Ladyboys in Phuket

I was just struck by the number of ladyboys that I saw in Phuket. Most of the time its pretty easy to tell. Some are more difficult to discern from women, and there are those few who are just stunning.

You certainly can't miss them if you walk on Bangla Road and go past Soi Crocodile. Before their shows, they gather in the road and solicit customers to take photos for a fee. There may be some other solicitation going on as well. I pay two to take a few photos.





Another spot where there were a lot of ladyboys was on Beach Road. These individuals were not soliciting photos, but definitely massages and more. As I walked by, one quite striking individual propositioned me about a massage. When I politely declined, "she" asked me if I wanted "boom boom" (i.e., sex). Naturally I declined. I'll tell you though, if it were not for where this person was standing and the individuals around "her", I would have been sure it was a woman. I would hardly be shocked if some straight guys took her back to the hotel room only to find an extra "surprise" in that pair of panties.

Of course there were ladyboys at the Simon Caberet. The show was pretty good. The highlight of the show was an old fashion drag queen type. There was no mistaking this ladyboy for a woman. He did two songs, the first, Living in a Barbie World, where he was dressed in a pink outfit with fake breasts that looked the size of the orange construction cones. In the second, the performed I Will Survive. In both acts, he got involved with the audience and was generally hilarious.

It was pretty obvious that most of the Simon Caberet performers were not women. There a couple who looked fairly convincing.



There were also a few ladyboys at the "traditional" massage shops. I became aware of this because there was one particular shop near the hotel. Whenever I walked by, this particular ladyboy would run out and offer her massage services. I must have told her know six times. Of course she asked seven times. Okay, not really. I politely declined each time.

So Many Massage Shops

There are so many massage shops in Patong Beach. I laughed when I saw the sign for this one.



I did not visit the shop, so I don't know if they will actually massage your willy at Willy Massage, but based on its location, I think it is probably on offer.

Brave Men

On the days I took photos of the parade, I arrived at the shrines at 5:30 or 6:00 a.m.  There were already several dozen people there each day.  Most people wore all white, while those who would undergo the piercings would wear a colorful traditional garb.  It was pretty clear that the participants were getting ready for their ordeal, as they walked around, shaking their heads and often murmuring to themselves.

When it was time to get ready, the man would sit on a plastic chair.  Another man, usually one bearing the scars of having done this in the past, would stand behind him and hold his head with both hands.  Another man had an eighteen inch cone shaped metal rod with a point on one end.  He cleaned the rod with alcohol, then poured some kind of oil on it.  He then pushed the rod through the participant's cheek, creating a hole up to two inches in diameter.  Next he would withdraw the rod, and put in another object, such as a wrench, pistol barrel, knife, saw blade, etc.  Usually they would then do the same thing for the other cheek.

Most of the participants were pretty stoic when it was happening.  One guy left no doubt that it hurt as he yelled out 'uh uh uh" many times.

It was pretty crazy when this happened, as many photographers, both falang and Thai would gather around and try to take photos.  If you weren't at the right place at the right time, it was difficult to get the shot of the piercing happening.  Everyone wanted to get the photograph, and the crowds were sometimes 5 or 6 deep.

I really lucked out one time.  I having limited luck getting a photo of one piercing, when someone came over and placed a plastic chair within arm's length of me and a man in a traditional outfit sat in the chair.  I knew that this was my chance.  I actually stood in between the handles of one of the little platforms that are carried on the shoulder and display idols.  From there, I ended up getting quite a few shots, even some as it actually pierced the cheek.  It was kind of cool.

The wounds certainly did bleed, but there wasn't really a whole lot of blood around.  There were people around who would dab off the blood when it was happening.  As they marched, there were also people with each participant who would dab off the blood.

Internet Here and There

While I have "high speed" Internet access in Thailand, being back in the States reminds me of just how slow it is there. Sometimes it takes thirty or more minutes to upload a dozen or so photos to Flickr. It took only a couple of minutes here. Sometimes I jokingly refer to it as "Thai speed" Internet.


