The Caves of Pak Ou on the Mekong, Laos

The Mekong provides the livelihood for very many families in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. An interesting essay in the "Economist" (Febr. 13, 2016 http://www.economist.com/news/essays/21689225-can-one-world-s-great-waterways-survive-its-development) highlights the problems of this river whose spring is across the border in the Chinese mountains north of Laos. 

From Luang Prabang it is a short boat ride upstream to the caves of Pak Ou on the steep banks of the Mekong river. Pak Ou has been a worshipping site for centuries. 

The caves consist of two accessible rooms, one hidden up on the mountainside and one visible from the boat. Both are decorated with a multitude of Buddha statues. 

lower cave

                  

  The upper cave is very dark but well worth the climb.

On the way to the caves, tourist boats routinely stop at a place called "whiskey village". Here, locals create their own rather gruesome concoctions involving dried scorpions and small cobras supposed to help predominantly the male half of the human race ... no one wanted to try . 

Apulian Stories - Sassi di Matera

Sassi di Matera is a village further to the west, officially in the Basilicata on the western border of Apulia. Rolling hills with extended corn fields make up the vistas here in the Basilicata in contrast to the Apulian endless hectares of olive groves. 

Here in this town, people have been living  in caves and caverns for centuries , carved out of the soft calcerous rock. Many small churches and monastic dwellings are in between. Sassi di Matera is built on both side of a ravine with cobble stone pathways up and down the steep sides. 

Apulian Stories - Grotte di Castellana

A short drive inland from the coast near Monopoli are the Grotte di Castellana - the largest grotto system in Italy. It is an amazing underground landscape, 60 m down and full of stalagmites and stalaktites , very well lit and presented and certainly worth a visit, although we were reluctant at first to leave the light and warmth to go underground to a freezing 16 °C. 
Unfortunately, photography was only allowed in the first cave ... hard to understand in the era of social media, why anyone would voluntarily miss out on the free publicity by visitors' pictures. 

the entrance cave has natural light

detail