travel theme: hills

Does this count as a hill or a mountain? Sigiriya, Sri Lanka

tea plantations in the hill country around Kandy, Sri Lanka

Sagaing hill, near Mandalay, Myanmar. The entire hillside is covered with Buddhist temples and gilded stupas

early morning in Provence

shafts of sunlight pouring down the hills in Northern Cyprus

view from St Hilarion castle, Northern Cyprus

view of Kyrenia/Girne harbour with hills behind, Northern Cyprus

Ailsa’s inspirational “hill”s are here, along with links to many others.

Travel theme: plants

Travelling as much as I do, I’ve seen a fair few plants in my time. Here are some of the more unusual/spectacular ones I’ve come across

parrot plant

pitcher plant

angels wing plant

sea pandan

Napoleon’s button tree

sharing with Ailsa and other plant lovers

travel theme: refreshing

water buffalo taking a refreshing dip in the sea

the elephants at the Pinnewala sanctuary in Sri Lanka get a daily dip too

a walk on the beach will blow a few cobwebs away

iced coffee on the beach

maybe you’d prefer a hot cup of Java

Luang Prabang

the sight of a field of red poppies is always uplifting

as is watching the dancers at a local folk festival

What refreshes you? Is it the sight/sound of water in some form? Is it a drink? a change of scenery?

sharing Ailsa’s travel theme

Travel theme: move

the geese are more interested in moving than the swans which are only interested in hanging around because it’s nearly feeding time – Abbotsbury, UK

the dance of fire

on the move in Sri Lanka

old-fashioned train travel, also in Sri Lanka

sharing with Ailsa

Travel theme: hats

Hats in Luxembourg’s Street Art Animation festival

hat made out of a water lily leaf in Sri Lanka

girl making a “poem” hat in Hue, Vietnam. Called “poem” hats because when they are held up to the light you can see a picture in the hat

these very young boys and girls are about to undergo the initiation ceremony to become monks and nuns at Ananda Paya, Bagan, Myanmar

woman in tribal headgear, Myanmar

Sharing with other hat lovers and Ailsa

word a week photo challenge: mural

A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture. (Wikipedia)

a climbing wall in Hamburg

Brussels

work in progress, in London’s Portobello Road

St Basil, Goreme open air museum, Cappadocia, Turkey

the beautiful, painted interior of the Jesuits church in Vienna

the red room in Helga’s Folly, Sri Lanka

the royal rock temple, Dambulla, Sri Lanka

Sue’s word of the week . Did you share any photos of murals this week?

dp weekly photo challenge: minimalist

birds on a wire in Sri Lanka (swallows)

Sharing with other minimalists

Sunday Stills: crowd work

It said that ‘three’s a crowd’ so here are my crowd photos, featuring five or more people or animals, for this weeks Sunday Still’s challenge

dancers waiting to greet a wedding party arriving at our hotel in Kandy, Sri Lanka

schoolgirls in Kandy

elephants at the Pinnewala elephant sanctuary, Sri Lanka

elephants spotted while on safari in Sri Lanka

DP photo challenge: relic

The word relic comes from the Latin reliquiae, meaning “remains” or “something left behind” (the same root as relinquish). It has come to mean many things to different people. Relics can be religious, as in the veneration of sacred objects in several religion. Relic is also the term for something that has survived the passage of time, especially an object or custom whose original culture has disappeared, but also an object cherished for historical or memorial value (such as a keepsake or heirloom).

“Cultural relic” is a common translation for “Wenwu” (文物), a common Chinese word that usually means “antique” but can be extended to anything, including object and monument, that is of historical and cultural value.

mosaic at Paphos, southern Cyprus

relics of a bygone era – ancient figures of horses and riders in the museum of Nicosia, Cyprus

ruined temple at Aphrodisias, Turkey

temple of the sacred tooth relic, Kandy, Sri Lanka

Did you unearth any interesting relics this week?

Daily Post Photo Challenge

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/relic/

Sunday stills: power lines

Ed said “For this challenge either intentionally photograph power lines or maybe you have a great pic that was ruined by power lines. I have both.. ;-)” I do too 🙂

power lines got in the way of this shot of tea plantations in Sri Lanka

more power lines in Sr Lanka

some crazy wiring in Hanoi

Sunday Stills