Peacocks, crocodiles and picturesque scenery

Yesterday I spent in a nice peaceful place in Therai called Narayani resort. It is near Gaidakot town. So, what did I see there? Many things. First of all on arrival I was welcomed by a peacock who after seeing me decided to give greet me by spreading his beautiful feathers and showing them off in a dance.

Beautiful Christian temples of Minsk

In Belarus there are two major branches of Christianity - Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism. So, in the streets of the capital of the country, Minsk, one can find temples of these both Churches.
The main temple of the Orthodox Church is the Holy Spirit Cathedral. It dates from the 17th century. The layout of the building is a three-nave basilica. The main and the medium naves are higher than the side ones and have their own window configuration. The relics sacred for the Orthodoxy are placed in this cathedral. Among them is the icon of the Blessed Virgin of Minsk.

Miraculous stone icons

At the memorial complex "Kurapaty" (a wooden area in which a vast number of people were executed between 1937 and 1941 by the Soviet secret police) on the outskirts of Minsk there is an unusual exhibit of forty four stones with the images of different saints painted on them. The author of these icons is an icon-painter of the Minsk Holy Resurrection parish, Anatoly Kuznetsov. Critics commonly refer to his work as amateurish, and the church believes that the saints painted by him don't follow the canons of iconography. But the matter is that the artist calls his work "restoration of the image hidden in the stone," he simply sees with the inner sight what is already there on the stone, and only helps by painting and varnishing the image. Often Anatoly sees images of saints in his sleep or after prayers.

Kandy: the holy city of Sri Lanka

Kandy is an old and beautiful city of Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1592 as the residence of Sinhalese kings and was able to remain independent untill 1815 when British troops advanced. It's thanks to the Buddha's tooth that Kandy got the honourary title "holy". The tooth is kept in the temple nearly 300 years old and many Buddhist make a pilgrimage there.
Kandy is better to be explored on foot. Its narrow streets are lined with characterful old buildings and crowded with people. The Kandy Lake is one of the attractions of the city. It was created in 1807 by the last ruler of the kingdom. The island in the centre of the lake was used as the king's personal harem.

What to eat in Sri Lanka

Visiting another country, I always try the local cuisine, the more different dishes I can try the better. And Sri Lanka was no exception. Sri Lankan traditional main dish is "rice and curry": a huge portion of rice, fried in butter or cooked in coconut milk, with added raisins or green onions or nuts or turmeric - and a few dishes that make up the "curry". Curry is a savoury sauce of coconut milk in which meat, fish or vegetables are cooked. There are "dry" curries also and "dal" - soup made from lentils. Unlike the Indian version Sri Lankan dal is very thick, almost like porridge.

Following Sita's steps in Sri Lanka

I think every Hindu has read or has heard the Ramayana story. And even many non-Hindu people have a knowledge of the main characters and the plot of this ancient Indian epic. Sita, Rama's wife, was kidnapped by Ravana, the king of Lanka at those times. He brought her to his kingdom and she spent there some time before Rama came and freed her. So, in today's Sri Lanka you can visit the places connected with this story. First of all, Sita was brought to Lankapura, then the capital of Lanka, and was kept at Ravana's queen's palace there, but not for long. From there he moved her to Ashok Vatika, a beautiful garden in the mountains. This place is called Sita Eliya and is situated near Nuwara Eliya town.

Wonders of Portobello

I have been to London many times and seen many different places and museums there. But somehow I have not managed to find time to go to the famous Portobello market, that surprised my London friends very much. And finally, in my last trip to London, one warm Saturday morning I found myself wandering about this market. Having heard enthusiastic reviews, I still felt fairly skeptical - a market is a market, even in Africa, after all. What I can say right away - I was captivated by this place's special atmosphere. Yes, this is a market: it's noisy and crowded here, people are selling, buying, bargaining, there are many pickpockets (about which policemen at the entrance warn the visitors, handing out leaflets with tips on how to protect yourself from them). And yet ... there is something special, joyful in this place, there is a sense of celebration in the air and you just feel that you want to come here again. Not for shopping, but just for this feeling.

Mournful beauty of the Highgate

I can't say that I am such a big lover of walking around cemeteries. And I found myself in the London's Highgate cemetery quite by accident: a friend of mine, a fashion designer, was making a "Gothic" collection. And she wanted to visit the cemetery "for inspiration". She didn't feel like going alone and so, she talked me into accompanying her.
Want to say that the cemetery did not look terrible or ominous (at least for me). Admission was 3 pounds, simbolic fee, rather to ward off vagrants and idlers from the place.

Traditional dances of Sri Lanka

After reading online reviews about dance shows in Sri Lanka, I was in some doubt: some people found it very nice, others, on the contrary, did not like it at all. But since I like dance performances in principle, so I decided to go and see for myself. What can I say - my voice joins those who loved it.

Perahera, Sri Lankan street carnival

I think nowhere else religious procession reminds a street carnival so much as it does in Sri Lanka. This processions are called peraheras and are staged around the country at regular intervals during a year, dedicated to dirrerent gods and regional deities.Main purpose of any perahera is either to invoke their blessings or to give thanks to them for favours received. The most known and grand is the Dalada Perahera which is held in the streets of Kandy to honour the sacred tooth relic of the Buddha.
The season of peraheras in Sri Lanka is July, August, September. We visited the country in October so I didn't expect to see any perahera. But I was lucky: on the road to Galle we practically ran into one. That was amazing experience. First came the whip-crackers, who heralded the procession's arrival; next the flag-bearers - beautiful ladies in traditional dresses; then decorated elephants, drummers, musicians, acrobats and numerous dancers in different costumes.

