creepy religious stories abound

i don't remember the name of this dark gothic cathedral in the streets behind the old town square in prague, however the recollection of the horror at having a shriveled old human hand which was proudly pointed out, by our walking tour guide, hanging on a chain from the ceiling as evidence of a religious miracle is still crystal clear in my mind. allegedly it is the hand of a thief who came to steal a statue from the church and the statue came to life (the religious miracle) and grabbed hold of the thief's wrist - so he cut off his hand to make an escape. creepy.

perhaps i just like the quiet

the irony is not lost on me at all that despite harbouring a well-developed suspicion and deep loathing of religion, that i do love the architecture of churches and am fascinated in their history. please don't mistake fascination for admiration - i am also fascinated by world war II history. this photo is taken of the inside of st stephen's cathedral in vienna. amazing catacombs lie beneath, entombing the skeletons of thousands of plague victims. the stuff of horror movies.

the curtain was raised

and the wonders of the east were revealed. night sights and sounds in praha's old town square. simply exquisite. we were walking back to our hotel after an evening in a basement pub sinking czech beer then going to watch an extremely kitsch but highly amusing don giovanni puppet show.

i never used to like wicker

but i really love this ceiling lamp encased in the stuff. funny how your tastes change as you get older. funny how i like taking photos of lamps too. this is the fourth one for this blog that i can think of.

tongue & groove

a carpentry joint term. but also a canberra bar. to be honest it is a venue probably a little too sydney-esque and flash for the likes of me personally, with its too-cool-for-school-and-to-be-bothered-serving-you staff. it has a fancy false ceiling layered with about twenty large lamps (some of which are featured in this shot) which is lowered about five metres as the sun sets. not sure what that's about but it's the only thing i like about the place.

علاء الدي

always less than a thousand words, but oh that it could have been a thousand and one nights. this lamp adorned the entrance to our room - not a cave - in siem reap at the delightful golden banana. i will return to magical siem reap in the future.

ວຽງຈັນ

looking up through buddha at pha that luang, the great golden stupa representing both buddhism and symbolising lao nationalism in its capital vientiane. could've done with a lick of fresh paint if you ask me. no disrespect intended.

serenity now

mossy trees, misty rain, still waters of dove lake, cradle mountain location, not a single person to be in seen, complete natural serenity. these are more than a few of my favourite things.

protect old growth

a grand old dame in the tahune region in south eastern tasmania.

a different study of kamasutra

mands and i are involved in a constant quest to source excellent indian food the world over. we have experienced a great degree of success, and have found the top 3 restaurants abroad in some of the most unlikely places, this photo features the exquisite kamasutra in siem reap. the other 2 were in hoi an, vietnam, and amsterdam, netherlands. nothing like a hot aloo palak and some buttery garlic naan. haven't made it to india yet ironically.