People leave offerings in the temples, not for the idols to eat, of course, but for the priests and monks, the caretakers of the temples and pagodas.
Still it seemed odd to us that so much junk food was left for the monks.
I loved the clutter of the altars, the ritual objects, the offerings, the flowers, the decorations of the temples.
The multitude of objects suggests abundance of blessing.
This is an altar in honor of an emperor of Vietnam in the citadel in Hue.
I'm not sure who or what was borne in this palanquin.
The jars on the altars contain the ashes of Imonks of the monastery.
The final picture was taken on a street in Hoi An, through a doorway into a store that was closing for the evening. Our hotel also had an altar in the lobby, as did many of the restaurants where we ate (and as do many Chinese restaurants in the US).
I very much like the idea of setting aside a sacred place in one's home.
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