There’s a party goin’ on right here
A celebration to last throughout the years
So bring your good times and your laughter too
We’re gonna celebrate your party with you
Two nuclear armed countries face off every day, with marching, dancing, preening and twirling of moustaches, at the Wagah border crossing between India and Pakistan.
Thousands of spectators pass through metal detectors, ID checks, and pat-downs to cheer as border guards march up face to face across the border, draw down the flags and shut the gate.
We experienced Holi in a small city, Bharatpur, where everyone was very friendly and respectful. I hear things can get a bit out of control in the big cities.
Holi Festival in India is a very colurful affair.
In Sagada, a small mountain town in Luzon, Philippines, the practice of placing the dead in hanging coffins dates back around 2,000 years. The deceased are place high to assist their journey to the afterlife.
A young couple tie the knot in western Burma.
Christian missionaries enjoyed great success in Burma's hills. We were in Kanpetlet, Chin State, for Christmas, which was celebrated by several generations of Chin believers over a huge feast of curry.
Wedding season in Matupi, deep in the hills of Burma's Chin State. Just like a BBQ back home, with meat being cooked on fire, men will voice their opinion.
Strong arms and legs are needed at the bottom of the pile for this Burmese village pole-climbing festival.
Smaller, nimbler lads scramble on their shoulders up the greased bamboo.
4 man-high is the target, making it a long way down when it inevitably collapses.
After breakfast at a Mrauk U tea shop, a noisy and colourful procession wound its way past the central market.
Boys, girls, men and women in their finest formal wear followed the musicians, often bearing floral offerings.
Myanma woman wear the tradition "thummy" daily, but their formal, silk numbers are gorgeous.
The procession wound through and out of town, this gloriously dressed young man the star of the show. Was it a wedding, or ordination? I never found out!
While Burma celebrates its own Buddhist New Year, thingyan, in April, January 1st is also celebrated at pagodas.
A young couple on their wedding photo day, in Yangon, Burma.
Crowds gather outside the Royal Palace for the restoration of Cambodian monarchy. Norodom Sihanouk was crowned King on September 23, 1993.
Cambodia's Princess Lyda Sisowath passed away on Oct 9, 1994, and was cremated with great ceremony opposite the Royal Palace.
She was enormously respected both at home and abroad for her efforts to re-unite and restore the country.
Her funeral procession thronged several city blocks as it wound its way to the Mekong.
Princess Lyda was the only member of the Cambodian Royal Family to live through and survive the Khmer Rouge forced labour regime.
School kids indulge in a powder fight for the Khmer New Year, in Pursat, Cambodia.
The traditional November boat festival brings teams from all over Cambodia to the capital.
I saw these villagers working on their crafts in Siem Reap, 1995.
Uncle dancing at its finest during Songkran festivities, Sangkhlaburi, Thailand.
Rural songkran is so much better than the overblown shitfights in the big cities.
Stages at temples with ladies in their finest, the whole village kicking up their heels.
One of the loudest celebrations we have ever come across, on a post-dinner stroll in Hyderabad. Something to do with a young baby, perhaps?
In a tiny laneway, 3-4 competing troops of drummers, people tossing rupees in the air pimp-style. Then it poured into the main road.....
It continued with floats, a mobile DJ-tuktuk, speakers stacks that'd make Motorhead jealous, more rupee-pimping, this float, flashing lights that could be seen from outer-space.
We managed to find ourselves in India for Holi again, on our day of departure from Hyderabad. We managed to stay un-powdered.
Toraja people of central Sulawesi, Indonesia, never bury their deceased in the ground.
Caverns are dug into hillside. Above ground tombs and cave burials are common. "Tau tau" effigies mark the graves.
Funerals are huge, multi-day affairs, bringing hundreds. Here a shaman(?) leads the family into the ceremony grounds.
Buffaloes are big business in Toraja. No funeral would be complete without at least one being butchered.
People come from across Indonesia and the world. Feeding them involves many dozens of pigs, as well as the buffalo.
But Sulawesi also has happy occaisons, like this wedding in Rammang Rammang, which also run for several days.
The bride-to-be is blessed by the local iman and welcomed into her new family.
Ramman Rammang is a Muslim village, and like all good Muslim weddings, you can count on the old girls to be the ones cutting up the dance floor.