77) Bagan, the Buddhist plain of merit

Brilliant photos
your photos are absolutely amazing. Really great photography. I feel as though I'm actually there.

Greedy Turtles
I always thought of turtles were wise and patient animals. I suppose Franklin Books and Saturday morning cartoons created these romantic ideas. Thank you for changing my views on turtles. Your dedication to detail also is astouding!

Hi you two! First of all, I would like to say that I enjoyed reading your blogs and admiring the great pictures. I know that I'm a little late in commenting since you finished travelling over a year ago, but I have been waiting for more travelling and more fantastic pictures and blogs. Secondly, are you going to be doing anymore travelling? Sure hope so!!

fantastic
Would just like to say what an fantastic site, Love your photos, made my day, Barry

Traditional Lacquer in VietNam
As a traditional fine art which goes back many years in Vietnam though no one knows for sure how many, Vietnamese lacquerware was handed down from generation to generation as a family secret until the first half of the 20th century when the renovation in the field led by excellent artists of Indochina Fine Arts school in Hanoi made the occupation popular not only in Vietnam but also all over the world. Since then, the legend of Vietnamese [URL="http://www.tlcrafts-interiors.com/Lacquer-ware.html?Itemid="]lacquer ware[/URL] has really come true. Many generations of lacquer artists have gradually enhanced the quality of Vietnamese lacquerware in the last seventy years; discovering new materials to add to the palette of colored lacquers, the method of mixing various colors, the process of creating the lacquerware and particularly the technique of rubbing the lacquerware in water. Vietnamese lacquer art, however, is an extremely time - consuming and labor - intensive work; Vietnamese lacquerware is the hard work of many people: Lacquer artists, lacquer painters, and many workers who shed their sweat to the fullest spending over 100 days through 20 stages to create the Vietnamese lacquerware. As a result, every Vietnamese lacquerware bears the feelings of its creator: flexibility, complexity and variety. The lacquerware seems to carry something now appears now disappears passionately, ardently and magically. Many artists always say that the first time they really saw the lacquer, it was its blackness that impressed them. It is the black of the universe holding all things and having incredible depth to it.