Saturday, August 4, 2012

Found

Sometimes, we lose ourselves, and our thoughts become like spools of ribbon unrolled from between someone's hands; beautiful, but all over the place.

It is then that we need something that we are used to to remind us where we are going. In my case, this is photography. When I am lost and I don't know where I am going, the feel of a camera in my hands brings me right back to my comfort zone. Through the viewfinder, I can see more clearly where I am, and what I want to take from it when I leave. There's no use being somewhere or doing something if you don't let it become a part of you are. If you don't learn from it and embrace it as your own. And if you don't become a bigger, better person because of it.

Since my camera was stolen, I've felt a profound lack of purpose. Though photography is not all I am, it is a large part of who I have become. And without my camera, I feel like a poet without paper, or a naval captain without a map. And though I have plenty of other things to do that put me in a comfortable place, for a long time, the feeling of ambling in the dark hadn't quite gone away.

On vacation to Thailand, I stepped out one morning, camera in hand. With a new place to explore and lens to see it through, I finally felt like I was home. Here are some photos from that trip.


The view from the apartment we were staying at.



Like any other city, Bangkok is full of contrasts.


It has old-school pubs...



...and newer, flashier bars.



(And temples outside every establishment.)

It has gardens and trees...



...and lots of ACs.

LG means "Life's Good", right?


It has magnificent skyscrapers that dissolve into the clouds...



...and shabby walls that turn into cul-de-sacs.



There are boys...


...and girls, and poverty is plenty


but so are smiles.

And there's always enough good food to share.

A street hawker ready for breakfast
A street hawker ready for hungry attackers - Aww, Dad!

The best and freshest coconut ice cream stall at the Chatuchak weekend market. Served in a coconut shell with pumpkin, peanuts, sweet corn and sticky rice in three colours!

So think about it, 



and plan a trip to Thailand.

Because at the end of the day, it's beautiful.


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