The Photography of Dr. Jeff Harper

Yes! Hot Rods in Bangkok Thailand! The Bangkok Hot Rod Show proves it!

If you know me, you know I am a "car guy" . . . a "Gear Head."  You have no idea how happy I am as a long-term Thailand resident to have discovered (years ago) that there is a thriving Thai hot rod scene. A very tasty '60 Chevy convertible well presented.

A pristine 1959 Buick La Sabre Coupé . . . as good a show car as can be seen anywhere in the world.

Very clean and tastefully done semi-custom Ford Galaxy 500.

There are many fine craftsmen in Thailand.  The restoration work on this 1959 Chevy pick-up was flawless. Excellent understated pin stripping as well.

Every kind and classification of "hot rod" was represented at the show.  A nice 1959 Chevy panel in the rat rod motif.  I came across this very Chevy panel about 15 years ago in a 'wrecking yard' in Bangkok and had the opportunity to buy it . . . but passed because I had a race car at the time that kept me busy. Nice rodded old Ford COE in the background.

The classic, traditional mid '20s Dodge hot rod.  Very nice. Also a very cool fat fender pick up in the background (A Hudson pickup?).

There were a number of home-built-from-scratch hot rods. A local re-interpretation within the hot rod style idiom.  Fun.

This one may have started off as a late '60s Nissan pick-up.  I love all the cues and nods to hot rod heritage throughout this rod. The Navajo blanket themed paint taken from the '50s custom of covering your hot rod seats with Navajo blankets until you could afford the Tijuana tuck-and-roll upholstery.

A 'lakes' themed Crown Toyota wagon.  Nicely done with full Moon discs, beautiful paint, tuck-and-roll, and the right stance. A real hot rod.

Individual. Idiosyncratic. A true hot rod.  I bet this guy has a lots of fun with this Toyota (1UZ) V8-powered homebuild.

One of my favorite cars at the show.  This Bad Boy Fiat 500 was modified as a street racer.  The workmanship on this car was world-class, creative and extremely clever.

The interior of the Bad Boy Fiat 500.  Incredible design of these seats.  WOW!

A beautifully prepared 1969 Ford Mustang "Mach I" in candy apple red.

The Mustang Mach I had a 406ci Windsor with EFI.  Beautiful engine detailing.

My friends at Volcano Customs entered this pristine 1957 Chevy . . . and walked away with the show's Grand Prize.  Well done. [Notice the 'American Car Club of Thailand' plaque in the background]

This car is perfect in every way.  Remember . . . this is in Bangkok, Thailand.  Fantastic.

What would any car show be without a C2 Corvette?  This white one was beautifully done.

The engine compartment on the white 'Vette was nicely done with individual throttle body EFI.

A near perfect C3 Corvette.

A blown big block wedge (540ci) 1969 Dodge Charger, what else? A street rod that would draw a crowd in L.A.

Yes . . . he drives it on the street.  There is some monkey-bidness going on here!

An early '50s mild custom Buick with outrageous paint . . . and an LS Chevy motor.

Loved the paint, pin striping, and the laced roof.  Super cool!

A rare 1959 Chevrolet El Camino.  Too cool as a rat rod custom.  Where in the world did they find this in Thailand?

An interesting small block Chevy powered channeled 1926-1927 Model T Sedan with a Model A radiator.

I have to say . . . I like this sponge daubed paint!  It's got the right look.

A nicely prepared Toyota pick-up with a turbocharged engine.  I liked the 'throw back' graphics.  Maybe I will enter my V8 Hilux Tiger next year.

As fantastic as the cars were . . . the cycles may have been the stars of the show.  The ingenuity, creativity, and craftsmanship of the motorcycles at the show was truly fantastic.

Fine artistry and detail everywhere.

From fast street bikes . . . .

 . . . to famous drag bikes . . . .

 . . . to outrageously stylized choppers, the show had a huge variety of two-wheeled art.

How does a 500cc twin powered "Gongzilla" minibike tickle your fancy?

Maybe a 400cc single minibike is more your thing?

