The Photography of Dr. Jeffrey P. Harper

I am very happy today! My multi-year build street rod project has come home! It's a highly modified 2004 Toyota Hilux Tiger.

Out in the wild.  Filling up with E85. There will be a lot of this in my future.

My baby parked at home . . . at last!

The engine in my little fun toy is a Lexus 4.35L (265 cu.in.), 3UZ V8 with an intercooled Whipple supercharger.  It makes 560 horsepower and 500 foot pounds of torque AT THE REAR WHEELS: adequate passing power in case you come upon a slow truck on a long uphill grade.

A big THANK YOU goes to Khun Mac and his outstanding staff of mechanics and fabricators at MacTec Garage.  The quality of work and attention to detail is fantastic.

Yes, I sat in the driveway tonight just to admire my little jewel. 

My wonderful wife ordered this dust cover . . . perfect fit.

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For a complete explication of the build and all the parts and construction, please visit this entry on this blog:

Construction Details Link HERE

Wat Mettadhamma Pothiyan had the most astonishing four story tall wood carving I have ever seen in my life.  Truly mesmerizing!

My wife and her brother and I drove far out into the Thai countryside west of Bangkok to visit a special event at a very special Chinese-style temple, Wat Mettadhamma Pothiyan.

It was a hectic three hour drive from my Bangkok home.

Wat Mettadhamma Pothiyan is not an old wat, although many of its architectural features are very reminiscent of ancient  Chinese temples.

There were some very beautiful structures on the grounds, and many construction sites of new buildings.

A lot of money is being donated by the current followers for this wat, and its charismatic head monk.  This temple is going to be fantastic when it is complete.   But we did not come here for the architecture and grandeur of the temple structures . . . it was what was going on inside that drew us there.

Of course we weren't there to just admire the architecture, although we did plenty of that, we were there with a lot of other people to take part in a special event inside one of the temple buildings.

We were there for an auction.  It was a fund-raising event for the wat.  All of these magnificent statues, altars, carvings, and decorations are expensive.  Not to mention the upkeep and support of all the monks who make this wat their home.

My wife's family and I bid on this altar piece . . . and won.  It is made of 100 baht bills.  I was happy to donate.

After we won our bid, I felt free to roam around in this temple and take photographs at will. The altar here is astonishing.

A three Buddha altar.  All the items, fruit baskets and such, in front of the Buddhas were auctioned off that day.

I really enjoyed scrambling around the altar trying to get the best angles for the 'perfect' photo.

WOW!  Just WOW!

I took many, many photographs of this altar, way too many to post here.

We left the crowded "auction hall" and waked 50m to another very large, covered area that was full of all sorts of effigies and votive items.

All along the new building one could find amazing craftsmanship.  This Kuan Yin door was beautiful.

An outside covered area was full of remarkable wood carvings.

Yes, there were also images from the Hindu tradition, like this Gnesh.

Remarkable craftsmanship and artistry everywhere.  I like these strange rock scenes.

A row of giant carved teakwood statues of various deities . . .  one of which is my favorite.

I am a bit of a devotee of the ancient Chinese Buddhist monk, Ji Gong (on the right).  "He purportedly possessed supernatural powers through Buddhist practice, which he used to help the poor and stand up to injustice."  He held an idiosyncratic understanding of Buddhism.  To me he represents the "none of the above" method of reaching enlightenment.

A sweet tiger deity.

I like that Chinese Buddhist temples have whimsical statuary.

But the main attraction at this temple was the four story high giant many-armed diety, Guan Yin Bodhisattva, in its own special hall.

Indescribable.

We spent quite a long time in this very special temple hall . . . just walking around and around the giant Guan Yin Bodhisattva (Thousand-Armed Avalokiteśvara - or Thousand-Armed Guanyin), staring up, mouths wide open is astonishment.

We left the Guan Yin hall very inspired. On the way back to our car we passed a big workshop where other huge wood carvings were being made.  A fantastic wat very and worth the three hour drive from Bangkok.  I know I will be back.

I live just north of Bangkok in a neighborhood near the Chao Phraya River. It is easy for me to go down by the river, and I do it often, at any time of day, usually with my good camera.  I always enjoy the activity on the river near and around the riverside market town.

There are, of course, many small ferry boats taking people either out to Koh Kret (a nearby island in the river without bridge access and without roads for cars), or just to the other side of the river.

Ferry boats dock at the old wooden piers in the old market at Pakkret. I often take this ferry out to Koh Kret.

There are so many different kinds and types of boats on the Chao Phraya River.  These fishermen provided a lot of interest to the riverside diners . . . and me.

The Chao Phraya River is still and important commercial transport waterway.  It is not unusual to see these large tug boats hauling three or four huge barges up or down the river.

