A Photo A Week: Red

02/20/2017•Culture, Travel, vietnam

temple offerings

Temple Offerings, Hanoi, Vietnam

In the courtyard of a small Buddhist temple in Hanoi, Vietnam, vendors sell fruit, tea, flowers, incense, and fake money to be used as offerings to ancestors and gods. The offerings help insure a the welfare of spirits in the afterlife. Paper replicas of dollar notes (‘ghost money’), motorbikes, cars, houses and other earthly items can be found. The paper gifts are burnt so the smoke can carry the spirit of the gifts to heaven for use by the ancestors. Ancestor worship is an integral part of Vietnamese culture.

A Photo A Week: Red

Color Your World: Gray

02/25/2016•Explore, Photography, Travel

Color With Numbers

Street parking, Hanoi, Vietnam

Street parking, Hanoi, Vietnam. I never figured out what the numbers on the wall meant.

Jennifer’s Color Your World Challenge: Gray

SL-WEEK 9 : School

09/05/2015•Connect, Photography, vietnam

When I was the Exhibit for the School Field Trip

I visited the Temple of Literature when I was in Hanoi. It was May and very hot. When I sat down to rest, sweat pouring off me, I became the center of attention for a group of students and teachers. I was definitely foreign to them. They gathered around me and just stared. I know how it feels to be in a zoo. I started taking pictures of them and showed them the screen. They loosened up and became friendly. Some of them even posed for me.

SL-WEEK 9 : School

Muse

06/28/2015•Explore, Photography, Travel

I’ve Got The Whole World In My Hands

Camel Rider, Thar Desert, Rajasthan, India

Market After Dark, Hanoi, Vietman

Hagia Sofia, Istanbul, Turkey.

Ancient Acacia Tree, Deadvlei, Sossusvlei, Namibia

Young school children on island in Madu Ganga River, Sri Lanka

Playing with Fire. Sri Lanka dance group in traditional Kandy region costumes prepare to fire walk.

Chandelier, Florentine Hall, Peles Castle, Romania

Plains Zebra in Etosha

Livid Sky Over the Potrero Trading Post, New Mexico

At Prayer, Golden Mosque, Singapore

Traditional Window Decoration, VIllage Museum in Bucharest, Romania

Bishnoi Potter, Rajasthan, India

Statues on Facade of Notre Dame in Paris, France

The Taj Mahal, Agra, India

Floating Houseboat, Tonle’ Sap Lake, Cambodia

Tyn Church after Dark, Old Town Square

The Badger Ferry Heading West Crossing Lake Michigan, USA

Parisian Pest Control Shop Window Display

Family, The Taj Mahal, Agra, India

The Bird Men Of Beijing

Buddhist offering lamp at puja in Kataragama, Sri Lanka

Vesuvius from Pompeii, Italy

American Falls, Niagara Falls, Buffalo, New York

Alphonse Mucha window detail, St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague Castle complex

Joseph Roulette, explorer, adventurer, pioneer, American Fur Company,

Smiling faces on towers of the Bayon Temple, Angkor Thom, Angkor, Cambodia

Sunrise in Pushkar, Rajasthan, India

The world and its diverse cultures are my muse and inspire my wanderlust. Since retiring, I have made the most of my inspiration. In the last year I visited Prague and Cseky Krumlov in the Czech Republic, Namibia, Sri Lanka, Istanbul (Turkey). I have taken two road trips in the U.S, with stops including Niagara Falls, Lake Michigan, Minnesota, South Dakota, and North Carolina. I had my first taste of poutine in London, Ontario, Canada, saw elephants in the wild in Etosha National Park, and received a blessing at a Buddhist temple in Katagarama, Sri Lanka. My muse has been good to me.

WPC:Muse