Junior monks play to call other monks for evening prayer.

In Laos Buddhist monks are mendicant order. As in many communist countries religious doctrines were fought by the authority. It has been a long tradition that one boy in a family had to join a Buddhist convent. Since the communist's rules softened, now many young boys join the ranks of the monks. Here, they line in a queue to receive morning alms.

Giving alms is a long tradition and good karma for believers. Some families celebrate this event every morning at an early dawn.

Meditating Buddha and his disciples.

Another way to earn good karma is to buy some birds and make them free in front of a temple.

The tradition of buying and freeing birds from cages is wicked. It spirals up the problem of poaching and mistreatment of birds.

A girl giving freedom to a couple of small birds.

Preparation for funeral. Local men decorate a wooden and paper roofing which will cover the top of a coffin. Women in the meantime were gathered together for a snack and a chat.

The deceased woman was a farmer with liking for flowers. To tribute it, they draw and prepare floral and faming decorations and stick them on the cover of her coffin.

A monk in symbolic a way pulls the coffin with the body from her house.

These men loaded the coffin on the back of a lorry that serves as a hearse on the way to cremation.

All family and participants of the funeral gathered in front of monks and cremation site.

Every participant of the funeral received a piece of wood (tinder) and a plant to initiate fire of the pile of timber under the coffin.

In ceremonial act every mourner and guest put the piece of wood under the deceased.

After the last farewell the family and friends go to the funeral reception.

The blazing flames turn the body into ashes.

It is a row of Buddhist graves that surrounds a top of a hill and a Buddhist monastery. In one of those graves the ashes of the woman will be laid down to rest.

A son puts flowers and lights candles in front of his father's grave.

Sticky rice is the staple among rice in Laos.
Usually it is not boiled in water but steamed in a woven basket over a pot with boiling water.

Sticky rice after steaming is dried in the sun.
Once dry, it is used in preparation of other dishes and products.

Dried salamanders (Genus: Tylototriton) sold as traditional Chinese medicine.

Grilled intestine.

Beerlao is the most popular local beer in Laos and a nice one.

In the capital the country - Vientiane this type of dust bin made of truck tire is a popular site.

These drying grasses are scattered in front of homes all over Laos. They use them to manufacture brushes for local market and Chinese.

Another export product that comes from the Mekong river. These algae are sun dried with spices, garlic, tomatoes and sesame seeds.

A local grocery store in a countryside.

A red flag, the symbol of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party.

China is building a fast cargo railway line through Laos to Thailand. In the Northern Laos there are many rubber plantations. This rubber and many other resources have to be quickly transported to China.

Although many transit roads have improved for the last decade by asphalting them, there are still many dirt roads which rise plums of dust in the dry season and are hardly possible in the wet season.

As the mega hydroelectric dams are under constructions many far flung villages are without electricity. However some people try to provide power to their houses by small generators.

This lizard is the only wildlife picture of fauna I have taken in Laos as close to nature as it was possible. It is a glass advert with of some adventure company. On the glass there is a gecko, in fact a house gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus) that is very common in buildings in tropical regions. They are very useful as they prey on mosquitoes and other bugs inside houses.

Rivers shaped the landscapes but they also create long network of corridors, tunnels and labyrinths that may wind through rocky and limestone mountains.

Like in most South East Asian countries motorbikes, scooters and mopeds are so common. There are more people riding one of those than walking on the streets at one time (it's only my guess).

A street in Luang Prabang.

A street in a touristic village Muang Ngoy.

In a few S.E.Asian countries cock fighting is a common leisure and entertainment time. In Laos however they do not attach razor blades to the claws of the roosters. These rooster fights can generate a small income to the owners, so they are kept safely in cages or on a perch attached to it by a string.

Although Buddhist monks should renounce any worldly goods that are not necessities. However many young novices can not resist the pressure of advertisements and become addicted to their little smart phones.

Young monks collect alms.

Giving alms is a sacral experience for religious Laotians, they anticipate it every morning. Monks receive sustenance and the believers blessings and good karma.

Marigold temple offerings mostly in the forms of cones are sold by many poor people to earn some many.

A Chinese Temple.