Confluence of the Ayeyarwady

The Ayeyarwady (or Irrawaddy) River, the largest river in Myanmar, is formed by the confluence of the N'mai and Mali Rivers in Kachin State. Perhaps the most interesting part about my trip to the confluence was meeting this group of five monks from the Kan Gyi Kyaung monastery near Inle Lake in Shan State. The older monk on the right is the Abbot of Kan Gyi Kyaung. He was giggly, interested to hear all about the rattans of Myanmar, and positively radiant.  He kept saying how auspicious it was for us to meet each other at the confluence. [NOTE: Andrew Henderson and I had just finished six weeks of fieldwork in the Hukaung Valley (see Hukaung Valley Rattan Survey) without a mishap. I, too, thought our encounter was pretty auspicious].

Kotagiri Landscape

The view from the balcony of the guesthouse where I stayed in Kotagiri on my recent trip to Tamil Nadu (see Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve and Biodiversity Festival).  A patchwork of tea plantations in different stages of development. Kotagiri has some of the oldest tea plantations in this part of India. The first one was started in 1863 by the daughter of M.D. Cockburn, a Scottish planter and the district collector.  Wonder what was growing here before the Camellia sinensis took over?

Nat Worship

Prior to the arrival of Buddhism in Myanmar, animistic spirits known as Nats were commonly worshipped. When King Anawrahta came to power in the 11th century, however, he wanted to make Theravada Buddhism the national faith and he ordered the destruction of all the Nat shrines in the kingdom. This didn't work at all, and when the King saw that he was turning people away from Buddhism - rather than destroying their faith in Nats - he rescinded his order and allowed Nats to be worshiped and displayed at Buddhist temples together with arhats. The image above shows a prominent group of Nats at Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon. [NOTE: King Anawrahta also added a 37th Nat, Thagyamin, to the existing list of spirits and crowned him "King of the Nats".] 

Banded Krait

One of the things I came across during my trip to Myanmar last summer (see Shinlonga) was this banded krait slithering slowly across the road. I gladly gave it a lot of room. [NOTE: In September of 2001, an American herpetologist working in Kachin State died after being bitten by one of these snakes].    

A Ride on the Beijing Subway

Just what it says.  A late night ride on the No. 10 Line of the Beijing Subway. Relative to the subway in New York, I found the Beijing metro to be remarkably clean, efficient, and quiet, although a bit lacking in personality.  

Hermitage

In the summer of 2006, I built a small cabin in the Catskill Mountains of New York. All made by hand (my hands). No power tools. This is what 6:07 AM looks like in October after you've crawled out of your sleeping bag and got the wood stove going.  

Many Years Ago in Pontianak

Pontianak, West Kalimantan during peak durian season (see Where'd All Those Durian Trees Come From), and the fruits are piled up in heaps on the sidewalk.  The seller is pleased that I want to take a picture of his fruit (which, indeed, is a beautiful durian), but the photo is mostly focused on my wife, Elysa, and first child, Case. This was a magical time. [NOTE: Case is currently a sophomore in college.  He still has that look]. 

Thanh Hoa's Dragon

The entrance to Thanh Hoa cave at Thay Pagoda in Vietnam (see Thay Pagoda) is guarded by a scary stone dragon. The founder of Thay Pagoda, Tu Dao Hanh, meditated for long periods in this cave and he is reported to have died here as well. Just so you know. [NOTE: The green eyes are a nice touch...].

Kachin Portrait

Not much to say about this image.  Its early afternoon on the Ledo Road and this Kachin woman is carrying a huge basket of firewood. She is also shyly tickled that I am taking her picture. [NOTE: I really like this shot].   

Kapok

A sack of kapok fibers (Ceiba pentandra) waiting to be stuffed into pillows at Banglapadigai, Tamil Nadu. The blue machine in the background is used to remove the seeds from the fluff, i.e. it is a kapok gin.  [NOTE: I have a zafu filled with kapok and have developed a very close relationship with this plant fiber. Nice to see it in the raw].