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Buddha-Loving Termites Cause Impromptu Pilgrimage

We've told you before about some pretty strange religious pilgrimages. Most of the quests involve hordes of Catholics rushing to see apparitions of the Virgin Mary on grilled cheese sandwiches or garage doors. Now it looks like the spontaneous holy tourist attractions have crossed over to a new religion: Buddhism.

Beginning about a month ago in Cambodia, hundreds of religious citizens (which means pretty much everyone in the country) have flocked to a collection of five unusually shaped termite nests that resemble seated figures of Buddha. The mounds, discovered just outside Phnom Penh, appeared on the cement floor of the home of a woman who was about to host a death festival to honor her late husband.

Now, as long as she doesn't try to sell these peculiar piles of dirt on eBay, we'll know for sure that the people of Southeast Asia have matched their Western counterparts in kitsch but not greed.

Related Stories:
· Buddha Shaped Termite Nests in Cambodia [Inquirer.net]
· Embedded Travel Guide: Cambodia [Jaunted]

[Photo: velo steve]