Breadcrumbs: Home: Gallery: Thailand index
15: Travelling in Thailand, 1986
26 years old with three friends, abroad in a foreign land
In my late 20's friends asked me to go travelling in Thailand with them. I could not refuse. I had just spent all my reserves on a Nikon F3 system so could ill afford it but consoled myself with the thought I could sell the images on my return. I phoned a couple of magazines to see if this was possible and one person told me to take photos of children, especially working as that would stand a good chance of being sold. As it was, there were plenty of children around but none seen working. Adults were harder to find to photograph and I assumed they were either all working or inside out of the heat. I never did find anywhere to sell my work, I didn't try looking and don't think any was sellable anyway. Apart from the first year of return when I printed some of the shots, the 32 rolls of film, one for each day of travel, stayed inside a blue folder for 40 years.
The new Sigma fp L camera has allowed me to finally get them copied and published. The set up was distinctly Heath Robinson (photos at page bottom) but it worked and with luck wont be needed again.
There are many different ways I could have catalogues these black and white imagas of Thailand and each had its own problems. I decided to display them collated in chronological order. Many photos are missing as they were not worth displaying and a couple of entire rolls are missing as they were boring; the trip to Koh Samui and Phuket as it was mostly just beach, sea and sand and a trip to a waterfall in a wild-life park.
Thailand Slideshow 1: A temple in Bangkok
Our first day in Bangkok
We visit the nearest and largest temple.
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A temple roof intersection showing lots of tiles and Thai architecture.
Thailand Slideshow 2: Walking around Bangkok
The sights and sounds of a bustling city
This slideshow has my most favourite photo of all;
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A girl selling bunches of flowers outside the temple entrance.
Thailand Slideshow 3: Young men collecting snails to eat
Khao Yai National Park
Phil and I nearly die.
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Floating on a raft, collecting snails for food.
Thailand Slideshow 4: A trip to another temple
Bhuda and gold leaf
A bit more of temple life and the people there.
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Schoolgirls waiting for their bus to arrive.
Thailand Slideshow 5: Monks visiting a temple in Thailand, 1986
Monks were also on a visit to the temple
I could not stop taking photos; they may have been irritated.
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Thai monks waiting outside a temple near Bangkok, Thailand.
Thailand Slideshow 6: 4 day elephant ride into the Burmese jungle
To a village in the Burmese mountains
Wooden huts, sticky rice and beautiful people.
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A mountain village in Myanmar, then know as Burma.
Thailand Slideshow 7: Chiang Mai silk and silver factory
Thai Silk Village Chiang Mai
An interesting visit full of sights, sounds and smells.
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Silk in a loom and a large, beaten, silver panel.
Thailand Slideshow 8: Travelling round - found photo opportunities
Planes, trains and automobiles
Actually just (scary) coaches and walking.
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A wooden bridge across a ditch, as the entrance to a family home.
Thailand Slideshow 9: Chao Phraya River travel and river life
Boats and river life
A useful way to get about a town or city.
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Boats on the Chao Phraya River with wooden buildings along the bank.
Thailand Slideshow 10 pt. 1: Ao Nang beach, Krabi
Sun, sea and sand
After the bustle of Bangkok, the beach was respite.
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Chasing an itinerant umbrella.
Thailand Slideshow 10 pt. 2: Returning from Ko Po Da islands, Krabi
A day spent scorched and desicated
I think we all underestimated this trip.
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Big white storm clouds.
Thailand Slideshow 10 pt. 3: Student monks at Ao Nang beach, Krabi
Young monks with their teacher pass by
I'm a photographer, suddently I had a subject.
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Student monks with their teacher.
Thailand Slideshow 10pt. 4: Beach-fishing from Ao Nang beach, Krabi
Food for the day or income?
There were also fishing boats all lined up on the beach out of the sun.
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A fisherman casting his net.
Thailand Slideshow 11: Walking around Krabi, 1986
Street life and workers
Just my kind of day, walking around and seeing.
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The bus driver's rear-view mirror with us four travellers reflected.
Thailand Slideshow 12: Frankly - no idea where I was at this time
Street life, people, grandparents, workers . .
. . . but I was happy snatching photos of anything that moved. Or didn't.
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Waiting for dad.
Thailand Slideshow 13: Some river life, 1986
Moving via waterways
I had realised that the rive was a great place to shoot people.
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Having fun, jumping into the river.
Thailand Slideshow 14: Using the river to get around
Trade, transport and playground
The river itself has it's own community, like any town.
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Three men in a boat.
Thailand Slideshow 15: Walking to Bangkok's Post Office
A copious building in the heart of Bangkok
We needed to use the Post Restante services, to send letters home.
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Young Thai women, preparing their mail.
Thailand Slideshow 16: Catching a river bus in Bangkok
More river and bamboo scaffolding
Yes, yes, more river - but it was so full of life.
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Bamboo scaffolding with a construction worker watching me and smiling.
Thailand Slideshow 17: I'm having a fag
Monkey, children, foothall life
Can't remember where we were, probably Bangkok still.
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A monkey smoking a cigarette.
Thailand Slideshow 18: More river larks
Includes a lad playing in the river with a ball
The photo below is one of my favourites.
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People wating on a jetty for the river bus.
Thailand Slideshow 19: Cats and children
Walking about the back roads of the city
There is a different feel to the back streets of a town.
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Two of my fellow travellers passing the time playing a game.
Thailand Slideshow 20: More monks and river travellers
The river, eels and more monks
Back on the river for more life photography with street life too.
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A monk leading children along the road.
Thailand Slideshow 21: Snake Farm (Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute), Bangkok
Venemous snake farm to create antivenom
The King Cobra scared the pants off me.
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Snake handler with a big cobra snake.