A 250cc 2-stroke motocross engine in an "off road scooter" could be hours of fun!

A cool scooter with wonderful paint.

The paint was flawless and incredibly creative on this scooter.

This "rat rod Vespa" was highly modified and displayed in an "under construction" state. Is that an early BSA 500cc twin in there? Radical, to say the least.

The ultimate scooter . . . now THAT IS STYLE! As you can see, I liked the scooters.  There were so many of these . . . they are small, cheap, and offer a canvass for creativity.

A totally outrageous Harley.  Just fantastic!

The Harley motor is fantastic!

Another beautiful Harley with real gold accents.

Gold details and twirled billet spokes.  WOW!

I believe that is a 20" wheel right there.  Big tire too.

I went to this show with a couple of buddies of mine who were real motorcycle nuts.  They pointed out this bike as a famous MotoGP Ducati 900 from the early 70s.  Looks great to me.

A big single chopper with lots of springs.

I love all the mechanical bits & pieces on this bike.

Nicely presented four cylinder chopper.

I liked the pipes and the brass bits on this bike.

A scrambler bike with roll bars.  Nice.

Rebel Indeed! One of my favorites in the show.  I don't know what it is about this bike I find so attractive.  Clean, modern, machinelike.

Another small 75cc bike demonstrating that you do not need a big Harley to express your ingenuity and creativity.  This one is 'under construction' . . . but look at the innovative solutions and engineering magic . . . and just plain FUN in this one!

The event started just before sunset on a warm, but not too hot late afternoon in Bangkok.  As night fell, more people came, and the lights were turned on creating a very different mood. This is the last bike for now . . . .

Part of a Moon Racing Equipment pop-up shop at the show.

Odd as it may seem, there is a Moon Racing Equipment dealer in Bangkok.  This was a very nice display . . . I bought a couple of decals here.

When night fell my friends and I climbed up on some containers for some wide shots of the show.  Lots of people attended after the sun set. Nice old '58 Chevy pick-up.

It's hard to believe your own eyes! Bangkok, Thailand! Very cool red Trans Am.

So many fantastic hot rods in one place.  The show was a big success, according to the promoters.

There were many nice displays, like this one, all round the show grounds.  Nice early 50s Chevy and an even older CEO truck.

The promoters even built a 50s-style garage to display some of the hot rods, like this 50s Buick.  Beautiful.  I had a great time at the Bangkok Hot Rod Show and am looking forward to going again next year . . . to see the Thai artistry and creativity.

Pak Khlong Talat is Bangkok's great flower market . . . and one of the largest flower markets in the world.

Literally millions of fresh lotus buds and flowers every day pass through this flower market.

The lotus bud is a powerful symbol in Buddhist thought.

Pak Khlong Talat is a huge flower market with large indoor spaces and narrow alleys all full of flowers . . . it is a wholesale market, so many buyers come every morning and send their purchases back to their shops by tuk-tuk.

Some buyers come to buy 'raw' flowers for arrangement elsewhere, and some come to buy ready-made arrangements, like these aromatic jasmine bud garlands (used in Buddhist blessings).  Imagine how wonderful these women smell after a days' work!!!

Fragrant jasmine buds being weighed.

Beautifully made jasmine garlands on ice, ready for sales.

Many kinds and styles of Buddhist votive flower arrangements were being made everywhere.

The market has more than flowers for sale . . . fruit for the hundreds, if not thousands of flower market workers.

But, of course, it is the flowers that amaze a visitor to the flower market.  Orchids everywhere!

 Thailand's hot and humid climate means that orchids grow outside all year long.  Just nail one on a tree and it grows!

Orchids come in every color of the rainbow . . .

Exquisite orchids.

 . . . including white orchids.

An orchid hawker tending her product.

The flower market is also a good place to get people photos.

The market opens at 3:00am when the growers begin to bring in their flowers . . . and buyers begin to purchase and ship.  This draymen looks tired!

Hoping for a big sale.

