Currently showing at Maison de la Culture in Vientiane, Laos.

In early 2016, Tessa Bunney and I decided to work on a joint project and in March simultaneously travelled to Myanmar and Thailand to photograph the Buddhist ordination ceremonies to see the similarities and differences across borders. The result of our travels is Novice – Photographs of Poy Sang Long and Shinbyu Buddhist ordination ceremonies in rural Thailand and Myanmar.

Each year in March or April in Mae Hong Son province, the Shan people hold the colourful parades and ceremonies as part of Poy Sang Long. The events are held to ordain young boys into the monkhood and begins at a local temple with the ritual head shaving. For the following three days they are adorned with beautiful make-up, dressed in brightly coloured clothes, kept off the ground, and paraded through the town on the shoulders of relatives as sang long or precious gems.

If you are flying Thai Airways this month, take a look at my article in Sawasdee magazine about Ang Thong province, just north of Bangkok. I also have the cover shot.

The image was taken at Wat Muang, home to Phra Buddha Maha Nawamin, the largest Buddha statue in the country and the ninth tallest in the world. This spectacular 92-metre high (300 feet) and 63-metre (210 feet) wide seated Buddha towers over worshippers as they reach up to grasp its huge fingernails and whisper their prayers. Construction of this monumental golden image began in 1990 and was finally completed in 2008. Today, the faithful make merit here in the belief that they will be more successful in business.

Over the past couple of years one of Vientiane’s most beautiful temples, Vat Si Saket, has been undergoing a steady process of renovation.

The roof of the cloisters have been retiled and now some of the inner walls are being painted. The image above is how they have looked for as long as I can remember. Below shows the work being done. I assume this is how they believe they were originally painted.

I’m not sure if the intention is to do all the walls. If it is, then it’s a mammoth task but should look stunning when completed.

Vat Si Saket is one of the oldest and most atmospheric temples in Vientiane. It was built in 1818 and is one of the few to have survived an attack on Vientiane by the Siamese army a decade later.

The temple’s central ‘sim’ or ordination hall is surrounded by a walled cloister. In addition to rows of large Buddha images, recesses in the cloister walls house 6,840 wooden and ceramic images.

The temple is open daily from 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.

Two young novice nuns collecting alms in downtown Yangon.

Lotus flowers left as prayer offerings leaning against a wall at Tat Luang, Vientiane.

Here’s a quick black and white snapped in a Vientiane temple during prayers to mark Boun Ok Pansa, the end of rainy season retreat.

On a recent visit to Ayutthaya I called in at the intriguing Wat Niwet Thammaprawat.

Built during the reign of Thailand’s King Chulalongkorn Rama V (1853 – 1910), Wat Niwet Thammaprawat is one of the country’s most surprising temples. From the outside, the building looks like a Gothic Christian church and there are few clues revealing that it is actually a Thai Buddhist temple.

Inside, the ornate décor continues the Christian style but with Buddhist imagery. The colourful stained glass windows include an image of King Chulalongkorn in royal attire.

For visitors who enter the beautiful temple it is a strange experience that plays with preconceived notions of religious imagery and its context.

The way of reaching the temple is equally unique. It is located on an island in the Chao Phraya River which is spanned by a small trolley-like cable car. Ring a bell and monks will bring you across. A visit to Wat Niwet Thammaprawat can also be tied in with a trip to Bang Pa-In Palace which lies on the opposite bank.

Portrait of a young Buddhist monk taken in Kandy, Sri Lanka.

Last November I spent a couple of weeks motorcycling in Sri Lanka – an experience that leaves you with the distinct impression that every motorist has been hired to run you down. Kamakaze bus drivers and scroungers aside, it’s a beautiful country with a rich history and many spectacular Buddhist sites to explore. One of the most enigmatic is the cave temple at Dambulla.

The World Heritage Site is situated 148 km east of Colombo. The series of five caves are covered with 2,000 m² of colourful Buddhist murals and also feature 157 Buddha images. Established in third century B.C., the complex has been used as a place of worship ever since.

The caves are located in a hillside and reached by a steep flight of stairs. For those interested in learning more about the temple’s history, there’s also a Buddhist museum situated in front of an enormous, and more recent, golden Buddha.

I’ll try and post more images from Sri Lanka in the near future.

I’m usually pretty good at getting up early. It’s part of the job description for photographers. But this Sunday was a struggle, thanks to a little over-indulgence with friends the night before.

I almost persuaded myself to stay in bed rather than get up at 5 am and head to Rajprasong in central Bangkok for the last of three annual mass almsgiving ceremonies.

I’ve been to a couple of these in the past so it wasn’t essential for me to go again but I’m glad I made the effort because there’s some great photo-opportunities to be had.

The almsgiving is organized in most part by the  Dhammakaya which is located at a huge temple on the outskirts of Bangkok. This controversial foundation is skilled at staging high profile and visually dramatic events, and is popular with a certain segment of the Thai middle class.

On Sunday, as part of Buddhist Lent, the almsgiving was held to honour the Triple Gem, namely Buddha, Dharma and Sangha or the Lord Buddha, his teachings and the Buddhist community.

At 5.30 a.m., ten thousand saffron-robed monks who had been bussed in for the occasion gathered in downtown Bangkok for a prayer ceremony. This was followed by the almsgiving by an equally large number of followers, all dressed in white.

The offerings, mainly dried instant noodles, rice, UHT drinks and coffee powder will be distributed by the army to temples in the troubled southern provinces where daily violence by militant Muslims has made it difficult for monks to go out to receive alms.

Despite the large turnout at the event, it must be said that a lot of Thai Buddhists don’t like these large-scale gatherings because of the involvement of Dhammakaya, an organization that is viewed by many as placing too much emphasis on financial contributions.

The entire event is extremely well organised and runs like clockwork. Plastic sheeting laid out on the road in front of Gaysorn Plaza and Central World have clearly defined areas for worshippers to sit and monks to walk.

After prayers, the monks proceed down the walkway and are presented with offerings. Once the bowls are full, young soldiers empty the the contents into plastic sacks so more offerings can be made.

Those who can’t find a place to sit simply stand at the side of the road and pray.

The majority of those taking part in the ceremony wear white clothing.

Many novice monks take part in the event.

Individual donations are small but plentiful and truckloads of items are collected to be sent down south.

There’s no shortage of colourful characters.

Once the ceremony is over, the monks gather in groups and head back to their buses. The road is then quickly cleared and Bangkok’s notorious traffic returns.