Farmers on Inle Lake, Myanmar grow their crops on floating islands over the open water of the large fresh water lake. They produce enormous amounts of vegetables of all kinds, but they specialize in tomatoes. The floating islands are essentially neat rows of water hyacinth plants and mineral-rich silt from the bottom of the lake, which are held in place by long bamboo poles.

The vegetables are grown on top of the makeshift islands and flourish with constant access to water and nutrients. The farmers produce about 50,000 tons of tomatoes annually on the hundreds of acres of floating “land”.

Farmers tend their crops row-by-row in small handmade wooden boats made in the villages nearby. They build temporary houses (on stilts of course) to be close to their gardens, and to avoid the long rowing trek back to their villages in their motor-less boats.

Like the fishermen on Inle Lake, farmers use a method of rowing that is not found in any other place on the planet. They effortlessly balance themselves upright on the precarious stern of their boats, and use one leg to do the rowing and navigating. I just don’t know how they do it. 

When motorboats pass through the larger channels around the farms, the vegetable islands bounce up and down like buoys on open water. It’s a little disorienting.

It was also fascinating.

Buddhist monks in southeast Asia (and maybe other places as well) make a procession every morning in their communities to accept food from their neighbors. According to their practice, the food must be simple, nutritious and purposefully without rich flavors or beauty. It should sustain life, but not stimulate desire.

One morning I went out for a sunrise view from one of the ancient temples, and heard the 6 am chanting starting at the Ananda Temple just a 3 minute walk from my front door. I went over and discovered a group of older monks making a line to receive their day's sustenance. I watched the proceedings while the chanting was echoing hauntingly around the temple complex. And I also made these pictures of course.

The next morning I went in search of a procession of young monks that always make their way around Old Bagan, and found them on one of the dirt roads just 2 blocks from my front door. 

They walk around the village in a line usually with the younger boys leading the way and the older ones perfectly paced behind them. They look especially striking in their burgundy robes as they walk the hard-packed roads under the sheltering trees during the soft morning light.

I couldn’t think of a lovelier way to start my day.

One of our most wonderful experiences in Bagan this year was our visit to a small school in Minnanthu village. 

Our guide (Oak Kar) walked into the school yard and asked the children to gather around. We had carried pencils, pens, note pads, stickers, and most importantly, American candy from the other side of the world to give to these children, and we began to give them away.

The children were pretty excited, but quiet and very sweet. They were also just as curious about the blond and light-skinned people visiting their school. It was probably quite a surprise.  

We only had a short time with these sweet little people, but we loved it. Maybe we'll get a chance to go back sometime.

In the days we spent in the very fertile Shan State area of Myanmar, we never saw people using a tractor to work the land (plowing, harvesting, moving the harvest, etc.), all of the work is done by people and oxen.

As we drove through the area we spotted women bringing in their harvest of tender green teas.

We stopped, and our private guide gave us a way to talk to the sweet ladies making their harvest. We were happy to see them, and they were very curious about us. And they were also happy to have a little help from my girls, who, it turns out, love to pluck little leaves from bushes.

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The first image captures a funeral procession in the alleyways of Varanasi, India.

In the ancient city, the deceased is carried through the alleyways to the edge of the Ganges River where the open air crematoriums are located. After a series of rites and the cremation of the body, the ashes are released into the holy river and the soul of the deceased is freed from the cycle of reincarnation.

It was fascinating to observe.