Of course, boats are not all you can see along the river.

There is always a flurry of boat traffic on the river.

Some of these docked ferries are long distance "river taxis" that go all the way down to central Bangkok, 30 kilometers away.

There are always the famous Thai long-tail boats to see.

Long-tail boats are a faster way to get around on the river.  They can take you right to your house or riverside business.  They cost a little more, but are very fast and fun to ride.

There are many Thai Buddhist Temples (Wats) along the river, so it is not uncommon to see monks riding a ferry.

A great variety of ferries ply the river.

Long-tail boats come in all sizes.  This man is delivering some packages out on the island.

In the mornings there is a packed 'rush hour" on the ferries.

At other times of day the ferries are mostly empty (except on the week-ends when many Bangkok tourists go to Koh Kret).

The big long distance river commuter boats do not operate on week-ends and are all tied up on in Pakkret.

A busy river crossing at Pakkret.

Some of these long-tail boats are quite large.  You often see these in the mornings full of students on their way to school or college.

The scenery along the river is quite fantastic.  I love the aesthetics of the houses on stilts in the river.  When I first moved to Thailand (29 years ago) I wanted to live on the river in one of these wooden houses.  Try as I might, I couldn't make it happen. But I love where I am living now. I still have to pinch myself that this is my neighborhood.

Four cute dogs on a boat.

Getting somewhere fast on the river.

A big ferry taking Bangkok day-trippers out to Koh Kret.

A big tug boat laboring up the Chao Phraya River.

If you want to get around on the river in a BIG HURRY . . . this is your best way: a hair-raising jaunt on a modified long-tail boat.

Bangkok tourists boarding their ferry to Koh Kret.

Local Bangkok tourists on an outing.

Big tourist ferry crowded for the day trip.

Some likely international tourists chose to take a fast long-tail boat out to the island.  Fun, fun, fun!

I often take this very ferry when I go out to Koh Kret.  I love the steering wheel on this one.

If you lived on the river you would never have to leave the house! Restaurant boats (like this one) and fruit & vegetable boats make the rounds every day.

There are many, many different ferries along my stretch of the Chao Pryaya River.

Long-tail boats parked in their shed.

A typical river scene out on Koh Kret.

The famous tilting chedi of Koh Kret.  An old rice barge that was converted to a tourist floating hotel comes into view.  People stay on these these for 2-3 day cruises up the Chao Phraya River to the ancient capitol of Ayutthaya.

A beautiful view of Koh Kret and a giant Buddha image along the river.

Need to get some merchandise out to your island shop?  No problem, just flag down a passing long-tail boat.

The ubiquitous Thai long-tail boat . . . .

After I explore along the river, taking photos of boats, I pass through the old town of Pakkret for more photos . . . and another blog entry from MY NEIGHBORHOOD.

It's durian season in Thailand, so why not take a trip out in the hills and visit a durian farm. My wife and I LOVE durian, the King of Fruit!

The location of the farm is here - go to this GoogleMaps link and see where it is:  https://maps.app.goo.gl/G6sEf6i9yKWafgp8A  

We weren't the only ones who decided to visit the durian farm that day. Groups of people came from all directions while we were there.

Picking the right durian requires skill, knowledge, and a bit of luck.

Although we are in the wet season now in Thailand, we took a risk and drove out to the farm anyway.  Fortunately it did not rain while we were there.  It was a very pleasant day out at the hillside durian farm.

One durian tree can produce quite a lot of fruit.  Some of the fruit was supported by pink ribbons to keep them from falling before they were ripe . . . and, I assume, to keep them from falling on visitors.  I would not want to be hit on the head by one of the heavy, sharp durians!

I enjoyed walking around the orchard taking durian portraits.

These looked ready to pick.

Durian portraits are now my favorite subject!  Who knew?

The spikes on a durian are very, very sharp!

Some durians can be picked from ground level, but others require some tree climbing.

Yep, that guy who climbed the tree has to throw the sharp, spiky durians down to his catcher . . . with a burlap bag for protection.  Fascinating.

That's a lot of durians . . . and worth a lot of money . . . durians are expensive, even in Thailand.

You have to know what you are doing to get the pudding-like fruit out of a durian. This is to be left to the professionals.

One of the durian farmers supervising the operation.

Perhaps my favorite portrait: Chair With Durian II

Small slips of foam board were sometimes used between durians to keep them from stabbing each other.  We really enjoyed our day trip to the durian farm.  We ordered about 10 durians (they deliver) to be sent to friends and family . . . and our house, of course.

We took very small roads back to Hua Hin . . . but stopped at a "riverside home stay" we saw on the map that had a coffee shop.  There were some nice views of river rapids, but it was a big commercial development without any "Thai-ness" whatsoever.

