Mandu.

Mandu, a small, sleepy backcountry town in Madhya Pradesh state, is yet another great example of a place begging to be explored. Offering many points of interest it is a delightfull place for the adventurous traveller to stay a few days. It is an old city-fortified at least since the 6th century BC, and the first you see of Mandu are the walls punctuated by 12 gates which surrounds the old cityarea. In town itself there are several palaces and mosques. The main draw for visitors. Between 1401 and 1561 the ruined ancient Mandu covering a large area outside the present center was the capital of a Muslim state.

Drying chili in the hot afternoon sun.

The entrance to the Jami Masjid. The complex is located i the middle of modern Mandu, and the haat bazar is held just outside its walls.

The central courtyard of Jami Masjid.

Hoshang Shah's grave. Note the carved yali windows in the background.

Schoolgirls returning home.

Clean drinking water is distributed every day.

A group of wandering pilgrims arrives in Mandu. There is a Shiva temple in the area which attracts many pilgrims.

Mandus Haat Bazaar atracts  lots of tribal people from the surrounding villages. Here is a mound of mahuwa flowers, used to make Mahuwa-moonshine. I tried it once...it was my first and last time.

Killing time.

A tribal woman from one of the surrounding villages study some jewellery for sale-displayed on a blanket on the ground. 

The Haat Bazar with the white dome of the Hoshang Shah mausoleum in the background.

Negotiations.

They carry heavy. They carry far.

Waiting!

The afternoon rush in Mandus central crossroad. No stinking cars, but farting cattle. Less dangerous, for sure!

A tribal boy and his goat. Mandus population is divided in two. In the more central and upmarked areas there are mainstream indians. In the more villagelike "suburbs" people are tribal.

Cooking in a backyard in Mandu. Some firewood is used, but cow dung dominates.

Jahaz Mahal. The crown of the ancient palace complex. It is situated between two artificial lakes.

The Hindola Mahal, one of the buildings in the huge royal palace complex. The name means swinging walls, hinting to its sloped construction. It is thought to have been used as an audience chamber. 

View from the top of the Jahaz Mahal.

Fishing in one of the palace ponds. They got a big catch. Some of the fishes were quite big.

A mausoleum i the middle of a field. The area surrounding Mandu is packed with monuments like this.

And another mausoleum as a backdrop for a village.

Now silent and deserted. Once full of life and action. The ruins of a caravanserai outside of Mandu.

Yali windows in a mausoleum.

A small temple outside Mandu. Two arriving pilgrims conveniently enters the photo frame as i am about to shoot.

Some ancient man made caves outside Manu. Nearby is a great vantagepoint over the surrounding area.

A villagehome. Getting around by bike is easy and worthwhile.

Drying wheels of dung for fire.

Over a cowdung fire,well into the road. A couple running a roadside eatery make food.

Leaving Mandu on a true "chicken bus"bound for Dhar. Only it was only a few chickens onboard. Goats however numbered  more than a dozen.

In and around Luang Namtha. Jungle and tribes.

I would complain anonymously-complaining about the state isn't necessarily such a good idea in socialistic, democratic one party state Laos.

In my noodle soup shop I like their calendars. Actually i love their calendars. And by the way-they have food as well. Their noodle soups with different choices of meat rank among the better thanks to a mountain of different aromatic herbs served with it.

Two types of Laolao at the market. Moonshine with hangover as a common key ingredient.

Banana flowers-used as a vegetable in soups and stews.

Rattan, one of the important items harvested in the forests. There are many types and they have a wide variety of use-from building materials to rope to medicine and food. These pieces are for food. The outer layers are peeled off, uncovering a brittle, tasty core. A delicious vegetable-i would love to introduce the idea of rattan salad.

In a village of the Lanten people just outside Luang Namtha. A good way of keeping rats out of the house.

A Lanten woman prepares yarn for weaving.

Trekking is the big thing in Luang Namtha. I signed up for a trip trough jungle to a tribal village. Here i pose as the forest god in an established rest site in the jungle.

Served on banana leafs, lunch in the green. Fellow trekker, British Paul enjoys.

It is that perfect jungle, with sunlight being filtrated trough the dense canopy roof above. The sunlight being reflected in small streams trough the greenness. The air is filled with the sounds of playing insects. Walking there was mostly easy-but thee were a couple of more demanding slopes-made demanding by slippery conditions and the fact one of my sandals broke.

Arriving at the village. At first glimpse it looks rather modern, but it soon became evident old ways still live on there. We were put up in the compound of the village chief. A small addition to the main house with a sleeping platform and mosquito nets in it. The toilet was across the street-a hole in the ground style loo under a roof not suitable for the heaviest of rain showers.

The old animistic belief system is visible and dominant. Here is a row of spirit houses. If people want their spirits to reside and protect, they have to supply them with accommodation and offerings.

A grooms house. Once a groom is appointed, a tinny house on tall stilts is built near the home of the "to be"bride. Here the guy is supposed to live.

A spirit catcher. They can be seen everywhere-below buildings. Placed on roofs. attached to trees. They are highly sacred objects with a definite no touch rule applied to it.

On a wall in the home of our host. Fungus hanging-more spiritualism visible.

Returning with firewood from the forest. No gas or coal there.

We wanted beer, and was given directions to a shop which was not at all very evident. We passed it but eventually found it. We instantly became the star attraction of an ever growing audience of people of all ages and both sexes. Seeing the white people drinking beer obviously was exiting. Some of them was trying to communicate a bit more and was rewarded with cigarettes and a sip of beer.

A group of lovely villagechildren.

Early morning, the village is slowly getting to life and making ready for a new working day out in the forest and in the fields.

The kitchen fire of our host.

Not a good morning for everyone. A pig gets killed-a knife piercing its heart. The blood is collected.

They dug a hole in the ground and put the pig in it. Then pouring hot water over it to ease the removal of the fur.

An elderly woman inspects the work.

A bystander. The slaughtering event drew a big crowd. Many of them waiting for a share of the meat.

On our way out of the village we passed a scaffold with lot of sticks attached to it-offerings to the spirits. On our way from the jungle to the main road we went to rubber plantations, passed remote ricebarns and into pristine jungle. We were showed a little jungle food-i got to eat red ants-living red ants-straight from the log they were travelling along. An acidic taste which could do the trick in some dishes.