I've been talking about the rainy season for a while now. We can't stop photographing it... It's just so atmospheric:






The temples are busy at the moment, possibly because we're heading towards the Winter Solstice.



And, of course, Christmas draws on apace:


Other explorations this week have taken us to a cute little park, which is kitted out with a mini-road layout to teach children about traffic rules:






And the new mosque -- the India Mosque, the construction of which we followed from last year -- held an open day today. It's truly beautiful inside:





We were shown round by a couple of young volunteers. Having lived in Malaysia and Indonesia, we know a reasonable amount about Islam, but we still acquired some new knowledge today.

Our guide talked about media misrepresentation of Islam, and assured us that only a tiny fraction of Muslims turn to terrorism... Of course, we know that. But that he felt it necessary to say it -- to us, New Zealanders, after the ghastly act of terrorism perpetrated in our country earlier this year -- was a heart-breaking irony.

We both enjoyed our visit. These are great initiatives, and keep the doors of community and communication usefully open.

Also on hand was a representative from a Muslim charitable organization that is working to take the stigma out of mental illness. We had our photographs taken, holding supportive slogans. This is such a worthy endeavour, as lack of understanding is often still an impediment to sufferers.

All up, a cool week.