Bopae Market, a boat with no pilot, and some sadness.

Friday October 28th

I thought I should explain Pantip Palace. Pantip Palace is a large, I think six story technology department store. There are hundreds of shops each selling technology. Everything from used equipment, to digital cameras, to all kinds of computers. Some of the stores are actually factory run. The selection is amazing, the prices are not especially cheap, except for copied software and DVD's.

Last night at Juke's house I saw the 100 Pipers Glass again. The exact wording of the glass is "Only you know what is real." and then on the other side "Real Friend"

Yesterday we had another amazing experience, but I only realized it when I reflected on the day. When we got to the Klong Toey dock to get on the boat we paid and got on. I only then realized that there was no pilot or boat driver. The pilot was on shore getting some Pepsi. The boat was in gear, the throttle was set, and the boat was nudged against the dock so that people could get on, but there was no driver! The pilot then got on board and we took off. My poor imagination can fill in many possibilities with disasters. I guess it takes some faith to live in Thailand. If you are not in the present moment you can die! Maybe it is a form of meditation. I know if I was preoccupied and not paying attention I would get hurt.

We had a good discussion and meal at Juke's house, Nick and Nuck will go with us to Bopae Market. We will get up at 5:00 AM

Saturday October 29th

We got late start, we left at 5:45, but the light was just right. My goal for this trip is to take pictures. I will use the Voigtlander Bessa R2a with the 50mm and the 75mm lens. Just experimenting with a different view. I also will use the Ricoh GR1v. The light is beautiful in the morning, very pastel and shaded, hopefully the pictures will show the effect.

Bangkok is a very hard working city. People are up getting to work and getting organized for the day. It is already busy in the morning, it is a great time to wander and take photographs. The Bopae market is a huge clothing market, early in the morning people set up booths up and down the street. There are many permanent stores and factories in the area for clothing. The Market encloses the base of the Prince Palace hotel where we stayed in 2004. By 9:00 AM all the temporary stalls are removed and only the permanent clothes sellers remain. This goes on seven days a week. I really like the area. The canal also goes through the area with the canal boats roaring up and down carrying passengers. There is a large mosque also in the area. The Bope area, and the Prince Palace hotel is a great place to explore. I took many photographs.

There are many weird and profound T Shirt slogans in the market. One that I think is awesome is:
No Concept
No Ideas
No Tears

Nick and Nuck are great traveling companions, they make me laugh with there perspective on life. It was fun having them with us. We took the small boat across and back so we could walk. At least with the small boat we can be sure there is a pilot on board! We met Jit's dad and Nuck's mother on the way back home. They were heading into town.

There were loudspeakers from a truck when we got back from the market. They were getting people to sign up for the government health program, I think.

We donated to the temple, we are registered in the temple under the Cysewski name. I saw our name in Thai, but it is still incomprehensible!

There are at least four kids in this community who are aides orphans and are being taken care of by their extended family. When people explain they say drugs and Aids. There are a lot of subtle things that are going on in this community that I do not see, some people are taken care of better then others, but I do not see the difference.

When we got home we found out that Jit's aunt died, the one we visited in the Pak Kret area. There will be a ceremony at 4:00. Many people in the community are organizing to attend. She had a long battle with cancer, I think it was of the liver.

According to Jit I can take pictures. I am getting ready. I will use the 28mm 1.9 and the 40mm 1.4 lens with 800 speed film. I do not want to impose on the process, but I do hope that I can take some pictures for peoples memories.