I also appreciate being able to watch TV shows on hulu.com. For those of you not in the know, you can watch TV shows on hulu. Unfortunately, it is blocked outside the U.S. When I try to access it in Thailand, I get a message saying that it is unavailable in my country. I could go to the trouble of getting a proxy server to hide my IP address and possibly gain access to the show, but with the slow connection speed, I don't think that it is worth the effort.

Chiang Mai Day 2

On our second day in Chiang Mai, we visited the zoo.  The Chiang Mai zoo is most famous for its baby panda, Lin Hui.  Lin Hui was born in Thailand, although at some point will have to be returned to China.

The zoo was not bad.  The animal show, featuring mostly birds, was entertaining, particularly for the kids.  A white macaw flew up to Jacob in the audience.  In order to get the bird to fly to you, you had to have twenty baht out for the bird to retrieve.  Its less than a dollar, so not a big deal.

Lin Hui and her father were on display in the new half million dollar habitat built.  They were actually kept separately.  The zoo was fairly busy for Songklon, and Lin Hui being the big attraction, they ended up limiting viewing to about five minutes.  We were pretty lucky in that the line was fairly short when we got there.  Since we had kids, they let us wait inside in the air conditioning.

They did not allow flash photography of the baby panda.  Apparently he can't blink.  For people with point and shoot cameras, they put black tape over the flash.  Its actually a pretty good idea, since some people probably don't know how to turn it off.  I started to put my detachable flash away, but Tim said the guy wasn't concerned so long as I turned it off.

The lack of flahs combined with the distance we were away from him and the poor lighting made getting a nice photo a bit of a challenge.  I had my 70-200 zoom lens, shooting wide open, and I still had to shoot at 1600 iso, which can leave the image a bit noisy.  To put it in perspective, if I can I shoot at 100 iso.  I'm pretty happy shooting at 200, and even 400 isn't too bad.  I really don't like getting to 800, 1600 and even the occassional 3200.  Unfortunately, my shots of the cub were all of the later three iso settings.

I didn't have my tripod with me, although I don't know if they would allow you to set one up.  My images came out okay.  At one point I was trying to use the rail to help steady the shot, but I still didn't try at a lower iso.

The father was actually much easier to shoot, as he was larger, closer to the guests, and in much better lighting.  And while they limited your time with the cub to about five minutes, they let guests watch the father for a much longer time.  I'm not sure where the mother was at the time.

We were lucky we went to see the pandas when we did.  They exhibit is only open three times a day.  Later in the afternoon there was a really long line to see them.  I really would not have wanted to wait.

Here are some photos:

Chiang Mai - Day 1

We flew to Chiang Mai on Air Asia out of Suvarnabhumi Airport.  Suvarnabhumi is the main airport in Bangkok.  Tim was actually hoping that we would fly out of Don Meung, the airport that Suvarnabhumi replaced as the main international hub, which now handles some domestic flights.  Don Meung is a lot closer to the house, but Air Asia flies out of Suvarnabhumi.

It was a pretty laid back day.  We went on a horse carriage tour of nine temple ruins in Chiang Mai.  The kids got a chance to try out the new waterproof camera that we picked up to take photos at Songklon and if we ever go diving again.  The camera was originally going to be Jacob's as a replacement for his broken one, but it was expensive enough that it became a family asset.  I didn't have a tripod with me, or my really wide lens, so while I took quite a few pictures that day and during the trip, I wasn't fully focused on photography.  In fact, I'll probably go back to Chiang Mai by myself sometime later to take more photos.

We ate Chinese for dinner at restaurant near the hotel.  The food was pretty good but the service was anything but great.  There was a Thai woman who cooked, took our order and brought out some of the food.  She was pretty pleasant.  When she was in the kitchen cooking, a Chinese man brought out some of the food.  He did not speak Thai or English, and apparently was allergic to smiling.

State of Emergency

Today the Prime Minister declared a state of emergency due to some red shirt protesters invading parliament and disrupting the proceedings.  The MP's and cabinet ministers retreated for their safety.

