PFH1773561: Burma / Myanmar: Restored Buddha in the main shrine facing east, Htilominlo Temple, Bagan (Pagan) Ancient City / Bridgeman Images

PFH1773587: Burma / Myanmar: A Buddhist monk in front of the standing Buddha Konagamana in the central niche facing east, Ananda Temple, Bagan (Pagan) Ancient City / Bridgeman Images

PFH1773602: India: Devotees at the Krishna Balaram Temple, a Hare Krishna temple built in 1975, Vrindavan, near Mathura, Uttar Pradesh / Bridgeman Images

PFH1774100: Burma / Myanmar: Brightly adorned oxen pulling a cart with a princess (young Burmese girl in her finest attire) in the Na Htwin or the Ear-Piercing Ceremony which takes place at the same time as the Shinbyu ceremony. Mandalay / Bridgeman Images

PFH1774115: Sri Lanka: Two children dressed as Sri Lankan nobility at a temple festival in Avissawella / Bridgeman Images

PFH1774142: Thailand: Thai Buddhist ordination ceremony, Chiang Mai. Firstly the nakor monk-to-be has his head shaved. The complete shaving of the head and eyebrows is then undertaken by a monk / Bridgeman Images

PFH1774160: Thailand: Thai Buddhist ordination ceremony, Chiang Mai. A Brahman priest (all in white) joins the ordination proceedings. He is to present the nakor monks-to-be to the spirits, to let those spirits know that these young men are to become monks / Bridgeman Images

PFH1774172: Thailand: Thai Buddhist ordination ceremony, Chiang Mai. Parents sitting behind touch the nakor monks-to-be, symbollically letting their offspring go at the sukhwan nakceremony / Bridgeman Images

PFH1774190: Thailand: Thai Buddhist ordination ceremony, Wat Rampoeng, Chiang Mai. The newly ordained monk is shown how to tie his first robe / Bridgeman Images

PFH1774193: Thailand: Thai Buddhist ordination ceremony, Wat Rampoeng, Chiang Mai. The newly ordained monk is shown how to tie his first robe / Bridgeman Images

PFH1774196: Thailand: Thai Buddhist ordination ceremony, Wat Rampoeng, Chiang Mai. Newly ordained monks are presented to and blessed by the abbot / Bridgeman Images

PFH1774202: Thailand: Thai Buddhist ordination ceremony, Wat Rampoeng, Chiang Mai. Newly ordained monks on their first almsround receive alms from well-wishers and family / Bridgeman Images

PFH1774211: Thailand: Chinese graves in the grounds of Wat Chakkrawat, Bangkok / Bridgeman Images

PFH1774229: Vietnam: A detail of the Van Mieu Gate, the front entrance to the Temple of Literature (Van Mieu), Hanoi / Bridgeman Images

PFH1774263: Burma / Myanmar: Standing Buddha image at the east side of the Shwezigon Pagoda, Bagan (Pagan) Ancient City / Bridgeman Images

PFH1774266: Burma / Myanmar: Prince Siddhartha Gautama before leaving the palace and eventually becoming 'the enlightened one' or simply the Buddha, Shwezigon Pagoda, Bagan (Pagan) Ancient City / Bridgeman Images

PFH1774325: Laos: Doors at Wat Pa Khe, Luang Prabang, depicting guardians blowing conch shells and standing on a deer (left) and a tiger (right), a scene from the Hindu epic Ramayana (in Laos known as Phra Lak Phra Lam) / Bridgeman Images

PFH1774331: Taiwan: Detail of interior of the Tianhou (Empress of Heaven) Temple, Chichin Island, Kaohsiung. The temple is dedicated to Matsu (Mazu) the protector of sailors and fishermen / Bridgeman Images

PFH1774366: Burma / Myanmar: Buddha, Sulamani Temple (12th century), Bagan (Pagan) Ancient City / Bridgeman Images

PFH1774378: Burma / Myanmar: Deva (deity or angel) statue adorning one of the many hundreds of stupas at the Shwe Indein Pagoda, Indein, near Ywama, Inle Lake, Shan State / Bridgeman Images

PFH1774524: Burma / Myanmar: Maha Aungmye Bonzan Monastery also known as Me Nu Oak-Kyaung (Brick Monastery), Inwa (Ava), Mandalay Region / Bridgeman Images

PFH1774530: Burma / Myanmar: Looking towards the Ava (foreground) and Yadanabon (background) bridges from the Htilaingshin Paya in the ancient capital of Inwa (Ava), Mandalay Region / Bridgeman Images

PFH1773672: Burma / Myanmar: Buddha shrine in the Sutaungpyei Pagoda at the summit of Mandalay Hill, Mandalay / Bridgeman Images

PFH1773681: Burma / Myanmar: Bathing Buddha statues with water (a merit making act) in the Sutaungpyei Pagoda at the summit of Mandalay Hill, Mandalay / Bridgeman Images

PFH1773720: Burma / Myanmar: A leg rowing Intha fisherman shows off his skills with a large conical fish trap at Inle Lake, Shan State / Bridgeman Images

PFH1773729: Burma / Myanmar: A leg rowing Intha fisherman shows off his skills with a large conical fish trap at Inle Lake, Shan State / Bridgeman Images

PFH1773742: Nepal: A sadhu stands in front of the Bagmati River, Pashupatinath, Kathmandu / Bridgeman Images

PFH1773765: Southeast Asia: Red-tailed ratsnake (Gonyosoma oxycephalum), also known as arboreal ratsnake and red-tailed racer / Bridgeman Images

PFH1773780: Thailand: Wat Phra Mahathat, Ayutthaya Historical Park / Bridgeman Images

PFH1773791: Burma / Myanmar: A leg rowing Intha fisherman on Inle Lake, Shan State / Bridgeman Images

PFH1773886: Nepal: Decorative Hindu figure at the Pashupatinath Temple complex, Kathmandu / Bridgeman Images

PFH1773903: China: Cemetery next to the mausoleum of Mahmud al-Kashgari (Mahmud al-Kashgari Mazar) who compiled the first Turkic languages dictionary, Upar, Xinjiang Province / Bridgeman Images

PFH1774025: Thailand: The Golden Buddha (Phra Phuttha Maha Suwan Patimakon), the world's largest solid gold Buddha, Wat Traimit, Bangkok / Bridgeman Images

PFH1774035: Burma / Myanmar: Peacocks decorate the entrance to a pagoda, Nyaung Ohak pagodas near the Shwe Indein Pagoda, Indein, near Ywama, Inle Lake, Shan State / Bridgeman Images

PFH1774044: Burma / Myanmar: Pa-O housing next to the Shwe Indein Pagoda, Indein, near Ywama, Inle Lake, Shan State / Bridgeman Images

PFH1774065: Burma / Myanmar: Ywama, a stilted village at the eastern edge of Inle Lake, Shan State / Bridgeman Images