Cute monkeys of Sri Lanka

I would call Sri Lanka "a land of wild monkeys" because you can see them practically anywhere: at the Buddhist monasteries, at the Hindu temples, at the parks, among the ancient ruins and simply on the road.

Sigiriya Lion Rock, the eighth wonder of the world

The place that most impressed me in Sri Lanka was Sigiriya, so called "Lion's Rock". Looking at this 180-meter high cliff to which 1200 steps lead one can't believe that once there was the royal residence up there. The idea of ​​building the palace in such an unusual place came to the king Kassapa, who lived in the 5th century. He was the eldest son of King Dhatusena and his wife, a commoner. Therefore, the throne was to inherit his other son, though younger, but from his wife of royal blood. That prospect did not satisfy Kassapa and he just decided to seize power by force. After doing so, he put his father in prison, but not for long - rumors that the former king had hidden treasures somewhere, did not give Kassapa rest.

The Royal Botanical Gardens at Peradeniya, Sri Lanka

The Royal Botanical Gardens at Peradeniya is a necessary part of any visiti program to almost all travel agencies. And though we were traveling by ourselves but having heard / read a lot of enthusiastic reviews I also decided to visit this garden. And have no regrets. The garden is very large, beautiful, well-groomed, with many not previously seen by me trees and plants.

Buddhas of Sri Lanka

Buddha at the entrance to the Kandy museum

I had thought that Sri Lanka is a Hindu country, but no, it turned out that the majority of the population is Buddhists (69%). And even if you have not read the statistics on this subject beforehand, that Sri Lanka is a Buddhist country is not difficult to guess just after arriving there - impressive size sculpture of seated Buddha greets you at the airport, and numerous figures of smaller size, enclosed in glass boxes , flash with the regularity at roadsides and crossroads. I've never seen so many images of Buddha: in different sizes - from huge to small, in various poses - sitting, standing, reclining, with different facial expressions and hand positions, made of different materials.

Sri Lanka, the emerald in the ocean

Just a few days ago I came back from my trip to Sri Lanka. I must confess that the country simply charmed me, I hadn't expected to see such beauty. It is said that even Adam found this little island the place on earth that most resembled his lost Paradise . Lanka has made the same impression on me, this place looks just like one would imagine paradise. Palm trees, tropical jungles, pine groves, tea plantations - the whole island is buried in verdure of different shades. That's why comparison with an emerald came to my mind. Add to all this greenery blueness of waterfalls, rivers, lakes and goldness of the sandy beaches, turquoiseness of the ocean and sweetness of a variety of sweet fruits - well, isn't it paradise?

Thai spirit houses

Walking along the streets of Bangkok or any other Thai town you can't help but notice small doll-like houses here and there. They can be seen in the compound of nearly every house, business office, restaurant or hotel. These are so called spirit shrines - the symbolic residences of the guardian spirits. The structures perch of wood or cement pillars and receive daily offerings of rice, fruit, flowers, candles and incense sticks.

Sometimes there is a collection of ceramic or plastic figurines inside the house representing the property's guardian spirits. Larger shrines may contain even bronze images of Brahma or Shiva.

Nature wonders of Koh Samui

Of course, the most important natural landmark of Koh Samui is the sea and the beaches. The beaches here are clean and sandy; the sea is calm and clean; sunrises and sunsets are colorful and picturesque.
The most popular beach of the island is Chaweng. This is a kind of tourist center of Ko Samui. The largest number of hotels, restaurants, shops and people you will find in this area.

The Grand Palace of Bangkok

The Bangkok’s most famous landmark is the Grand Palace. This complex offers a display of beautiful architecture, creativity and craftsmanship of Thailand. This is a former royal residence which today is used by the king only for certain ceremonial occasions.

The most interesting temples of Bangkok

Temples in Thailand are called wat. All wats have some similar characterictics: it is walled compound containing several buildings in traditional Thai style with seep swooping roofs and colourful interior murals. There are more than 300 wats around Bangkok but the most important and beautiful are these:
The temple of Reclining Buddha. This is the largest and oldest temple of Bangkok. Besides, it houses the largest image of the Buddha. The highly impressive gold plated Buddha is 46 m long and 15 m high illustrates the passing of the Buddha into nirvana. The feet and the eyes are engraved with mothe of pearl decoration and the feet also show the 108 auspicious characteristics of the true Buddha.

Singapore's zoo

My favourite place in Singapore is…no, not a shopping mall but the zoo. Usually I don't like zoos as I feel pity for poor animals that will never be free and all their lives have to live in cages. But the Singapore’s zoo is quite different, it is one of the most beautiful and spacious zoo in the world, with lavish tropical enclosures instead of cages, moats and hedges instead of fences.
Singapore’s Zoological Gardens started life after the Second World War as a menagerie of abandoned British military pets. By the early 1970s it had evolved into a proper zoo.