The state of emergency of emergency gives the government broad powers to temporarily (hopefully) suspend some civil liberties.  It allows the army to detain suspects for up to thirty days without a trial, prohibit news coverage deemed to threaten the public interest, impose curfews and prohibit public gatherings.

In related news, the red shirts are refusing to retreat from either their original protest base of the Phan Fa Bridge, or their new one at the Ratchaprasong intersection.  The government has already issued criminal summons for ten of the red shirt leaders and promises legal action against those who break the law.  Meanwhile, the head of the army has declared that under the current circumstances, the army will not use force to remove the protesters.

Bangkok Motorshow

Yesterday I made my way to the Bangkok Motorshow, camera in hand.  Last year the family went, and Tim ended up buying a car.  She is still driving on the temporary tags on that one since we are waiting for her "lucky" number license plate.

This year I went alone.  I took a cab because it was on the other side of town, and I read that sometimes you can wait up to an hour to find a parking spot there.

Like a lot of the amateur photographers there, I was more interested in taking photos of the female models than the new car models.  Its not every day that you can photograph models.  I also noticed that there were a lot of photographers there with some nice glass.  Strangely, it seemed like there were a lot more Canons than Nikons.

Overall, I was somewhat happy with the photos.  The lighting there was top down and not very great.  I used a flash on low power, but sometimes it wasn't enough to get rid of the shadows from the overhead lighting.  While the light was plenty bright enough to see in, I had to shoot at a little slower shutter speed than I would have liked, and I used a higher iso.  I didn't have the sharp focus that I really would have liked.

I didn't take my 70-200 2.8 mm lens, which would have been a much better choice than the 24-105 mm.  The 2.8 aperture would have let me shoot at a higher shutter speed, and I would have had a shallower depth of focus, making the models stand out from the background more.    When I got home, I was actually going ot go back with my 70-200 lens.  I had Nalin tell the guard to call a taxi for me to arrive in 30 minutes.  An hour later I walked to the guard station.  He had forgotten.  At that point it wasn't worth going back.

One thing I noticed is that the Thai photographers would all stand around the models, sometimes three or more people deep.  Most of the photographers in the back couldn't be getting a lot of great photos, there were people in their way. I wasn't going to stand in the back and wait for ten minutes only to have the model leave.  I would just walk around to the front of all the photographers and shoot sitting down or kneeling.  Essentially I was in the front row.

Throughout the day, I only saw a handful of Thai photographers shoot from any position but standing.   I'm glad they didn't or I couldn't have gotten so close all the time. Since they were standing, I could work my way up to the front without blocking anyone's shot.  The models look at different cameras so you can take your shot, and since I was in the front, I never had any issue with them looking my way.

I definitely plan on going back next year.  In fact, I may end up going for a few days.

Here are a few photos of the models.  I'll add some more and some of cars (I did take a few) later.

 

Masage Parlor Bomb

A bomb went off last night in the parking of the Poseidon massage parlor, injuring one person.  For those not in the know, a massage parlor in Thailand is not the place you go when you really want to get a massage.  Its a place that gentlemen (well men anyway :D ) visit for a special kind of good time.  If you are looking for a "real" massage, you would want to visit either a spa or a traditional Thai massage shop.

The massage parlor is owned by the father of Commerce Minister Pornthiva Nakasai.  The inclusion of "porn" in the son's name ("porn" is not an uncommon name in Thailand) or the obvious double entendre of "blowing" aside, I just have to comment on this one.  Can you imagine if the father of U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke's owned a business promoting prostitution?  Is there any chance he would be nominated, much less confirmed?    

Wat Phra Kaew and Grand Palace

Royal Symbol [55 of 365]
Originally uploaded by ebvImages

Visited Thailand's famous Wat Phra Kaew and Grand Palace today. I've been there a few times to take photos. I like to use it as bit of a gauge as to how I have developed in my photography.

I decided against taking all the same shots that I have in the past. I wanted to do something a little different. Some of the shots are similar to ones I've taken before, but I also wanted to try some new angles.

One thing that caught my eye this time were the beautiful pots that housed some of the plants. The artwork on these were very beautiful. I think it is the symbol of the royal family.

