Throwback Thursday – How a good luck symbol became one of terror.

“… it remains a symbol of auspiciousness – which sometimes leads to jarring images like this …”

Travel Thursday – A ‘back-breaking’ bridge in Vietnam’s Hoi An

A monster that causes earthquakes across Asia, a bridge the snaps the back of the mythical creature, a temple to say sorry, and a covered walkway to bring together two cultures – Hoi An’s Japanese Bridge has it all! Hoi An is in the centre of Vietnam – in the Quang Nam province – it was, for…

Weekly Travelpic – Coffee Markets in Saigon

This is inside the Ben Thanh markets, in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City (or Saigon, as it was known prior to 1975) – apparently one of the oldest surviving ‘structures’ in Saigon. Markets in the area have existed for centuries .. although they were initially closer to the river (which is unsurprising). However, during the…

Travel Pics Theme: T for Temples. Turtle Tower

This week, we’ve been looking at temples – and for Saturday, it’s a temple shrouded in smog, in the middle of a lake, itself in the middle of Hanoi. Well, strictly speaking, this photo was taken FROM a temple – but the image is of the “Tower of the Turtle”. The legendary sacred turtle…

Travel Pics Theme: T for Temples. What a Champ(a)!

Strictly speaking, this is detail from a Group G (Temple mountain style) Champa temple at My Son, in Vietnam. But that’s gobbledygook – so perhaps I had best explain. In the My Son area of central Vietnam, there are a series of temples and other structures – the last remnants of the Champa people,…

Travel Pics Theme: T for Temples. Fiji’s Hindu Temple

The Sri Siva Subramaniya Temple is in Nadi, Fiji – and it is, like many Hindu temples, a continuous work-in-progress. The ceilings inside are covered in murals depicting adventures of the gods and scenes from the vedas – and as soon as the ceiling is covered, a section is whitewashed and a new mural is…

Travel Pics Theme: T for Temples. How a Sanskrit symbol became an emblem of horror

The word ‘swastika’ apparently comes from the Sanskrit “svastika” which translates roughly as “good fortune”. It’s been a symbol of luck and prosperity in Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism for centuries – in fact, its first use predates all those religions by millenia – going back 11-thousand tears or more. But it’s also been used in Europe for…

Travel Pics Theme: Q for Quotations. Pulling the strings.

“I wonder if one day that you’ll say that you care? If you say you love me madly, I’ll gladly be there like a puppet on a string.” Puppet shows are common the world over – and for those of us in the west, whether its the traditional Punch and Judy show, or something more modern…

Travel Pics Theme: H for Ho Chi Minh City. Ben Thanh Markets

This week, our Travel pics series is H for Ho Chi Minh City. Our final image in this series is of the Ben Thanh markets, in “District 1” of Ho Chi Minh City. I mentioned earlier this week that the markets have played a central role in HCMC (or Saigon, as it was known prior to…

Travel Pics Theme: H for Ho Chi Minh City. Mekong Markets

This week, our Travel pics series is H for Ho Chi Minh City. Well, actually, this is about 100km from HCMC, at Cai Be, in the Mekong Delta. The very term “Mekong Delta” conjures up visions of intrigue, and danger – and of beauty and excitement, and a dozen other emotions mixed together – for many westerners.…