Novice Monks on a Boat, Bangkok

Novice Monks on a Boat - Chao Phaya, Bangkok 2001

It's all hustle and bustle on this river that flows through Bangkok and there are all manner of ferries and passenger boats chis-crossing the river in all directions. It's certainly not uncommon to be on one of these ferries standing next to one or a group of these young men wrapped in their golden robes while you both admire the intense activity all around you.

Most boys receive religious education in Thailand and when they turn 20 they are eligible for ordination. Temporary ordination is the norm among Thai Buddhists, and most young men traditionally ordain for the term of a single rainy season and then return to lay life and go on to marry and raise a family.

Originally posted December 9, 2011

Snake Farming Bangkok

I think this is gruesome personally but it was a stop on the tourist path in 1969 when we were living there.  I believe these farms are still there and, as you can see, the snakes live in a structure that looks like a pool without any water.  When Bangkok had some major flooding a number of years ago the flood waters over- flowed these walls, filled up the snake pits and the snakes swam out.  That's a worry.

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Bangkok 1968: Emerald Buddha

This would have been one of our first visits to see the sights after we arrived in Bangkok in 1968.  That's my brother and I on the plinth.  Interesting to see more Thai's in the picture than white tourists.  That isn't the case today.


Check out my book on Blurb in print and iPad versions.

If you want to make your own here's a link for $20 off your first book.

Bangkok: Siam Spirit House

In Thailand, every house and building has a spirit house and this impressive example was located on the grounds of the Siam Intercontinental where the PND family lived in 1968-9.  I've since been told that the next brother down in the clan used to rearrange the figurines and other movable objects around the house which I am pretty sure that's not what they are there for.

During one particularly colossal down pour, I remember being very close to this spot and a large cat fish about a foot long came out of the Klong on the left and up the bank to the concrete path about mid photo.  Scared the crap out of me and it was one of the ugliest things you've ever seen.

When I stayed at this hotel in the mid-1990s, I went looking for the spirit house.  The hotel decided it belonged hidden in the back of the property and out of sight.

In addition to the images I've posted on Flickr and those I've periodically posted on PND, I have now produced a Big Blurb Book: From the Archive 1960 -1980 of some of the images I really thought were special.

I now have an iPad version of this book for sale ($4.99) on the Blurb site which you can find here: STORE

 

Thai Birds a Fighting: 1971

Bird fighting used to be (maybe it still is) quite popular in Thailand.  I wasn't on this trip so I don't recall the event.  I wonder what makes a chicken mad?  How do you get a chicken riled up for a fight?  Something to contemplate.

Another weekly image from my archive. Click on it to make it larger.


In addition to the images I've posted on Flickr and those I've periodically posted on PND, I have now produced a Big Blurb Book: From the Archive 1960 -1980 of some of the images I really thought were special.

Milking Snake Venom

Another weekly image from my archive. Click on it to make it larger.

There are six or seven images from this scene at a snake farm in Bangkok (August 1969). Yes, there are such things as snake farms and here the guy in white is showing the audience the snakes innards and in particular its fangs.  I've no idea what kind of snake this is but its about 15feet long and a gross yellow color.   I hate snakes but to these guys it's just another day in the office.

In addition to the images I've posted on Flickr and those I've periodically posted on PND, I have now produced a Big Blurb Book: From the Archive 1960 -1980 of some of the images I really thought were special.

I now have an iPad version of this book for sale ($4.99) on the Blurb site which you can find here: STORE

I have to say, even on the iPad the book looks pretty good.

Boys on a Log - Bangkok August 1969

Bangkok August 1969

Another weekly image from my archive. Click on it to make it larger.

These boys all look happy and cheerful waving to the silly tourists out sightseeing.  This is old Bangkok where life centered around the rivers and klongs and, while some of this still exists to the north of Bangkok, you don't see scenes like this too much anymore.

In addition to the images I've posted on Flickr and those I've periodically posted on PND, I have now produced a Big Blurb Book: From the Archive 1960 -1980 of some of the images I really thought were special.

I now have an iPad version of this book for sale ($4.99) on the Blurb site which you can find here: STORE

I have to say, even on the iPad the book looks pretty good.

Reclining Buddha - Bangkok

Another weekly image from my archive. Click on it to make it larger.

This is the important end of the reclining Buddha at Wat Po in Bangkok.  Timeless; but for the record this image is dated to 1998 which is when I visited Thailand for the first time since the early 1970s. Wat Po is a fantastic complex of temples and iconography and one of the first places tourists go on their visits to Bangkok.

My first stop is a slight deviation however.

There is also a Thai massage school (Wat Po Thai Traditional Medical and Massage School) where for a ridiculously small amount of Bhat you can get a really great Thai massage from someone who knows what they are doing.

Sawadee krup.

In addition to the images I've posted on Flickr and those I've periodically posted on PND, I have now produced a Big Blurb Book: From the Archive 1960 -1980 of some of the images I really thought were special.

I now have an iPad version of this book for sale ($4.99) on the Blurb site which you can find here: STORE

I have to say, even on the iPad the book looks pretty good.