You can see the white elephant in the design. The white elephant was at one time on the Thai flag and is considered very auspicious. My understanding is that part of the reason it was changed was because Europeans thought that it was a white rat. Not sure if that's true, but that was what I was told.

Elephant Crossing

Elephant Crossing [52 of 365]
Originally uploaded by ebvImages

We were on our way home from Kanchanaburi when I saw a crossing sign of the unusual variety. Well, unusual in many places, but not here in Thailand. Yeah, an elephant crossing sign.

Tim was driving and by the time I said "stop" it was too late. Sure enough though, we found another one a little further up the road. I had to walk a bit, because the nearest place to pull over safely was about 50 yards up the road. Still, I think it was worth the walk.

Later I photographed a cattle crossing sign. While I didn't see any of those growing up in Northern Kentucky, I imagine they are a bit more common in the western U.S. Well, certainly more common than elephant crossing signs.

All the Marbles?

Former Prime Minister Thaksin and his red shirt clad allies have been on the losing side of many court cases over the past few years. They've seen the courts dissolve two Thaksin-ally led governments, disqualify a number of their members for electoral fraud, and even found Thaksin guilty (of fraud I believe) and sentence him to jail. That does not even count the 111 former Thaksin allies who were banned from politics for five years shortly after the 2006 coup.

Despite these setbacks, the biggest case of all is coming to a head. On February 26th, the Thai Supreme Court will rule on a case involving Thaksin's seventy-six billion baht (about two billion dollars U.S.) fortune. Prosecutors claim that Thaksin abused his position as Prime Minister to enrich himself and his family members. The state is seeking to confiscate the entire fortune. Thaksin and his family, who claim part of the fortune is theirs, are vigorously disputing the governments contentions.

The seizure of these assets would not only take away Thaksin's wealth, but will dramatically weaken him politically. Despite having been deposed, convicted of a crime, and living in exile, Thaksin is still the de facto leader of the Peau Thai party; that is the party with the most members of any party in Parliament. Thaksin's continued power, however, lies in large part with his purse strings. He can control the party by providing the money that they need to get elected. If his fortune is forfeited to the state, I believe that his power will be dramatically weakened.

For his political opponents, I'm sure that nothing would make them happier than to see the courts plunge a metaphorical dagger into the heart of Thaksin. They would very much like to take away his treasure and power. The problem is that there is one other card that this once and perhaps future billionaire holds in his hand. He is very popular with a lot of the people in Thailand, particularly those in the North and Northeast. Thaksin is very much a billoinaire populist.

Thaksin was widely seen as helping the poor during his time as Prime Minister. Whether the corruption charges are true or false, many poor Thai people saw Thaksin as someone who stood up to the Bangkok elite; the wealthy upper class that looked down their noses at their more humble and less educated bretheren. Think about it from their perspective for a second. If old guard can bring down a man like Thaksin, a man who amassed a fortune in the billions and became Prime Minister, what chance does an ordinary farmer have? When men as powerful as Thaksin can be cast aside and stripped of most of what they own, how can a lowly farmer expect to be treated fairly?

The red shirts are going to rally in advance of the court verdict. If Thaksin is routed completely in the courts, his entire assets seized, I think the protests could get ugly.

As far as how the court will rule, I'm not certain. One thing that seems pretty clear is that Thaksin was already incredibly wealthy before he became Prime Minister. Even if he did as the government charges and used his position to enrich himself and his family, it would only account for part of his assets. I know that the prosecutors acknowledge this, but I think their play for the entire fortune is based in some part on lost revenue to the government based on his alleged self-serving deals.

My best guess is that they will find that he abused his position. This is based not so much on the facts of the case but on his track record with the courts. If this happens, it would be in the best interest of Thailand if only a portion of his assets were impounded to the state. I know in an ideal world, judged should perhaps be oblivious to political machinations. Whether that occurs in reality, I cannot say.

The next few weeks should be interesting.

Tale of Two Ladyboys

I was looking through my photos again, so it was a great time to revisit some blogging topics.  This time I am going to talk about that ever popular subject in Thailand, the ladyboy.

