The Photography of Dr. Jeff Harper

I went out and about on a Saturday with my friend John Stiles.  We saw many wonderful things and listened to some fantastic music.

The Bangkok "Chinatown" is a very messy, noisy, busy place with a huge amount of human activity, mostly to do with commerce.

I really do not get down to this part of the city enough.  Even though about 30% of Bangkok is underwater, life goes on in the rest of the city without adult supervision, as we expats like to call it.

Busy, busy businessmen.  Here we see a shop dedicated to selling fake rice sacks; "Value Added" takes on a whole new meaning.

Chinatown, along the river, is the oldest part of Bangkok.  The buildings exude a worn and aged charm.

When I first moved to Bangkok I had the fantasy of living in one of these kinds of neighborhoods. What, exactly, is the beauty here?

I spotted a sign on the main street saying there was a temple down the alley.

We found a very old, and beautifully kept, Chinese Buddhist Temple wedged among the tiny passageways of old Chinatown, Bangkok.

The courtyard of the Chinese Temple was festooned with yellow lanterns.

I poked around a side and found the leprous temple keeper and asked if I could go in and pray.  He nodded yes. The space was magnificently decorated.

The new temple banners showed the signs of recent ceremonies conducted in honor large donors.

There were many small vestibule-like altar rooms around the temple . . . .

. . . that were exquisitely decorated with the phantasmagoria of the Chinese Buddhist pantheon.

Many famalies lodge their hopes, prayers, and wishes here.

Each altar had become a new construction of a unique spirit world.

Every detail tells a story from ancient Chinese spiritual literature, like these incense holders with peacock fronds.

The Buddhist Temples in Thailand are not archeological curiosities, but living places of spiritual refreshment. I love the celebratory use of twinkling holiday lights.

I made a large donation before we left and received a special honorary receipt from the kind temple keeper.

As it grew darker we descended into the deep back alleys of the Bangkok Chinatown.

A yellow inflatable boat in a dark alley was one of many clues that nearly thirty percent of Bangkok was under water from massive flooding . . . but not this part.

By nightfall we found our way back to the commercial streets.

The mix of mercury vapor and neon lighting played nicely upon the telephone lines across this old Chinatown storefront.

Every once in a while a photo just creates itself right in front of you.

Damn Tourists.  Not really.  Peter, an out-of-towner visiting my friend John, trying to figure out if it is better to take the Skytrain or taxi to get to Victory Monument Circle from Chinatown.  We took the taxi.

Victory Monument Circle on a Saturday night.  It seemed almost deserted, no doubt, because of the floods.

Down this small side street off of Victory Monument Circle you can find the best blues, funk, and reggae in Bangkok.

The Saxophone Jazz and Blues Club.  I am always happy to be there.  There were two bands on that night.

The House Band fronted by a very talented blues guitarist.

His BB King covers were noteworthy.

But the highlight of the evening  was a funk/reggae band I had never heard.  They came on at midnight and played until 3:00am! The completely rocked the joint . . . got everybody up out of their seats and dancing!  Definitely one of the best live bands I have heard in many, many years.  I will go back to see them again . . . and soon.

Only 4 foot 9 inches, but the most powerful and controlled singer in this quadrant of the universe.  Every band member was very, very talented.  Amazing!

Here are a few more images from that wonderful day . . . . saved as a slide show (which I am still figuring out).