Cat leaning on foot:

We spotted a kitten who looked like he was wearing specs. He had quite a glare:
The Brain

Sleeping cat in a window of Wat Visounarath:

We went to the elephant village to meet some elephants rescued from the logging industry where they are worked to death. We had an elephant ride around the countryside. Our elephant’s name translated to Mother Lotus Gold. Her mahout had the softest, gentlest voice I have ever heard-we had to strain to hear him. As Mother Lotus walked along, stopping to deforest bits of countryside every few minutes, the mahout would gently tell her off, but she would pay no heed. It was clear theya dored each other.

At one point the mahout insisted I get off the howdah and sit on the elephant’s neck. I was terrified of falling off. But instead of swaying towards the plants as I was scared she would do, Mother Lotus stayed absolutely still and held my trembling legs behind her ears as if to reassure me. Was like two hot water bottles!

A, having a chat with Mother Lotus Gold

A visited a bear sanctuary where they kept Asiatic black bears rescued from bile farms. Some of them had been badly hurt.

Hand reared bear

Play

And finally, buffalos sitting bum to bum, spied from our boat, while sailing on the Mekong:

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Luang Prabang is a small, sleepy city in northern Laos, a former royal capital and a UNESCO world heritage site. Two rivers meet there, the Nam Khan and the mighty Mekong.

We started our introduction to Luang Prabang by touring some of the beautiful Buddhist temples or wats. The locals don’t visit them too often, only on ceremonial occasions.

Wat Haw Kham

A toothy temple guardian:

The wats are filled with Buddhas, old and new, brought there by devotees. These are Buddhas in Wat Visounarath:

A damaged Buddha. Probably vandalised for some precious metal:

I love gold in it’s many hues and the way it is used in Asian art. Here are some beautiful gilded temple walls:

Novice monks chanting:

Tree of Life at Wat Xieng Thong:

Tree of Life Detail:

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A bee enjoying the bluebells

Pansies

Geranium sanguineum or Bloody Cranesbill

Siberian Bugloss and Tiarella Cordifolia, really good for shady corners

The neighbour’s evil cat is on the prowl. He likes breaking my pots, pooing in the garden and generally acting like he owns the place. If you click the image to see the larger picture you can see his yellow eyes glowering malevolently at us…

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Camellias

Front Garden

Bluebells in front garden

Lily of the Valley Buds. They have a delicious scent.

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-Chhattarpur Mandir Road, in Mehrauli, Delhi, appears to be devoted solely to farmhouses and hotels that specialise in hosting weddings and related events. As you drive down, you see signs on lamp-posts directing you to “Sachin and Meeta’s Shagun,” “Ankit and Puja’s Sangeet” etc.

-I hate competitions and want everyone to win something, so I usually can’t bear watching them. However, I have obsessively been watching Carnatic Music Idol 2011 on youtube, despite not understanding any Tamil. Nonetheless tried to pick up what the judges were saying. I am a bit disturbed by certain aspects of it, but am really impressed by how much coverage classical music gets on TV in the South unlike the North.

-I had a facial last week. The beautician said, “You have remarkably supple skin for your age.” Didn’t know whether to take that as a compliment, be outraged or to revise my own self-perception of my age as not being that old. Settled for taking it as a compliment and another indication that we needed to get on with the baby making programme soon.

-Watched a couple of episodes of Wife Bina Life on Star Plus, after not having watched that channel for ages. It’s been shot in some gated community in Pune (forget which) and every house has the same sort of nameplate. The last name of the family is displayed on the houses thus: Parekh’s, Kadam’s, Shinde’s etc. Aargh.

-My snowdrops have finished blooming, the gentle primroses are peeking out with their little egg yolk centres on display, the hellebores are blooming, the yellow forsythia is adding sunshine to the gray light and the almond tree has little pink buds. Love the build-up to spring though it’s still freezing.

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