We got back to Hua Hin in time to enjoy the sunset over the same hills we had spent the day.

In late June 2025 I accompanied my wife on a golf junket to rural Nahkon Nayok.  While she golfed for two days with her friends, I explored the nearby countryside and small towns. 

Many of the excellent, but rural, Thai golf courses, like the Watermill Golf Course,  have modest hotel facilities.

Armed with my GoogleMaps, and a search term of Thai Wat, I set off in search of an ancient Thai Temple (Wat) marked on the map about 25K away from the golf course . . . and what I found was truly a marvel!

I stumbled upon a very large wat under construction.  I have seen a few wats being built, but none so grand.  There is some confusion about the name of this wat.  It is noted on Google Maps as "Wat Krathum Suea Pla," but if you search for that wat you discover a wat by the same name in Bangkok, not Nahkon Nayok . . . . and no online reference for this wat.  Very strange. 

What a fantastic sight: a giant Buddha statue being enclosed in a beautiful Thai style temple building.

What a fantastic sight to behold!

Amazing to see such a magnificent wat under construction.

It must be a great honor for these workers.

A perfect sky, perfect light and shadow, and a perfect place.

Incredible artistic skill is needed to make these giant Buddha statues.

In the not-too-distant-future the giant Buddha image will be completely enclosed in the new Wat.  I felt lucky to be here at this time to see it in this form.

I left the wat construction site and began to walk around the temple grounds.  I looked back to see this view.  You can see that they are planning some amazing gardens to surround the new wat. Marvelous.

This wat is VERY RURAL. What a view!

I wandered back around the front of the wat construction site and found a small altar set up to take donations . . . and a very helpful attendant.  I paid respect to the Buddha with flowers and  incense.

I was so inspired that I hade a substantial cash donation toward building materials for the new wat.  The attendant asked me to sign the underside of some roofing tiles . . . for posterity.

I discovered that, based on the size of my cash donation, I was entitled to so many commemorative amulets.  Thank you.  And I was also entitled to a personal tour of the whole wat property by the attendant.

I appreciated the offer of a tour.  It became obvious that this wat had been here for a long time . . . and that somebody had invested a lot of money to develop these beautiful spaces everywhere.

There seems to be an expectation that this wat will become a tourist hot spot, in spite of its very rural location.  A very nice coffee and gift shop, but looking like I was the first person to visit it.  My guide offered me a couple of bottles of water.  Thank you.

It really was a beautiful and peaceful place.

Throughout the wat grounds were displayed a wonderful collection of antique rice mills.

I loved the patina on these antique rice processing machines.

There were many beautiful spaces scattered throughout the wat property.

There is a nice pond/lake in the middle of the wat. You can see. some young novice monks "at school" across the pond.  There are covered colonnades around the pond.

There was an extensive collection of antique buffalo carts displayed under the colonnades.

I discovered a "monk school" on my walk around the pond.  The young monks and their teacher had taken a break for lunch.

Around the back of the monk school were a line of monks cottages.  These were very well constructed, showing the big investment some donor has made.

When nature called, I found this amazingly clean and modern toilet, without a doubt the best wat hong nam I hace ever seen in Thailand!

A fantastic wooden sala next to a burly tree.

There was a huge collection of these antique wagon wheels at the other end of the colonnades.  These must be very valuable as Thai people like to decorate their houses, gates, and gardens with these.

Before I left Wat Krathum Suea Pla, I stopped for a "self portrait" in this large jewel.

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After I left the wat construction site, I took a small road back to the golf course.  I came across two wonderful wats on the way back, but unfortunately I was not able to get the names of these wats.  The first was this fabulous wat with an amazing bodi tree out front.

This is the only wat in Thailand I have seen with this honeycomb patterned walls.  Beautiful.

A fantastically photogenic temple!

There were two traditional wat structures on the grounds.  The second one had a very ornate exterior.

Very beautiful.  I wish I could have gone inside these beautiful wats . . . but the doors were locked (I checked), and here were no monks around I could ask.

Wrapped bodi tree, representative of where the Buddha sat when he gained enlightenment.

About 5 kilometers up the road I came across a dilapidate old wooden wat.  It didn't look like much on the outside, just a shed-like structure.  I pulled over . . . . but when I went in . . . WOW!

A fantastic scene of polished wood and a remarkable altar.

A n amazing scene of polished wood and golden wood columns.  I love these old wooden wats . . . .

One corner of the wooden wat was more "lived in" than the rest.  When I pointed my camera in this direction two young monks quickly left . . .  and left the television turned on.

Sometimes good photography is just being in the right place at the right time.  A smoking monk shaves the head of another monk.

I had a great day out and about in rural Nahkon Nayok.  These 'rambles' are among my favorite things to do.  I am very glad that these experiences are still available to me.