Musings of the Obsessive Kind

This is such a wonderful article and makes me feel as if I am there.

It also makes me want to go back to Bangkok very badly. Of all the trips we took, the trip to Thailand this March, was my favorite (I also think Thailand might be bucking Japan for the number 1 spot of all the countries I've been to: 31).

The photograph is mine, and not from the intersection in the article, which I don't think we ever went to, but it probably looks much the same only 20 times crazier.



Man, Cart and Car Mingle in the Beautiful Chaos of Bangkok

Traffic at Yommarat intersection in Bangkok, where vehicles rule but pedestrian activity still thrives. (By John Burgess -- Special To The Washington Post)

By John Burgess
Special to The Washington Post
Tuesday, January 27, 2009; Page A14

BANGKOK It's 3:30 p.m. and Yommarat intersection is its usual frenzy of heat, smoke and mechanical din. Four avenues, three railway lines and two expressway ramps converge here, their myriad trains and vehicles menacing one another without letup, somehow never quite colliding.

It's a three-dimensional maze, topped by a concrete bridge that carries a lucky few motorists up and over the confusion, past an outsize red billboard that announces a sweepstakes by Tops Market, a local supermarket chain.

Vehicles rule this space, but pedestrians have by no means surrendered rights to it. At curbs, corners and traffic islands, a diverse collection of activity thrives on foot. This is a fundamental part of Bangkok life, blithe coexistence with the internal-combustion engine. Breathing exhaust fumes, shouting to be heard over the roar of diesel buses -- millions do it daily without a thought.

( The rest of article )

This is such a wonderful article and makes me feel as if I am there.

It also makes me want to go back to Bangkok very badly. Of all the trips we took, the trip to Thailand this March, was my favorite (I also think Thailand might be bucking Japan for the number 1 spot of all the countries I've been to: 31).

The photograph is mine, and not from the intersection in the article, which I don't think we ever went to, but it probably looks much the same only 20 times crazier.



Man, Cart and Car Mingle in the Beautiful Chaos of Bangkok

Traffic at Yommarat intersection in Bangkok, where vehicles rule but pedestrian activity still thrives. (By John Burgess -- Special To The Washington Post)

By John Burgess
Special to The Washington Post
Tuesday, January 27, 2009; Page A14

BANGKOK It's 3:30 p.m. and Yommarat intersection is its usual frenzy of heat, smoke and mechanical din. Four avenues, three railway lines and two expressway ramps converge here, their myriad trains and vehicles menacing one another without letup, somehow never quite colliding.

It's a three-dimensional maze, topped by a concrete bridge that carries a lucky few motorists up and over the confusion, past an outsize red billboard that announces a sweepstakes by Tops Market, a local supermarket chain.

Vehicles rule this space, but pedestrians have by no means surrendered rights to it. At curbs, corners and traffic islands, a diverse collection of activity thrives on foot. This is a fundamental part of Bangkok life, blithe coexistence with the internal-combustion engine. Breathing exhaust fumes, shouting to be heard over the roar of diesel buses -- millions do it daily without a thought.

( The rest of article )

This is all Chiang Mai, all the time...

( Chiang Mai photographs here )

Hope you enjoyed the photographs! I certainly enjoyed posting them. Next photo post? Buenos Aires.

And yet more photographs of Bangkok.



(Courting Couple in Lumpini Park, Bangkok. March 2008)

( Photographs behind the cut )

And yet more photographs of Bangkok.



(Courting Couple in Lumpini Park, Bangkok. March 2008)

( Photographs behind the cut )

Here is batch four of my Thailand photos. From everyday:


(Bangkok-Ayutthaya local, March 2008)

To less so:


(fallen Buddha among tree branches, Ayutthaya, March 2008)

( Bangkok and Ayuthaya pictures )

Yes, more photos. This batch is all Bangkok, all the time, focusing on various temples and Royal Enclosures and a bit of the street scene.



( Photographs here )

Yes, more photos. This batch is all Bangkok, all the time, focusing on various temples and Royal Enclosures and a bit of the street scene.



( Photographs here )

As promised, more Thailand pictures. From sacred matters:



To some not quite as sacred:



( Yet more Bangkok pictures )

( Wat U Mong, outside Chiang Mai )

( Our last two days in Bangkok )

According to my Camera Count, I took precisely 1261 pictures in the week I was in Thailand.

I am an obsessive photographer. My visual memory isn't very tenacious, and I compensate for it by becoming a mad shutterbug in a place I am unlikely to see again soon.

I don't think even the most hard-core photograph fan would want to see 1261 photos, so here is a significantly reduced and picked-over sample. This is the first Thailand photo post in a series of 6.



(Row of Bangkok tuk-tuks before they are taken out for business, March 2008)

( Scenes from Bangkok: 26 photographs )



(Devotional Bells at Wat Phra Doi Suthep, March 2008)

( Photographs of Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, outside Chiang Mai: 32 photographs )



(Monks' robes drying at Wat U Mong at the otskirts of Chiang Mai, March 2008)

( Photos of Chiang Mai and the Wat U Mong: 5 photographs )