Sangha

A monk in a speedboat on the Mekong:

Light at a wavelength of 600 nanometres is a beautiful colour to the Dutch. Most of the rest of us might think it a bit bright for clothing. But it is common in Thailand and Laos, and looks great on the monks.

Most Lao boys become novice monks at some point, usually after the death of a relative. Monasteries are also where a lot of boys go to be educated; monasteries are kept going by daily donations from the Lao population, so the parents do not need to pay.

It’s not an easy life: no eating after lunch, for example, and up at 4 am for a spot of chanting.

Everyone wants to take monk photos. They must get fed up of being photographed, and it takes a certain insensitivity to photograph them too close. But Buddhists have to seek detachment, and they are not allowed to get angry, so this is a good test, no? Perhaps not. So I’m still searching for the perfect monk shot.

This shot of the laundry is the best here, in my opinion, because of the contrast between the orange and the nearly monochrome background.

There will be few opportunities here in Vietnam. The very few monks I have seen have been robed in brown.