Tag Archives: Religious Practice

I had a map and a plan. Turns out, I needn’t have bothered! We were headed into Đà Nẵng for a February afternoon, and I had done my homework. But, as soon as my husband and I alighted from our resort shuttle bus, we were greeted by a smiling pedicab driver who cheerfully persuaded us we […]

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They say you are a long time dead and buried – Well, unless you are buried in Switzerland, where your plot is reclaimed after 25 years to recycle available land. Or, unless you are in a traditional Chinese cemetery, where your bones should be taken out and washed annually… In India, honouring the dead can take many varied […]

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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, […]

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Thailand is a treasure-trove of tropical plant life and ancient religious ruins. I like it best when the two coincide, as they do in Kamphaeng Phet: crumbling temples located on spacious well-tended sites, shaded by trees. Kamphaeng Phet Historical Park is part of the awkwardly-named UNESCO World Heritage Site: “Historic Town of Sukhothai and Associated Historic […]

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Thailand is rich with the textures of life and history. I’ve talked before about our recent visit to Sukhothai, or more properly, the UNESCO-listed “Historic Town of Sukhothai and Associated Historic Towns”. One of those “associated towns” is Si Satchanalai (or Sri Satchanalai, depending on whose transliteration you follow). Fifty-five kilometres north of Sukhothai along country roads […]

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