Wolfgang's photos

This village is inhabited most by the Burmesian minority the Karen tribes and just about 500 Meters away to the Burmesian border

Its a common scene in a local train between Bangkok Noi, Thonburi and Mae Khlong. This rail isn't connected to the national railway net and a hot suggest to ride for every individual visitor in Thailand.

Kawthaung, also called Victoria Point, is the southest point in Burma and the starting point for our scuba diving safaris to the Mergui Archipelago.

One of my favorites places for scuba diving without any noice of other diving or fishing boats. So the big fish like manta rays, whale sharks, white, black and silver tip reef sharks can be seen during dives

A beautiful romantic place to stay on western side of the island Chang in eastern Thailand and ... free of jigger fleas the mainly big trouble on the island. But the sudden tourism boom however, has been fraught with controversy concerning land use, etc.

The Twelve Apostles are a collection of natural limestone stacks standing just off shore in the Port Campbell National Park, on the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia. Their proximity to one another has made the site a popular tourist attraction. Originally the site was called the Sow and Piglets. The name was changed in the 1950s to the more majestic "The Twelve Apostles" to lure more visitors even though there were only nine left. The Twelve Apostles are between the towns of Port Campbell and Princetown on the Great Ocean Road. In the early 2000s a visitor centre was built on the inland side of the road, to allow for easy parking and access to the best viewing area.

Bali is an island of temples. The Department of Religion has cataloged at least eleven thousand temples - small and large, local and regional. The Balinese call a shrine palinggih, which simply means "place" or "seat" and refers to any sort of temporary or permanent place toward which devotions and offerings are made. In no case is the shrine itself considered sacred; the shrine exists or is built as a residence for sacred, or holy, spirits - either ancestors or Hindu deities. Balinese temples are not closed buildings, but rectangular courtyards open to the sky, with rows of shrines and altars dedicated to various gods and deities. The gods are not thought to be present in the temples except on the dates of the temple's festivals, and therefore the temples are usually left empty. On festival days the congregation of each temple assembles to pray to and entertain the visiting deities.

Photo was shot on the Floating Market in Cần Thơ, Mekong Delta

this beautiful colored paper dragons are sold out in Bangkok China Town

Tea, fruits, flower garlands, incense sticks and cash money are sacrificed to Buddhist saints.

Barkhor Square, the approach to the complex taken by most tourists today. The sky shows a dramatic spectacle. It is a large plaza built in 1985. The clockwise barkhor circumambulation is close to Johkang Temple, which is a permanent stea. There are totally four sangkangs (a stone building with a shape of pot-belly) in the Jokhang: behind the first two there are two joined enclosures, the other two are regarded as the rear of the Jokhang.

The Thu Bon River in Hoi An is the largest of its kind in the Khannam Danang Province of Vietnam. The Thu Bon River in Hoi An is also famous by another name among the people of Vietnam: “Kuadai”. The river is responsible in a big way for the traditional and historical heritage of the town of Hoi An. The now fishing town of Hoi An was a popular international trade destination and also a convenient stopover for many merchant ships bound to and for China and other countries. This was chiefly because of the simple reason that the Thu Bon River in Hoi An flowed into the East China Sea. Trade in the town via the Thu Bon River in Hoi An thrived from the 16th to the 18th centuries. In fact, most of the current populations of the town are descendents of traders and merchants who chose to settle down in the town. It is believed that in those days the Thu Bon River in Hoi An had a larger estuary area that facilitated trade and communication. The formation of the bays and shores of the river today that are made of sandbanks and guarded by lagoons indicate to this.

It is found on Highway No. 706, about a two hours drive from Ho Chi Minh City, and features sweeping sand dunes and beautiful rows of palm trees. The beach is shallow and sloped, the water is clean and blue and the sun rarely hides behind clouds. There are desolate and primeval beaches that have never witnessed human exploitation as well as imposing landscapes. There is also Doi Cat (Sand Hill), which has long been a creative subject of artistic photographs and paintings.

Dao Cao Đài (Caodaism in English) is the third largest religion in Viet Nam (after Buddhism and Roman Catholicism). "Cao" means "high"; "Đài" means "palace". Cao Đài refers to the supreme palace where God reigns. The word is also used as God's symbolic name. Caodaism is a syncretistic religion which combines elements from many of the world's main religions, including Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Taoism, as well as Geniism, an indigenous religion of Viet Nam.

Monthly rituals are held at the Cao Đài Temples on the 1st and 15th days of each lunar month. Monthly and annual rituals (in Vietnam) are normally held at 12:00 midnight (Thời Tý) or 12:00 noon (Thời Ngọ). Twice a month, on the first and the fifteenth day of the lunar calendar, believers must meet at the Thánh-Thất / Temple of their local area and attend the ceremony and listen to the teachings.

Start the Kora around the Kailash (the Kora is the holy way around the mountain) Barely a century ago, Mt. Kailash (6,658m) was shrouded in mystery. This holiest of sacred mountains was once only a myth to the outside world. Assumed to lie somewhere between the vast expanse of China and the subcontinent of India, it lay hidden within the forbidden land of Tibet. To the Tibetans it is Gangkar Ti se or Gang Rimpoche (Precious Snow Mountain) and is revered not only by Buddhists but also by millions of Hindus, Jains and followers of other traditional faiths. The mountain is out of consideration for its religious meaning so far not climed yet. First permission for mounting to the summit was given to Reinhold Messner (1985), which he requested a permission for the surrounding area. This done however without the execution. Since then no further permission was given, also not in the year 2001, as the Spaniards Jesús Martinez Novaz has planned an expedition for "political demonstration against environmental degradation and for larger, global consciousness" defined. This led however to world-wide protests of different groups of religions, which, supported from famous mountain climbers, reject a mounting of the Kailash. Thank you Reinhold Messner for your consideration to all the people who believe in this holiness of the great jewel mountain!

Three pagodas occupying a scenic location at the foot of Mt. Cangshan facing Erhai Lake, has a history of over 1,800 years. It is a symbol of the history of Dali City, and a record of the development of Buddhism in the area. As its name implies, Three Pagodas are made of three ancient independent pagodas forming a symmetrical triangle. This is unique in China. The middle Qianxun Pagoda, 69.13 meters high, is one of the highest pagodas of the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907). The Pagoda, now empty, previously could be climbed by ladder from the inside. However the ladder is now broken, and travelers now have no opportunity to climb up.