Buddha Buying In Bangkok

Bangkok has dozens of impressive Wats, Buddhist temples, and related religious shrines. Plenty of architectural marvels, full of elaborate decorations and crammed with blinged out icons. Maybe you want to have some of that religious magic in your home? Time to head to a holy shop.

Home altars. The colors are set, just choose your size.

Parade of big Buddhas. You want sitting, standing, default gold or maybe make a statement in fake, green plastic jade?

Getting personal. Wat temples like to memorialize their famous, beloved monks by making frighteningly realist mini versions of them. Someone special in your religious life? Grab a copy.

More stuff, always more stuff. Buddha profile and an endless supply, variety of offering baskets. The gifts are for your dearly departed, making sure they have fresh toothpaste, maybe a flashlight in the afterlife.

The sign says not for sitting. Only for selling. For those folks with Buddha envy issues.

Religion Is Everywhere In Naples

Nobody does religious icons like the Catholics in Italy. OK, maybe Hindus in India bring it. Iconography is all over Naples, in churches, street side, alley shrines, in glass cases, everywhere. Don't even throw in the biggest saint, football star Maradona.

Everybody puts their favorite saint in a box. Here's Santi Domenico Soriano e Nunzio Sulprizio.

The Virgin Mary, getting dramatic. Upward lighting and plastic flowers do the trick. The handmade, casual shrines tucked into walls along streets are great. They are always a hodgepodge installation, a mix of icons, candles, offerings, and pics of those lost and remembered.

Another box, another saint. Looks tough. And cramped.

Jesus in a box details, gotta get the stigmata right.

No place is inappropriate for a shrine. Here is a little one, plopped on the retaining rocks in the harbor.

Details Of Chinese Temples In Melaka

There are a handful of nice Chinese temples to check out in Melaka, most of them sticking to a traditional pagoda design with offering tables, a few prayer altars. You remember what they look like?

Moving on to details, a chance for a place to get a little personality.

Land of ancestral tablets.

Grotto Buddha. Diorama show.

Diorama detail.

Altar painting and icon.

Moody room.

Back at the grotto, the Big Reveal. Temple tools.

Another ancestral tablet area, strong memories.

Haechi, The Symbol Of Seoul

Hello Haechi!

Our fine stone friend is the official symbol of Seoul. He's a mythical beast, part lion, part dragon. His legend is as guardian of the old palace (as in the pic above) as well as justice in general. What's not to like?

The interesting part of Haechi is his recent rise to official symbol of Seoul. The mayor of the city is design-obsessed (a good thing) and he was upset that many world class cities have famous, known symbols, an Eiffel tower, the Big Apple, etc... Seoul needed to become a city with an icon, an iconic city. His director at the Design Planning Division chose Haechi in May 2008.  A star was born.

And a star born is a star reinterpreted. Since Seoul is all about design, it is not just dictating taste, but trying to incubate creativity. The city supplied the icon, now it's time to have some fun.

Hello old recycled bottle Haechi!

And hello multiple reinterpretations. The anvil-looking thing on the back in the left photo is the old palace. Someone seems to have gone to a bunny party.

A fantastic version, a play on classic Asian blue and white porcelain ware.

A couple of American influences: Miami tourist making the scene and a winking Superman. Winking?

Finally, Haechi isn't just for fun, he's for ubiquity. The cabs proudly display him. If you can't be a yellow cab, might as well promote the icon.