The kinds and varieties of flowers available for sale was staggering!  These sunflowers are from Thailand.

Roses, roses, roses . . . 

 . . . roses, roses, roses . . .

 . . . and more roses.  These wrapped roses were imported from Europe.

Some flowers were sold as already made arrangements, like this white lily ensemble.

Marigold flowers sold on nylon strings.

Such a beautiful and colorful array . . . 

Although the light in the market was not ideal for flower photography, every once in a while there was magic light!

Pretty little things!

Bunches and bunches of flowers.

And bundles and bundles of beautiful flowers.

And this extraordinary bouquet!

Individually hand-wrapped chrysanthemums.

Inside the flower market.  This was at around 9:30am and lots of the stalls were already closed . . . sold out.

A market draymen moving purchases out of the market to waiting tuk-tuk delivery.

The area around the flower is made up of many rows of old shop houses.

The flower market is in a very old part of Bangkok, not far from the Chao River and just north of the Chinatown district.

Remnants of Old Bangkok can be seen in and among the complexity of the streets.

Not only flowers . . . but everything a creative flower arranger might want to employ in a tropical flower arrangement!

Existentially beautiful tropical leaf.

Gorgeous.

And ribbons and bows for that special wedding or graduation event.

A complete flower arranger super store!

Need some green sprigs with little buds for your arrangement . . . sure, they have them.

And ribbons and bows . . . 

 . . . bunches and bunches of ribbons and bows.

The back side of the flower market blends into a traditional, and common, Bangkok "wet market" -- a fresh fruit and vegetable market.

A ginger hawker's display.

Beautiful ginger.  I love ginger . . . and many Thai dishes are made with ginger . . . especially Thai desserts, my favorite.

Purple net sacks full of potatoes.

A stack of spice root.

A stack of Thai squash ("fucktong" in Thai).

A lot of activity in the vegetable wholesale market.

Unique ingredients are what make Thai food so tasty.

A market chili sorter . . . she did not smell like flowers!!!

A small sale of fish . . . no doubt intended for the market workers to take home for dinner.

After three hours (!!) we finally stepped outside the markets.  

Loading up the produce . . . outside the market.

Produce all loaded in the tuk-tuk bound for a restaurent or small market somewhere in the city.

Who was that masked man?  A flower market worker taking a break.

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We walked a few blocks from the flower market to find a very good cup of coffee . . . and stumbled upon this shop selling "fake" plastic flowers:  incredibly realistic plastic flowers.  I guess some people get tired of having to buy fresh flowers over and over . . .

 All in a day . . . all within 20 miles . . .

It's always great to have visitors from abroad come to Thailand . . . I get to take day trips out and about . . . usually to places I have never been, so we can explore together.

This Buddhist temple (wat) up against steep cliffs is one of my favorites. I pass it often when I am down Hua Hin way . . . but decided to stop and take a look again.  Glad we did.

Such a lovely wat . . . looks like they are going to assemble a new giant Buddha image soon.

Beautiful workmanship . . . . 

Ah! Looks like a standing Buddha image going up.

This such an interesting wat . . . lots to see here . . . including a pack of very curious monkeys.

As is often the case at Thai wats,  the new buildings are built in front of the older, perhaps original temple structures.

The patina!

Lovely textures in the filtered afternoon light.

I was surprised to see this young monk!  There weren't any other monks at this wat. He kindly gave me permission for so photos.  I made sure he saw me put money in the donation box.

A large, old chedi on the temple grounds.  Perhaps a previous revered head monk's final resting place.

One last look at this fantastic cliff side wat.

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Wat Huai Sai Tai Temple

On the way back from our hilltop chedi, I wanted to stop and show my friend the Colossus of Hua Hin at Wat Hui Sai Tai!

Such a lovely and strange place . . .

Yep . . . a cement elephant's butt.

The spaces and surfaces around the outside of the temple were beautifully decorated.

The exterior details were aesthetically very pleasing.

Of course, we had not come to just admire the exterior decor . . . it was what was inside that attracted us . . . 

