Asia

= India = =__Nek Chand's Rock Garden __= or as Mr Chand prefers to call it: THE KINGDOM OF GODS AND GODDESSES

This is another one of those pilgrimage places for Mosaic enthusiasts, a 25 acre sculpture garden featuring many whimsical mosaics. I FINALLY MADE IT!!! In November, 2012, I spent 3 weeks as a volunteer, staying and working within the precincts of the Rock Garden in Chandigarh, Punjab. I was helping to mosaic these sculptures of Indian warriors, which will stand along the top of the wall in a new section of the Garden.



Here is the official website (The Nek Chand Foundation) where you can find information about volunteering: @http://www.nekchand.com/ and at this site you can have a sneak 360 degree peek: [] Very interesting BLOG POST about the garden. Facebook group: [] BBC program "Around the World in 80 Gardens" - segment where Monty visits the Rock Garden and interviews the quietly unassuming, Mr Chand. He was 87 when I met him, soon to turn 88. Every day he was to be found in his office within the Rock Garden, attended by his faithful servant of 37 years, Locoram. And most days, around 4pm, he would wander through, with his hands behind his back, checking how it was all going. =

= = Vietnam =

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I was in Vietnam in January 2005 and discovered some wonderful mosaics using lots of broken crockery (mostly blue and white), as shown in this vase at the rooftop restaurant of the Rex Hotel, Ho Chi Minh City.=====

[[image:vietnamese_vase.jpg]]
== They also use recycled glass, including green and brown bottles, as seen in the pictures below. Mosaics totally cover the walls and ceilings of the 2 of the 3 halls comprising the Thien Dinh building at the Tomb of Khai Dinh, 10km from Hue. The tomb was begun in 1920 and completed in 1931. The murals depict the Four seasons, the Eight Precious Objects and the Eight Fairies. ==

CNN Video about a project in Hanoi to make the worlds longest mosaic mural
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=**JAPAN** = =__KOBE__= During another trip, this time to Japan, in May 2008, I discovered a set of mosaics at the Port of Kobe, based on children's drawings of the Port. The wonderful thing about mosaic, and all art forms for that matter, is that they transcend language!! Click [|here] to see my flickr photos of these. There was also an unusual bell tower, which was wonderfully interactive, and children and adults couldn't resist its bright colours.

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