Passing the manicured edge of a neon-green rice paddy, cocooned in a fug of heat, we walked into a temple yard that was more disco flair than sombre religion. Spellbound, we watched a woman pray in front of an altar bursting with yellow flowers, guarded by two large, scarlet-snouted tiger figures, decked in cloaks of silver sequins trimmed with gold thread.
Inside a neighbouring temple, Buddha’s statue appeared to levitate amid lotus buds encased in glowing globes. Jungle rave? No, it was a temple dedicated to a legend of a cub found floating on a tangle of water hyacinth 300 years ago, which was rescued by a local couple.
