Mellow Yellow Monday - Dok Khun

Commonly known as the 'golden shower tree,' the Dok Khun flowers start to bloom just before New Year. The flowers, tied together in bunches, are used for scattering water for water blessing ceremonies. They are also in the silver bowl of water used for the New Year's blessings. Since they have so many cultural uses, it's easy to see why the Dok Khun is the National Flower of Thailand.

Whenever I see the flowers, I feel the great lazy feeling of this time of the year. March through May are the hot season, with the hottest part of the year during mid-April, which is the time of the Lao New Year.

Mellow Yellow Monday - Temple Guardian

I'm not sure if this guardian looks more like a dragon or a lion protecting the entrance to a Buddhist Temple near downtown Vientiane.

Mellow Yellow Monday - Duckies

This is as mellow as yellow as you can get. My neighbors thought I was daft taking pictures of the ducklings - they raise them and see them every day but I thought they were really cute.

This is my contribution to Mellow Yellow Monday. Click on the link or on the icon on the sidebar to see other forms of yellow around the world.

Mellow Yellow Monday #1

There are ceremonies in January/ February for Pra Thawaet, the last incarnation of the Buddha before he was born in Lumphini Park, Nepal to become the Buddha. The day is spent in making merit, going to the temple with members of the community, and enjoyment. So a company sets up a bouncy castle so the kids are entertained.

Unfortunately, I couldn't attend the actual ceremonies but I did take pictures of the temple fair at my local temple.

This is the bouncy castle at night:



This is my contribution to Mellow Yellow Monday. There's an icon on the sidebar for viewing other forms of yellow around the world.