One Morning. One Street. One City. Chiang Mai. 12600 Monks

Wat Pa Pao Chiang Mai: The Tai Yai from Burma

It has been a busy week with the workshops

and phtography tours.

We gathered on Wednesday at one of my favourite

temples, Wat Pa Pao, for a session on portait photography.

Fon, a local model joined us, and we had a great time.

But the icing on the cake, was these lovely young ladies

who agreed to pose for the students.

Their beauty and gentle grace shown through.

They are Tai Yai, an ethnic group from Myanmar,

who come to Thailand in search of work.

Usually the stuff the Thais will no longer do.

The temple is a refuge. Has a school, and around it,

there is a community.

Class of 2011

It's been a busy week with tours and workshops.

On Tuesday, the tour took in the novices at Wat Phra Singh temple,

and then on to my favourite market.

The novices and their teacher were very engaging.

Their teacher joked that he always has one or two daughters in his class.

I wonder if you can pick his daughter this year.

Art of Nature: The Rose

This image was part of a feature on  Chiang Mai's premier market, Warorot,

for the Chang Puak Magazine.

A must visit on any trip to Chiang Mai is Warorot  fresh produce market,

by the banks of the Mae Ping river.

Once owned by the local royal family,

this is real Asia, where you can find everything from hill tribe clothes and textiles,

silks, hats and beads to fried insects and more.

So close to the modern shopping experience of the Night Bazaar,

yet so far in worlds.

Enter various ways, but my favourite is through the Chinese Gate, on  xxxx road.

Just as you pass under, look to the right and you’ll see the Sikh temple xxxxx,

one ingredient of a century and half melting pot, of Thais,

Sino Tibetan hill tribes, and Chinese, Indians, and Muslims, as well as Christians.

Many Indian fabric traders settled in Chiang Mai,

when India was still a British colony.

As did the Chinese, travelling by boat from the Central region.

Their colourful shop houses are there legacy.

Warorot is a fantastic place to try the local food,

like Sai-Aou, a northern Thai sausage, Kaeb Moo,

deep fried pork rinds, and Nam Prik, spicy chillies dipping sauce.

If you like stamps, the market area plays host to

Chiang Mai’s Philatelic(Stamp) Museum.

 But the main attraction for most is Ton Lamyai Flower Market.

Follow your nose, to the northern Thailand’s premier flower market.

Stall after stall of Roses and Chrysanthemums, Orchids,

Birds of Paradise, and Lotus flowers line the road.

While the rest of the market has long packed up,

flowers from all around the north keep arriving.

So, my tip is to come back in the evening,

on the way to one of the great eateries across the river, and see the place lit up.

Ghostriders Chiang Mai

They just appeared out of nowhere.

It's nightime here in Chiang Mai and I'm heading home.

I've stopped at a favourite little corner,

and there's cat sitting on the wall.

Out of the blue come the Ghostriders.

This could be a whole family on their way home.

That I could capture this was down to being in the right place

at the right time. I was already set on the Lowlight mode

trying to get the cat to smile at me.

My Canon G11 did the rest.

Asian Traffic

Mae Sai Border Town: The Mild Mild North

 

I took a sequence of 100 images, at the same spot,

focusing on the Chinese temple in the background.

Scroll through the images and the scene comes to life.

Then, I searched for strong individual shots, like this one,

converted it to sepia to give it a nostalgic tone,

added some contrast, and what we have is a snap of Asian street life,

literally.

The street is in Mae Sai,

a bustling Thai town on the border with Myanmar.

I come here every two months, with my passport,

go from one immigration, Thai, to the other, Burmese,

pay £10, come back to the Thai office, they stamp it again,

e voila, living in Thailand, on what they call a triple entry visa.

I may as well enjoy the experience.

I take a tour for the day from Chiang Mai,

which takes in various interesting places.

Today, I enjoyed a mini tea ceremony,

at the gateway to the Mekong Delta,

while the others took a boat ride to Lao, 1 hour.

This shot was taken while waiting with my freshly stamped passport,

for the driver to make his way through the Saturday traffic to pick us up.

For me the hustle of the place, the people, make the place exciting.

I keep meaning to stay a few days a get a real feel for the place.

That evening, Mae Sai was hosting annual bare knuckle Muay Thai fight

between various Burmese and Thai boxers.

That’s a big deal here, knowing the history

the two countries have shared over the centuries.

Portraits for Less: The last shot

Portraits for Less is not a registered  charity, more an intention.

Almost a year ago today, I set out to provide portraits for those with less.

I visit this Aaka hill tribe village, near the northern Thai city of Chiang Rai,

three or four times a year, and take portraits.

The guides that regularly bring tourists to this village deliver the pictures.

The little girl in the photograph is holding a picture of her older brother

I took last October..

He’s not here as much these days, as he’s now at school,

but it was nice to meet her, and her gang.

I’ll call Oi, my tour guide friend,

and she will drop the pictures off on her next trip.

For me, it makes the day special.

On this day, I’m returning from the Thai Burmese border town of Mae Sai,

where every two months,

I walk across the border to the Burmese Immigration office,

pay £10, smile, and walk back through the Thai office,

smile,

and return to my van and driver who has brought me here.

It’s a long day, and on the way back, usually around 5,

I stop at this small village.

As for the image, it came right at the end, as ever,

when I was getting ready to go.