The Photography of Dr. Jeff Harper

One of the benefits of having a wife who is a serious golfer is that I get to tag along when she goes on an out-of-Bangkok golf junket with her pals.  We were on vacation in the seaside town of Hua Hin and made the short drive north to the Ratchaburi Royal Golf Club early one morning after a spactacular sunrise over the Gulf of Thailand . . . . and while she played a competitive round, I explored the nearby countryside, the old town market in Ratchaburi town, and the 10th century Wat Mahathat Worawihan.

It's nice to sit on the balcony drinking the the first morning cup of coffee while the sun is rising over the Gulf of Thailand.  The squid fishermen were returning with their catch after having been out to sea all night.

Along the Ratchaburi highway . . . a giant Buddha statue . . . without a place name.

Only an hour and 45 minutes away . . . up and into the hilly Ratchaburi Province.

Small provincial roads in Thailand always serve up some amazing sights.

Yes, they have monkeys in Thailand.  This one, and about 20 of his buddies kept me from leaving my car to walk up a trail to a large cave Buddha temple.

As I was on a 'ramble', I had no particular place to go. I  made my way to Ratchaburi, a town I had never visited. I arrived in Ratchaburi on small roads and on the outskirts of town I discovered this wonderful place: The Ratchaburi National Museum.

It was a gorgeous building . . . old Thai monumental style.

There were two buildings on the museum property.  I adored the patina, color, and style of this old gem.

Being a museum, they had yard art too.

This large metal sculpture was fantastic.

Made entirely of ordinary steel washers and small squares of steel.  Amazing.

The museum rules strictly prohibited photography of the exhibits . . . and they enforced this rule by having one of the museum staff follow me from room to room. They did, however, allow me to photograph the halls and courtyard when I asked.

The museum collection was excellent and very well organized.  The exhibits began in prehistory and ancient geology of the area and proceeded chronologically as you walked from room to room around the courtyard.  It was one of the best, most informative provincial museums I have been to anywhere in the world.

I next drove into the town center and the old city center market.  The market occupies the inside center alleyways of several blocks along the Mae Klong River.

As I left the museum I looked on my GoogleMaps and spotted a river and "Old Town Market" . . . so I drove straight there.  I love these old town, city center markets in Thailand's small cities.  This market would have been in it's prime during the 1950s and 1960s.

The old markets are the remnants of the oldest parts of Thai cities and maintain an older way of doing business.

The city or local area government seems to have taken an interest in this old market.  Many of the walls and old panel doors seem to have been painted recently.  It looked very good.

A colorful advertisement on the panel doors.

History in paint.

Small business in the alleys, which are themselves lined with very old small shops.

My first thought when seeing this shop was, 'supply and demand.'  What kind of world is outside of this market can be deduced by what one sees for sale in it. There is an old pattern of consumption, imbedded in the cultural practices, the anthropology of food, that still demands these items.

Times change.  There was a time, maybe 50 years ago, when this shop was at the center of the Ratchaburi commercial center.  You came here, and here only, if you wanted to buy a pair of new shoes.  But the city grew in a different direction: what was the busy hub of activity has now became the backwater of the old town 'wet market.' This old man seems to have been here as long as the furniture. He doesn't even bother to dust off the shoes any more.

She is still hopeful and making an effort.  These shops have suffered terribly during the pandemic: people do not like to congregate in the tight quarters of these narrow alleyways. I am sure she lives in the back of this shop.

Tucked away deep in the old market is the spirit house/spirit altar for the shopkeepers to leave their offerings in hopes of better luck.  The flowers and other offerings were all fresh from this very morning.

This dry goods shop in the old market seemed to be doing pretty good.  You have to remember that less than a mile from this spot there are several  multinational big box giant supermarkets.  It is hard to understand how these small shops survive.  I assume it survives by servicing those who work in the old market itself.

There were many sections of the old town market, and of course, one of them was for fresh fruits and vegetables.  So delicious in Thailand.

Banana flower hearts . . . used in some Thai dishes.

I had never seen this before . . . some kind of flower bud for use in one of the many thousands of Thai dishes.

Although most of the market I saw so far was clean, neat, and recently refurbished, I eventually found the oldest part of the market.  It was partially abandoned and the commerce there seemed to be left to the poorest people.

Old plastic rain flies over meagre offerings in the old, dead market.  It is here we see the dilapidation caused by the corporate big box stores a couple of blocks away.  I LOVE this photo.

