collecting memories --walkabout in bangkok's chinatown

Umesh thought about it and announced his intention on the Facebook! The idea was to walkabout and take pictures. I felt it was an excellent idea and responded to it and so did Apisit and Arun. So it was four of us, the Three Musketeers with a camera instead of a sword walking about!

I feel fortunate as I could collect memories without really working for it: I could borrow from others. Arun is a professional documentary maker, Apisit is an accomplished Photographer as you can see from his work and Umesh is into photography deeply, experimenting to his hearts content and enjoying the process. I suppose I can call myself an observer!

Umesh , Arun and I took a taxi to the wat in Chinatown and met Apisit over there. We entered the Chinese shrine and took pictures outside the shrine as taking pictures in the shrine was not permitted. We tried to capture the essence of chinatown and strayed to other areas as we walked randomly if not aimlessly. I expected to see the banners and buntings celebrating the just arrived Chinese new year, but it seems that they were already removed.

While I noticed the crowd

Arun saw their devotion.

and also admired the individual determined aspiration!

Umesh felt sad at the neglect.

But I saw the effort of one to remember by lighting an incense stick.

This inspired Umesh to quote a poem, Shelly's most famous work - Ozymandias

While I was upset with the huge collection of trash.

Arun called its disposal automated sacrifice!

Apisit saw this as Timeless, so did Umesh.

And I marvelled at the lack of customers opposite to the long line! I am surprised as I love fresh oranges!

Arun caught Apisit thinking of our next stop while I posed for a picture.

We were intrigued with this display but Umesh walked in to find out! It is a shop selling offerings at a Chinese funeral. Chinese burn replicas of things that they feel the dear departed would need as they go beyond! Very Practical and surely economical!

Arun noticed the green house up there!

Umesh said that the real goddess was not the one with the extra arms, but the woman at the counter. She was dealing with cash! Makes sense in these days of credit crunch.

Arun exposes his religious leanings: he calls it 'bent in prayer'!

It is not only about death, life must go on. Umesh saw this couple looking at the wedding dresses. We wish them all the happiness in life.

Umesh liked the colors and it appears that the lady liked them as well.

Umesh gets carried away by the glamour of the Indian side of the town

Arun appreciates the hard work!

I asked Umesh later whether he knew anyone who had tasted birds nest! He said he had tried and did not sound too happy about the experience.

As it got darker the place looked different.

Notice the farangs trying out a road side stall.

Then, Apisit had this bright idea of walking to Pak Khlong Talat (Flower Market) which was close to chinatown. It is set up every evening under the benevolent statue of King Chulalongkorn and along the river and continues throughout the night.

Nidhi liked the majesty of the surroundings

Also the surreal feel of the place.

As we walked in, the stalls were already set.

Umesh recognises the pride she has in her handiwork!

I wished there was a way to avoid these fluorescent lights!

I had thought that the fluorescent lights would spoil the picture, but Arun managed to retain the majesty of the pagoda very well!

Arun saw the beauty of the wats and doubled it for us!

Apisit putting Umesh to work!

Apisit acknowledges the hard work that goes around the Talat

He also appreciates these thoughtful people pondering the imponderable!

I could see that chinatown, while a busy business area, does not show the benefits of the economic boom as the other parts of Bangkok did. There must be a reason for this neglect as it were!

Anyway I hope you liked the walkabout!

We plan to do more of these trips with our camera! I can also request Apisit, Arun and Umesh to send you the links to their pictures if you so desire.

When I asked Umesh to have a look at my blog, he had this to say:
A great team is not designed by our actions but rather brought together by unexplainable occurrences of fate. I recruited Apisit to work for P&G but never got to know him for the period he was with us. I met Nidhi uncle after coming to Bangkok but lost touch over time. But when facebook brought us together what combination it was. To quote Nidhi uncle ' we walked randomly with an aim' to observe Bangkok & the happenings around. We saw places, faces & sights we'd not seen after spending years in the city. More importantly we had a great time. There's one more walkabout that happened on 22nd Feb & I am sure Nidhi uncle will document that as well. In the meanwhile, you can enjoy the pictures by clicking on the following links. If you would like to join any of our future ventures, keep track of my status on facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=88256&id=763400933&l=35649

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=88485&id=763400933&l=6274e

Here's my page on facebook

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=763400933&ref=name

February 26, 2009 7:22 AM