Ladyboys, or katoey as they are known in Thai are better known in English as transsexuals.  Unlike in the U.S., and probably most Western countries, where they are on the very fringes of society, here ladyboys are quite common.  There is no open discrimination against them, although it seems like they are somewhat limited in their professions.  There are a lot of them in the sex industry, and also industries like hair dressing, waitressing and other occupations that have a higher concentration of female workers.

Ladyboys are still legally male here, as is indicated on their national identity card.  There is actually a movement to try to get a third gender recognized to deal with some of the issues of having them classified as males.  Right now they go to a male prison.  It doesn't take a lot of imagination to figure out the problems that this might cause.

Another issue is that Thailand has compulsory military service for males.  There was a photo in the Bangkok Post of recruits in a room awaiting a physical.  The ladyboy in pink stood out.  She was disqualified from service because she had a "disfigured chest".  I am going to try to use that excuse if I'm caught looking at a girls chest.  "It was so disfigured dear, I couldn't look away."

I've had very little direct dealings with ladyboys.  Sure, I've seen them in the grocery store on occasion, and certainly when walking around in Pattaya and Phuket.  There was a ladyboy who works in the Build a Bear store in Central Chaengwattana who I didn't realize was not a woman until she spoke.  She fooled Aleena however.

When I was visiting Phuket back in November 2008, I had three interactions with ladyboys.  The purpose of my trip was to take photos of the people at the Vegetarian Festival, where the participants pierce their face with various sharp instruments.   After one morning of taking photos, a pair of katoeys came up to me and asked me to take their photo.  They were very nice about it so I did.  They didn't ask me for money or harass me in any way.



In the evening, I took a stroll down  Bangla Road in Patong beach.  As I walked by Soi Crocodile (small street named Crocodile), I saw a group of five or six ladyboys in full dresses and costumes.  They approached everyone who walked by to try to get them to take photos, come see the show, and perhaps even a private show if that is one's desire.  It wasn't mine.  The girls were very aggressive.  I did give the "girls" a small tip and took some photos.





My final ladyboy experience came as I was walking down beach road the next day.  When you walk down beach road in Patong, you are bombarded with solicitations for taxis, t-shirts, suits, and massages.  A very attractive woman came up and stood just inches in front of me.  She offered me a massage which included "lip service" (she was more explicit) for about $30.  Naturally I decline.  As close as she was to me, I couldn't tell that it was not a woman.  The only reason that I figured it out was that the other people around her were very obviously ladyboys.  It did make me wonder how often her offer was accepted by someone who wasn't aware of the extra "package" she was bringing to the table.

I do want to go to a ladyboy cabaret show again.  I went back when I came to Thailand the first time back in 94.  I figure I'll get some decent photos for the blog.

Monks at Sukhothai

Disciples at the Sunset [21 of 365]
Originally uploaded by ebvImages

The orange robe clad monks are a common sight in Thailand. The monks follow a strict set of rules. They beg for their food, cannot eat after noon, and must refrain from things like smoking, drinking, sex, gambling and other vices. I read that there are 227 rules that monks follow.

Certainly, like any other persons, monks are human. I personally saw a monk buy snacks and a cigarette one evening. I even had a monk come and ask me for money when I was out with a Thai friend. My friend was embarrassed and my wife told me that it was completely improper behavior.

There are also rules in dealing with monks. One of the rules is that women cannot touch a monk nor he a woman. This led to a funny incident when Nalin, Aleena and another girl were out with Tim at a temple. The other little girl walked up to the monk, who took a step back. The girl stepped forward, and again the monk retreated. After this happened a few times, he managed to get Jacob to come over and stand in between himself and the girls.

Some Thai men become monks as teens and remain as such their whole lives. Others join later in life and server for many years. A former high ranking police officer who served many years in jail became a monk after his release.

Most Thai men become monks for at least a short time in their lives. Both of my brother-in-laws have done it at least once. Often this is done when they are young men. That might be why its not uncommon to see monks at the computer or mobile phone stores.