What attracted us was the colossal statue of the venerated monk, Luong Phor Thongsuk!

The giant Luang Phor Thongsuk in all his revered glory.

The scale of this statue is incredible!

During our short visit here, many people came to pay their respects.

Our last look at the colossus!

A marvelous spirit house on the grounds of Wat Hui Sai Tai.

The inside of the wat spirit house . . . very well tended by the pilgrims.

Beauty everywhere we pointed our cameras . . .

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An Old Fishing Village

We headed up the road to our next destination, a beach about 20km away . . . but a quick glance on the GPS map showed a small village on an inlet . . . maybe a fishing village?  YES!

It was a very old fishing village . . . with a few very photogenic derelict old boats still dockside.

Did I say "old boat and old pier"? I meant to say "dilapidated pier and ghost ship"!

There were newer and older parts of this fishing village.

The village was very quiet this afternoon. These boats are rigged to catch squid . . . at night.

I love how the Thai fishermen decorate their boats . . . with these colorful votive blessings.

A village restaurateur.  The large pots catch and hold rainwater.

Such rich and complex images to capture here!

We saw this catch of the day in one of the fishermen's sheds.

We could have stayed all day here . . . just taking photos . . . but there were other adventures in store for us on that day.

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A Mangrove Forest Swamp Park 

Our next stop was the beautifully developed, and very educational, Pran Buri Forest Park and Nature Reserve.

Mangrove forests are completely unique ecological environments.

Mangroves grow in salt water estuarial swamps.

A phantasmagoria of twisted and gnarled complexity.  Wonderful Nature.

The park positioned bulletin boards (in Thai and English) along the way with informative graphics.

Mangrove roots grow in the transition between wet (at high tide) and exposed to the air (at low tide).  The mangrove grows in salt water but has the ability to filter out the salt and deposit it on the root 'knees' to be dissolved off when the tide comes in.  Amazing.  

The park managers built a tall tower so that the mangrove forest could be seen from above.

It was New Years' Eve, so there were quite a few day trippers from nearby Hua Hin.

We wandered on along the elevated walkway.  There seemed to be a change in the nature of the trees in the swamp.

"Autumn" colors in the swamp. A blue sky reflected in the brackish waters.  

Beautiful complicated light on the complicated forest . . . truly marvelous.

We walked on into a stand of densely packed trees . . . not mangrove, but growing in the salty water.

Ever-changing scenes . . . 

My friend enjoying the photographic opportunities.

I do not know how these particular trees shed the salt.

On we walked through a forest of thin trees growing in the saltwater marsh.

We came to a saltwater inlet.  There was a pier offering boat rides, but there was a line of people waiting. We walked on . . . more [visual] adventures in store.

We walked the rest of the 2km walkway loop to the car . . . 

 . . . and back through the tangled web of the mangrove knees.

We spent a wonderful couple of hours being amazed by this fantastic environment . .  and taking photographs to our hearts content.

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A Fishing Port Village

About a mile away from the mangrove forest park was another small fishing port.

A beautiful day with colorful boats . . . what's not to like?

Small squid boats and large 'company boats" . . .

A 'company boat' heading out early for night squidding . . . they must be going far out into the Gulf of Thailand.

A busy Thai commercial fishing port.

Yep . . . a tourist tour boat!  This is actually the tourist boat from the mangrove forest park nearby . . . we all waved at each other.

We walked along the road near the fishing port and came across a picturesque little slough.

Life along the slough.

Picturesque . . . indeed!

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Happy New Year 2020 From Hua Hin Thailand!!!

We went out to dinner at our usual favorite restaurant . . . . but we were not satisfied with the meal . . . it was a buffet, not the usual excellent food from the menu.  Afterward we went to a friend's beach house . . . then out on to the beach for the BIG fireworks display.

Down along the beach . . . fantastic fireworks display for 20-25 minutes.

Fireworks across the bay . . . 

Once I figured out my camera settings . . .

Right overhead!

I hope you all had a New Years' Eve as colorful and interesting as I did!