Old coconuts for sale.

I was the ONLY person in this part of the market.  Nobody was here, not even the merchants . . . at 10:00 in the morning.

I tried to imagine what this 'business' was . . . but came up short.

Outside of the inner alleyways of the old market, along the city streets, are more businesses.  Here ,a hardware store.

Shops that have everything a local resident would want and need.

If it can be made out of straw, bamboo, or wicker . . . . they have it here.

Of course, if it can be made out of straw, bamboo, or wicker . . . it can also be made out of plastic.

The owner of this shop told me it was restored to how it was when her family started it 100 years ago.   A beautiful look into the past times in Thailand.

When I came to live in Thailand 26 years ago these samlors were ubiquitous.  There would always be 20-30 of these 'pedal cabs' lied up next to the wet markets ready to take the customers home.  Now it is rare to see them anywhere any more.

The "modern" Ratchiburi commercial center, dating from the 1970s and 1980s.  Of course the true 'modern' Ratchiburi commercial zone is now located in the multinational Big Box stores and shopping malls that dot the major roads leading in and out of the town . . . and the Thais drive there in their pick-up trucks.

My last stop was at the amazing 10th century Wat Mahathat Worawihan.

 The front gate of Wat Mahathat Worawihan did not impress.  But what was within astonished me.

My first inkling about the beauty within this was was when I looked through a small building's window and saw this.

The sala/temple straight ahead looked inviting.  I could see a large Buddha image within.

I took my shoes off and went in and discovered this remarkable spiritual space.  If you look closely you can see the bases of the pillars that held up an earlier temple in the same location.  "It is believed that this temple was built in the Dvaravati Period, around the 10th-11th Century, nearly the same time as when the old city of Ratchaburi was built. Later, a Khmer or Lop Buri sanctuary was built over the temple around the 13th Century to be the centre of the town according to the Khmer belief regarding the universe."

Exquisite Buddha images and a fine altar.

Buddha.

Devotees adorn Buddha images with gold leaf as a part of respectful practices.  I was intrigued by these two Buddhas sitting back-to-back.

When I looked up at the main, large Buddha image I noticed that it was also a double Buddha.  It is very unusual to see two Buddhas sitting back-to-back.

Normally only one Buddha sits in a Wat, and normally facing East.

They were extraordinarily beautiful Buddhas. My research turned this up:"It is a stucco Buddha image in the gesture of subduing Mara, which has a lap width of 8 Sok 1 Khuep. Its characteristic is of the Pre-Ayutthaya art, with a Sukhothai style face. It has a long body but short knees. He turns his face to the east, and there is another Buddha image behind his back, turning its face to the opposite side or the west. This means we ask the Buddha’s blessing to prevent danger from the front as well as the back." (citation)

I left the Buddha hall to wander around the wat grounds.

Like many Thai wats, there are covered halls lined with Buddha images, often as markers for the cremated remains of former monks and doners, as is the case here.

Such a beautiful sight.

In fact, there are several rows of these grave marking Buddha statues.

 The Five Prangs.  At the center of th Wat is a large courtyard enclosed by a cloister.  At the center of the courtyard stand five massive parangs, known as "Phra Prang Ha Yod", or five peak prang.  The Khmer/Lopburi style towers were constructed during the Sukhothai era.

"Surrounded by four smaller ones, the tallest central prang rising over forty meters enshrines Buddha relics. Enshrined in large niches on all of its four faces are standing golden images of the Buddha. The brick plastered prangs, decorated with fine stucco work are topped with a trishula, a three pointed spear, the weapon of the Hindu God Shiva. Sheltering them is a small multi tiered ceremonial umbrella" (citation)

Extraordinary.

Ah! A phone message from my wife: she is on the 16th hole.  Time for me to leave this amazing place.  I headed back out along the Buddha colonnades.

A wide variety of  Buddha images present.

A fine reminder about my mortality and a questioning about what I am doing with my conscieness.

One last grotto . . . to visit a reclining Buddha.

Such a beautiful display.  An old 'nun' altar keeper offered me a bottle of water here, which I took.  It was a hot day!

I lingered in this space to pay my respect to the Buddha.  I also left my donation here.

My last stop.  Then the 25 minute drive to pick up my wife at the golf course and the 1 hour 45 minute drive back to Hua Hin.  A wonderful day . . . .

Back on the balcony for a gin & tonic and this strange blue sea . . .