Irreverent, informed and downright eclectic books and reportage from Southeast Asia and beyond
Another golden oldie, that old chestnut, the Phuket Vegetarian Festival, which I covered in 2005 for Fortean Times and several other publications.
Never mind the flash resorts, sleazy bars, high rise condos and MacHolidays on offer on Thailand’s largest and most overdeveloped tourist island. Phuket also has culture. Every year, men and women have their faces [...]
This is a travel story from some years back about a visit to a rather peculiar temple. So take a ride to the Temple of the Possessed…. Ashok was a great driver.
We are on our way to Balaji Mandir, a temple dedicated to the mighty monkey king Hanuman, who rescued Sita, Ram’s wife, [...]
Every year in March, thousands of Buddhist devotees gather at a temple an hour west of Bangkok to worship and celebrate one of Thailand’s strangest cults: At Wat Bang Phra, Buddhist monks use long needles to tattoo magic images and prayers on the believers’ skin. The tattoos are believed to give the wearer protection, especially [...]
There are many Kali temples in the Kathmandu Valley but only one, demands daily sacrifices - Dakhshin Kali. And on Saturdays, the blood runs faster, deeper and longer than on any other day.
The first rays of the sun break through the pine trees that cover the steep slope that seems to drop right down to [...]