This is a shot that I took in Sukhothai last year. These two monks were taking photos of each other in front of the statue, so I assumed they were on the short term plan. I asked them if I could take their photos.

Its a shot that I wanted to look good. I really, really wanted it to look good, but truthfully, it did not look good at all. The sky was completely washed out and the monks were a little dark.

So I looked at it again with an eye to see if I could fix this shot. After some work, I think it looks a lot better than the image that I loaded into Lightroom. Of course, a lot of photos that I like others might not care much for.

Inside Lane

Inside Lane
Originally uploaded by ebvImages

Those of you who spent some time in Thailand or have read my blog before know that the driving habits here are quite a bit different than back in the states. Motorcycles are the worst offenders; they drive on the wrong side of the road, on sidewalks, and weave in and out of traffic.

I was on Silom road one day when I saw this motorcyclist taking a bit of a shortcut. I think the light was red and you can't expect the guy to wait for the traffic light. I mean, there was a perfectly empty sidewalk in front of him. Heck, even if its not empty, people know to get out of the way, right?

More Caves in Kanchanburi

_MG_4968-Edit
Originally uploaded by ebvImages

Lugging the tripod and camera gear into the caves while we were in Kanchanaburi was not really fun. I also had trouble getting many decent photos, but a few turned out okay.

Music

Nalin started taking piano lessons this semester. She's only had two, but so far she's like it, and she also really enjoys playing the recorder in her music class.

Yesterday she got her first keyboard. I went and bought it over at Central. Central is the premiere chain of "malls" in Thailand. The one near our house is Central Chaengwattana, Chaengwattana being the street on which the mall is located. Only its not called a mall, because there is another mall that is named "The Mall". So if you say you are going to Central, you are really going to the mall. Although, there is also a department store within Central named Central, because in fact the Central "malls" started off as a department store. Sometimes they refer to the mall as a plaza, but not always.

Shopping center nomenclatures aside, Nalin really seems to enjoy her keyboard. We set it up in the girls play room. Our place has four bedrooms, but Nalin and Aleena share a room, and the other room has some of their toys in it. I'm going to buy Nalin some headphones so that she can practice some of the time without everyone else hearing, particularly early in the morning. Nalin is an early riser, especially on weekends, and is not always quit.

Canyon X Photos Revisited

A Passage
Originally uploaded by ebvImages

I've started to play around again with some of my photos from the summer. Some are photos that I had already shared, but processed a little differently, while others are photos that I had not yet processed.

Part of the reason for this is that often when I look in a folder, I'll see the photos differently than the times before. I'll see a photo and think, "I like that one, why haven't I done anything with it" or "it would look better if I ..."

I look back at a lot of the HDR images that I made of some photos and while I think they look "nice", the color is often oversaturated.

With this photo, the colors, while vibrant, are less saturated than others. I also tried to bring out contrast in the layers of rock. I really like this one. Hopefully you do too.

Inspired

_MG_7512
Originally uploaded by ebvImages

A few days ago I was looking at some older photos. I have so many that I'm looking through and uploading to Flickr. I enjoy it, but sometimes it seems like I have way too many.

In any case, I found a photo that I had forgotten about that I took from the back of a tuk tuk. I converted it to black and white. I found that I really liked it. So last night I took my camera out and hit Sukhumvit. I had a cab drop me off at Sukhumvit Soi 1, and walked up to Soi 30. A soi is the name for a side street.

My plan was for the photos to be black and white, and I didn't use any flash. That meant that I had to use a high iso (1600 and 3200), which makes for more noise in the photos. I didn't care because I wanted a bit of a gritty look.

i took about 130 photos. As I was riding home, I didn't have a great feeling about what I'd captured. I'm not always comfortable taking candids of people on the street, but I did do some of that.

When I loaded the shots onto my PC and converted them to black and white, I was really pleased. I found quite a few that captured the mood that I was looking for. The photo with this post was one of my favorite.

Flags at the Temple

Flags at the Temple
Originally uploaded by ebvImages

This shot was from Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn, in Bangkok. I took it in December when I visited. I really liked the little flags blowing in the wind with the temple as the backdrop.