YES!  All in a day!  All within 20 miles!

I work as a director and professor at a Thai public university.  On most days I take an express boat 40 minutes to and from my office on the Chao Phraya River . . . but due to the COVID-19 virus, I am now working from home as my university has closed the campus.

After a short public bus ride, I catch this Chao Phraya River Express Boat (green flag) for the 40 minute ride down the fascinating and picturesque river to my office.

These are the docks where I catch my commuter boat. Pakkret Pier.

I am not the only person out on my morning commute and rounds . . . .

Many long-tail river taxi boats lined up taking merchants back to their small businesses after visiting the morning wet market.

I join in a mass movement of people on their way to work along, on, and across the Chao Phraya River. Here a 3 baht ferry.

The journey down river begins by passing through a narrow 'cut' canal in the river that passes a beautiful, and sacred, tilted chedi on the point of Koh Kret (island) at Wat Poramai Yikawat.

Facing Koh Kret is the magnificent Wat Sanam Nuea and a ferry terminal . . . the main way to get to the island.

There is a continuous line of houses up on stilts along the Koh Kret cut. This is what my daily mundane life looks like . . . my supramundane.

I know these houses by heart . . . I 'study' them every morning in the calm serenity and languid humidity of the tropical morning.

My express boat rattles some, and its old diesel engine chugs along in a rhythmic manner . . . but it's cadences are broken when a long-tail boat, a kind of hot rod river taxi,  roars past.  What a way to get to school or market!

When I moved to Thailand 23 years ago I spent a good deal of time for two years trying to find one of these river houses to rent . . . and never could find one.

Every morning I have been watching this new construction of a traditional Thai-style house going up on the island side of the canal. Beautiful.  I want to live here.

I can see myself sitting on one of these porches watching the boats go by . . . but this dream is not to be.

There is a charming mixture of houses along the canal: a traditional restaurent beside a stick and stucco modern house.

All along the canal small ferries offer a 'short cut' off the island.

On most mornings these small ferries are full of school children on their way to school.

The river is itself a busy part of the city in places. Here a collection of work boats busily raising the banks of the river.

The river, even here at 75 miles from the ocean (Gulf of Thailand), is estuarial.  As such, it is subject to the effects of climate change and sea level rise.  The city and national government are making a huge effort to raise the banks along many, many miles of the river.

One of the great sights on the river each morning are the coming and goings of the barge trains, always four barges long.  These barges are empty and sitting high in the water . . . easily managed by a single tug boat on the ebb tide.

Magnificent and powerful: a Chao Phraya River tug boat.

Many fabulous Buddhist wats can be seen on my morning journey.

A loaded barge train passes a giant Buddha statue.  I watched this colossal Buddha being built over the last three years from my seat on the express boat.  It is now finished.  I must make a pilgrimage to this wat soon to pay my respects and make a donation in thanks for the wonderful reminder it provides every morning to make something of my consciousness.

Traditional Thai architecture, old and new.

Another of my dream houses. I've been following its renovation from afar for quite some time.

I pass under four bridges on my way to work.

Further down the river and into fast growing Bangkok, a city of 14 million people . . . and the dusty, smoky air that it creates.

The river tug boats come in many sizes and colors.

These barges, known as rice barges, were made of teak wood in former days.  They are often now converted to self-propelled cabin boats for the tourist trade.

Whenever I see this particular Buddha image I wai and get up and walk to the disembarkation deck of the express boat; my stop is next.

This is where I would normally get off the express boat, at the Rama VII Bridge, and walk the remaining one kilometer to my university job . . . but I am travelling on into the city this morning with a friend to see the Pak Khlong Flower Market.

Down near the touristy part of the city are parked the large restaurant barges that specialize in night dining cruises through the lit city. I've done it.  

Many tourist boats on the lower river . . . but almost no tourists in Thailand today.  I worry for the Thai people who depend on tourist-related income.

We got off the green flag Chao Phraya Express boat near here.  The long-tail boat jockeys maneuvering for a fare.

I miss all of this.  This is my normal . . .