Return to the stamping ground

I was horrified to realise it was more than a year since I updated this blog.  I've not been out and about taking pictures as often as before for a variety of reasons but this weekend I charged up the camera and headed down to Colaba.

It took a bit of time to get back into the swing of things but, I'm glad to report, Mumbai is still as photogenic as ever.

Colaba Causway, home to stalls selling all kinds of touristic and fashion items.  I seldom buy but there are very few times I wander through here without seeing something I want to photograph.  In this case; wooden fabric stamps.

Non Non Non La

This picture, taken on Nguyen Hue on Lunar New Year's Day is interesting for a number of reasons. Firstly, and most benignly, it shows how a perfectly ordinary roundabout has been extended to produced a giant planting area. But secondly it shows one of my pet hates, a tourist in a little non la!!!!

You might want to click on the picture which will take you to Flickr, there you can select the largest size available so you too can share my ire.

See what she's done? Removed a perfectly sensible stetson style hat to pose for her picture in a "local" hat. If you look very carefully you can see another Wally in the background also wearing one.

Why does it annoy me? I'm not entirely sure but every time I see it I grit my teeth. It might have something to do with the self imposed rule of never wearing anything on holiday that I wouldn't wear at home. Why should I impose these rules on other people and who am I to say that this lovely lady won't happily walk down the streets of her home town on a sunny day wearing a tourist version of a non la? Who knows but to preserve my molars, if you visit, please don't wear one.

I leave you with a previously posted image to further dissuade. Enjoy.

Laos

We had an amazing trip to Loas flying into Vientiane from Saigon via Cambodia. We liked it so much that we left a lot unseen as it's fairly obvious we're going to go back.



The architecture and statues are stunning, I filled two memory cards on the camera. If you want to see them all (and frankly I can't think of a better way of spending four hours than looking at someone elses holiday pictures) click on any of the pictures to go to Flickr.

Food is fresh and tasty, there are a lot of higher end restaurants in Vientiane and Luang Prabang but we honestly didn't have one bad meal no matter where we ate. Well, there was the weird sweet curry in Vientiane but that was par for the course because it was Stephens birthday and he always gets a dodgy curry on that day.


There were men in santa hats.


Around every corner was a classic image.


Honest Tourist Attraction notices



and we even found a bar dimly lit enough to feel seedy





The lasting memory though has to be spending two days with elephants. More on that in a later post. Meanwhile here's my elephant having a snack.