The People of Summer 2011 (Thailand, Malaysia)
Read MoreOne of the workers on a Chao Phraya commuter job. His job is to stay in the back of the rather lengthy boat and signal the driver with shrill whistles as the driver maneuvers close to piers. He then jumps onto the pier and secures the boat for the brief time it drops off and picks up passengers. Then he unties the boat and it's on to the next stop.
Bangkok, ThailandVendor at the Chatuchak (or JJ) Weekend Market in Bangkok. There is a lot of very cool graphic design work in Thailand, some of it clearly borrowed from western work and often pt to interesting use. Occasionally we'd see a sign and think, "that looks familiar" before realizing that it was using the font from Barq's Root Beer or the band The Misfits.
Bangkok, ThailandBoxers training on the boardwalk. I was surprised that it was western style and that women were training, as Thai women are relatively rare in Muay Thai (Thai kickboxing). I think they may have been from a local sports school. The coach in the white warm-up jacket was nice enough to hold pads for me for a round. I sent him scurrying for cover yelling "hands only!" when I faked a front kick. His friends are probably still teasing him about that.
Prachuap Khiri Khan, ThailandOne of the snake handlers at the King Cobra Farm. The small village puts on shows (note the woman on the microphone in the background) mostly involving the men handling and mock boxing the snakes. There were also some monkeys in cages that were way too small. I'm all for supporting local endeavors and being culturally open, but the whole experience was rather sad and one of the few I wouldn't want to repeat.
Ban Kok Sa-Nga (outside of Khon Kaen), ThailandHaving missed out on Teh Tarik (pulled tea) downtown, I was happy to find some at the airport. I had a great conversation about religion with the Muslim woman who was doing her family a favor and temporarily running the cafe despite already working a business job. Her family certainly picked the right person as she was clearly an intelligent and strong person (when we were discussing education she took a swipe at one of the men, exclaiming, "See, you have to get an education!"). She was generous too, refusing to let me pay for my meal after our conversation. The episode was a great way to end my unfortunately short visa run to Malaysia.
Penang, Malaysia