Photography

Asian Tales: Thailand

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The most beautiful sunrises that I’ve ever got to see in life always happened from a plane. Maybe the excitement mixed with spongy clouds and tiredness is the perfect combination after all.

My last country of 2015 was Thailand.

Thailand is a wonderful country that will give you exactly what you ask for. And this can end up being a beautiful disaster if you are unable to make the right questions. If you get distracted, you can easily end up in a crowded beach party stinking of alcohol on a Tuesday morning.

But fortunately this wasn’t what we had in mind.

Our adventure consisted in just a couple of weeks visiting Bangkok and its surroundings and Krabi and its unbelievable beaches.There are two types of Bangkok: the rooftop kind and the street level kind. The latter is noise, constant activity and fresh fruit being cut. The former one is breeze, a chaotic skyline on the horizon and sunsets. Both of them include a bunch of smiles around you. After a couple of days, one gets used to timidly smiling and nodding back as if in that language we were really understanding each other. I felt comforted by the fact that smiling to the carpenter downstairs of our hotel, he would understand my appreciation of his craft. “Does he also know that I am an architect and I really appreciate it as a professional too?”.

During our long walks we tried to visit all the temples of the city, those that were famous and those that weren’t. Locals greeted us as we contributed to their rituals with the typical flowers and candles. We also tried the regional flavours, making a serious effort to forget about peanuts (even the smell repels me). But you see, asking for a Pad Thai without peanuts may be considered an offense. I didn’t manage, however, to try other exotic delicatessen as the scorpions. They should never be on the menu in my opinion.

When we arrived to Krabi, we knew immediately that we had to leave. While my friends were getting a fair deal with the boatman I was trying to guess if he would be good company for spending a day together. I felt bad for him as I realized he couldn’t really choose us. Wrapped as a mummy (in Thailand being tanned is not so popular) our dear Mr. Noi sailed with us through the most beautiful islands I’ve ever seen in my life. I vividly remember the smell of the sea, the breeze and the eccentric colours of the water. I suppose Mr. Noi liked us because when we refused to stay in the most crowded islands, he started bringing us to wilder places. Probably it was the same, but without people. Almost without realizing, 2016 was upon me – one of the most incredible years of my life.

Check these and other amazing spots of Bangkok on the map below or download the free architecture guide of Bangkok:

51 thoughts on “Asian Tales: Thailand”

  1. Pingback: 12 Countries in 12 Months | Virginia Duran Blog

    • Hi Eddie, so happy to see you around 🙂
      I think you’d love Thailand, there’s a very spiritual part of it too. People are the kindest, it’s a constant inspiration! Have you ever been in Asia?

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      • Yes, if you’re a scuba diver, but if you’re not, then even snorkeling around the shorelines in shallow water should be amazing. Looking at the clarity of the water, you can’t get better than that.

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        • That sounds really good although the deeper areas are also appealing (and scary). Are you a scuba diver?

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  4. Yes I am a scuba diver and some of my best dives have been in the shallower waters in just 10 to 12m (30 to 40 ft). Deeper dives mean less bottom time, usually darker and colder, not always better. Be careful of those weekend certifications that operate in those parts of the world. Get a proper certification at your home base if you decide to do it.

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    • That’s good advice! I think it’s really impressive that you got to those depths, that’s beyond what I’ll ever do heheh.

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  5. Nice pictures, Virginia, I was in Thailand in 1993, a long time ago. We visit Koh Samui, Bangkok, Chiang May and I saw the elephant orphanage. It was great!
    Have a nice day and greetings from Berlin, Susanne

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      • Bangkok is a special town, there are new architecture beside old tradition and houses. I like the location of Erawan Shrine, but I think, it was more bizarrely in the past.
        Yes, I recommend the elephant orphange, it was near Kandy? It’s so long ago, I don’t know it realy….

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      • Non, je ne connais pas la Thaïlande Virginia, en revanche, j’ai fais quelques pays en Amérique centrale…
        Fais attention à toi et prends bien soin de toi.
        Tony

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        • En Amérique Centrale j’ai adoré Cuba, j’ai beaucoup bougé chez l’habitant….Aux US sinon j’aimerais aller en Louisiane enfin à la Nouvelle Orléans…Et toi Virginia, parle-moi de toi…
          Belle journée
          Je t’embrasse.
          Tony

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        • Ohhh moi aussi j’ai bien aimé Cuba et Mexique, je sais qu’ils sont très différentes. J’ai vécu a Chicago 2 années alors je connais très bien les États Unis maaaaaiiis… j’ai jamais été à la Nouvelle Orléans 😉
          Bonne weekend!

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        • J’ai été 1 mois au Mexique à Chetumal, Waouh deux ans à Chicago Génial, décidément, tu n’es pas comme les autres…
          Je t’embrasse Jolie Virginia
          Tony
          Cuba est un très bon souvenir pour moi, surtout Trinidad de Cuba…

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    • Hi Arundhati, so good to see you around! I have 2 posts of yours on my inbox, hopefully I’ll read them soon. Have you been to Thailand already? I loved it, one of the most beautiful countries in the world 🙂

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      • Heh, I have suddenly got back to peppering your inbox with my posts clearly 😉 I loved Thailand though I was quite a young one when I travelled there with my parents. My memories are primarily made up of a young girl gifting me an ivory ring at a flea market on the beach (I have no idea why!) and good food along with the ubiquitous presence of women along the doorways on the streets of Bangkok. I do hope to revisit it (because there is so much to it other than Bangkok) someday and make new memories with Adi 🙂

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        • That is a sweet story to remember, hopefully you will fill your life book with more of those! Does Adi go to every of your trips?

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        • I have travelled a fair bit without him because he used to be busy with work in Europe. Sitting in the hotel/apartment rooms was never an option! So he does have a fair crib that even though we were in the same location, he was stuck inside office mostly while I gallivanted around the countries 😉 xx

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        • That’s the spirit! You are creating memories for the future 😉
          In our case, we both work remotely so life has been bringing us here and there. To be honest it has been very organic, a month in India because one of my best friends was getting married, another month in Alicante because my cousin just had kids and now back in London as I need to revisit some of the places for the guide. Soon NY for a new guide but who knows exactly when… I am just trying to embrace it as it comes and obviously being very grateful that he is by my side every day ❤️

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        • Touche. That is the thought and presence that counts. The last line that is.

          That sounds like a whirlwind of colours and emotions in places with vastly different sensibilities. My love to London from afar and I shall await your presence in NYC whenever it is. xx

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  9. My visit to Thailand was very brief and my time was mostly spent in traffic jams (in Bangkok). That was about 26 years ago. It looks like you have enjoyed most of the best of Thailand.

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  12. Pingback: The Free Architecture Guide of Bangkok (PDF) | Virginia Duran Blog

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