The Photography of Dr. Jeff Harper

Rope Recycler

A couple of weeks ago Basil and I were driving up a country road on the way to re-shoot a Wat in Samut Songkhram when I saw this pile of roaps out of the side of my eye.  We stopped to take a look.   What we had stumbled upon was a back yard rope recycling operation.  This part of Thailand is near a fishing port which apparently has enough used rope laying around to support this recycler. 

The old ropes were sorted and separated for re-twisting.

There were all kinds of different ropes.

It looked like a complex procedure that required a high degree of exactness

Some of the rope looked quite new.

A boy learning the ropes . . . . holding the end of a set of ropes while a large flywheel at the other end twisted a new rope.

We continued on to The Boathouse Resort to shag a long-tail klong boat for some waterborne photography in the early morning.

We didn't have to go too far to find photogenic material.

The resort had recently pulled an old bicycle from the klong.

Beautiful tropical gardens everywhere.

Sometimes the backsides of tropical leafs are the most beautiful, like this . . .

. . . and this frond.

We hired a boat and headed into the swamps.

The klongs (canals) around these parts offer a mixture of dilapidated dock and commercial structures mixed with sublimely rustic beauty.

Life along the klongs looks very idyllic.

There are many old boats along the klongs, like this lovingly restored old river tug.

A relic of a bygone era: a Thai canal boat.

Lovely scenes of boats at dock.

This is my dream house.  I may look to see if I can lease one of these.  I would love to spend my week-ends here!

One could while away many hours in these klong houses.

Life along the canals is serene.

Maybe I can make a good deal on this "fix-er-upper."

I think my wife would prefer this old traditional Thai-style house.

Some people make their klong homes very special.  I suspect many of these cool places are occupied by week-enders from Bangkok.

The old styles and weathered surfaces make for an atmosphere that calls to me.  Why?

Many of these canal structures are only accessible by boat.

I have been up this particular klong many times, but I always take many photos of The Blue House (following).

Yep, me and this house have a connection.  I don't know what it is.

Next time I'm in the area I will make an inquiry.

The shady side of The Blue Klong House.

I love how the use of pre painted used blue lumber creates it's own patterns and textures.  Wonderful.  I want to live here soooo badly!

As we putted along in our long-tail boat in the morning idyll, we happened upon an old woman hawking dried reeds from her little teak boat.

The same ancient commerce being plied along the same ancient klongs of Samut Songkhram.

This canal side boathouse was very charming.

I can see myself whiling away a day with a good book on this porch set deep in the palms.

Yep . . . I'm going to have to look into leasing one of these places . . . and soon.

Every now and then, around a bend, you fid someone doing commerce.  You wouldn't go hungry if you lived in the canals . . . your lunch would come to you.

Around a bend we came upon a young man emptying a hollow log of it small crabs . . . perfect for sum-tam, a Thai favorite.

Live along the klongs is very attractive . . . and an ever more compelling force in my life.

OUT ALONG THE BANGKOK TO HUA HIN HIGHWAY.The last time we visited this Wat out among the salt pans of Samut Songkhran it was covered i scaffolding and painted a gleaming white.  Today it is completed in its gold leaf . . . and stunningly beautiful.

A beautiful day.  The old Wat structure, what I believe to be the original teak temple, was being dismantled.  Too bad, it was so fantastic, but a reminder that Buddhism Thailand is a living institution, not an historical novelty or a simple tourist attraction.

A 5m mold for building giant Buddhas was left behind t the Wat.

I am at a complete loss to explain or understand this Wat display.  A big donor? A friend of the abbot?  You tell me

Samut Songkhran to Hua Hin Giant Wat

I always drive past this huge Wat on the way to Hua Hin.

When you enter  the grounds of a Wat, you enter a completely different reality . . . the possibilities change.

The interior of this Was was AWESOME . . . . there is no other word for it.

On our way back we decided to stop in at a giant Wat along the highway.  I have been watching this mammoth structure being build over a ten year period, so time to an update.  WOW!

Simply gorgeous.

The detail on the giant Buddhas included myriad smaller Buddha images.  Opulence beyond imagination.

The Wat grounds held this giant chedi, over 100m tall.

Interestingly, the big chedi held a smaller and much older chedi within.

A memorial image of an old revered monk or abbot.

Unbeknownst to us, we arrived on a day when a ceremony  involving wrapping the old chedi with golden drapes . . .

. . . accompanied by monks chanting and the banging of a large gong!

There was a Wat gift shop with the chedi (there always is) that had on display some Buddha images for "sale" (donation) for your home altar.  The plastic wrapping with the accumulated dust created an eerie visage.

We walked all around the Wat grounds.  It was a very beautiful and serene place to spend part of an afternoon.

Devotional remnants.

Self Portrait.

One of the ways the Thais like to show respect is by radical festooning with colorful bunting.

Roadside Attractions:

We stopped several time o the way back to Bangkok to take photos of the visually interesting.  Salt bag pattern.

We pulled over at a roadside purveyor of dries fruit of the sea: squid . . .

. . . and still more dried squid . . . .

. . . . an array of fish snack from many an oceanic phylum . . .

. . . and, yes, blister-packed dries and smoked fish.  There was another kind of dried sea food there that could only be described as . . .

ALIEN FLESH:

I was very tempted to post these "alien flesh" photos as a straight "I just got back from the UFO Convention and took these photos of alien flesh." . . . but I didn't.  That's all the world needs is more UFO "evidence" finding it's way onto the Internet!

More "Alien Flesh," southeast view.

There have been a lot of UFO sightings around this part of Thailand lately . . . . could this be dried and pressed alien skin, as the vendor claimed?

The Thai guy I bought these from said that these emerged from a dead alien, but died soon after contact with the atmosphere.  But for only 180 Thai baht for the four piece set, who could pass it up?

The same Thai vendor said this was part of the head structure of the alien.  I  don't know . . . it doesn't seem right . . . but he was asking too much for them.