Maystone

"The monks at Shaolin can eat and drink whatever they please, so long as it doesn't affect their Buddha-nature"

This was explained to me in sales pitch by a tour guide on the squeaky public bus from Luoyang to the Shaolin temple. Meat and alcohol have been accessible to the monks here since the Tang Dynasty (618-907AD). I'm also told that many of the performers these days are not authentic Buddhist monks, even if they dress that way.

Along with a few hundred other tourists, I'm ushered into a small hall and shown a 20 minute performance of children-teenagers, displaying flips and leaps or generating inner qi to throw needles through glass, impressive, yet it has a close resemblance to a circus act. I imagine it's the easiest way of pleasing huge crowds of people visiting the attraction. The show comes to an end and the cleaning begins to prepare for the show again, which occurs every hour.

Outside the hall the leaving crowds are met by young performers practicing martial arts to music, it isn't long before we all realize it's the exact same act we just witnessed on the stage. We can get a closer view, the children show how flexible they are.

I meet a kungfu master with over 30 years experience, he's visiting with his young students who'd never been before.

"When I came here in 2007 there were plenty of kungfu practitioners learning under old masters, some of them over 80 years in age, but year by year the old masters were gradually pushed to the back of the temple. These days you won't find them here"

在太阳下工作。Working under the sun.

Xi’an’s huiminjie, the food street of the hui ethnic group of China. It’s hard to say whether there are more people or dishes on the street. Backlit smoke and steam from the grills create a mystical atmosphere, the cooks faceless at times as the customers compete and bark their orders through. High above the crowds a young boy waves his naan bread in the air like a trophy, one of many happy faces with full tummies on the street. 

西安的回民街。我不知道那条路的人或者吃的东西比较多，很热闹的地方。那里的气氛有个神奇的感觉，串儿的烟雾很重，让顾客看不到商店的老板。人山人海，可是人的上面有个小男孩儿，在他的手里有一个很大的大饼。小男孩儿很开心。回民街友好多好多好吃的东西。

Here are a few photos from our shoot last week with this little cutie. I’ve never known a baby eat so much fruit! 

Delhi, India. Packed with people, great food, stunning mosques and amazing ruins.

Jaipur, India. Breathtaking details in a rich history.

Varanasi, India. The holy city, it's said if you die here you skip reincarnation and find salvation.

Agra, India. A place of beauty.