainly true in Myanmar. The many Buddhist temples I visited there were architecturally beautiful – and different, with no two exactly the same. But what I generally find more interesting is the life – both sacred and secular – within and around them. On my first afternoon in Mandalay, […]  Myanmar truly is “The Golden Land.” From the mines to the temples, gold is everywhere. Shwedagon Pagoda, for example, is covered in 60 tons of gold, pounded into thin leaves. Gold is an integral part of Burmese life. Every day, faithful Burmese apply gold leaf to their favourite Buddha images as offerings. So much gold leaf has been […]  Where can you go when you have overseas visitors and a new camera lens that needs trying out? What could be better than a native Australian animal sanctuary! Luckily for us, we have one right in our neighbourhood. The quaintly named “Potoroo Palace” is set off the Princes Highway, not far from Pambula and Merimbula on […] |
|
