Leaving Thailand
No buffalo, no AK47, no porn stars, no sheepdog… The entertainment limitations of an airport bound taxi in Bangkok.
Where taxi colours have become synonymous with cities around the world — black with London, yellow with New York, green with Mexico City, in a country of frequent contradictions, Bangkok taxis decorate the otherwise monochrome cityscape and endless gridlock with a rainbow of bright, contrasting hues.
…no fine wine, no durian, no smoking. Durian, the king of forbidden fruits, has such a pungent and persistent odour, it could impregnate every last fibre of a taxi’s interior.
But the buffalo? Even if one could fit through the door, where would it sit? There’s no room next to me and my luggage — it’d also look out of place at a taxi rank, whether during the day or among late-night revellers and their young, half-naked prostitutes. Or perhaps this a reference to the Thai custom of calling the foolish ‘buffaloes’?
No idiots…? No matter, rules in Thailand are open to interpretation and broken at will. The biggest contradiction of all: the acceptable versus the unacceptable.
After one year in Thailand, from Chiang Mai to Bangkok, Chiang Rai to Mae Sot, and along the Andaman coast — untouched, lush green landscapes to barren, charred planes; unquenchable rains to unforgiving droughts; deep blue skies to thick, suffocating smog; garish, reconstructed temples to crumbling, ancient ruins; commercial convenience to struggling independents; low-cost travel to tuk-tuk extortion; road safety to blind, careless idiocy; traditional Buddhism to monks with smart phones; poverty to outrageous extravagance; the educated to the neglected; cosmetic perfection to minimal healthcare; conservative censorship to ubiquitous prostitution; generosity to endemic corruption; gentle, good nature to violent political confrontation — my experiences too have been contrasting, and in such a way that only Thailand could have offered.
From April 2014, this photo belong to the “Beyond Focus” series — images and stories from around the world.
