Flower Shop: Bangkok, Thailand

Flower Shop:

Bangkok is a sight to behold. It’s impressively big, chaotic, and bulging at the waist. There is decadence there, strange tranquility, normal urban turmoil, romanticism, conflict, and so much more. My experience led me all around town. I ran across it, walked, skated, tuk-tuked, biked, taxied, bused, shuttled, you name it. I saw it from so many different angles and lights I couldn’t believe it was the same place in so many different corners.

On one of those random journeys, I began walking towards one thing and then googled what was around me. It so happens flower market pops up just a couple kilometers from the last major tourist hotspot. Me, being a photographer, decided this was a must stop. Mixing chasing photos with the sense of travel adventure generally arrives at a beautiful spot full of culture and personal experience. This did not disappoint.

It just so happens, I arrived right when kids where getting out of school and there must have been some celebration because everyone was busy buying an obnoxious, yet still stunning amount of flowers. They were overflowing from the front of the shops to the back. Out front beautiful bouquets made everyone ready to take them away. Out back, the dirty work of cleaning, cutting, and sorting left for a beautiful chaos of harmony and work. It was like a romantic massacre with rose petals strewn across gutters. Bundles upon bundles were being heaped together or sorted specifically to find they’re matches. The totality of it all left me feeling quite ethereal.

Not your average tourist stop, but I find what the locals are doing is the real tourism. Seeing their old stuff is one thing, but seeing their modern movement is what travel is all about. Today is history for tomorrow’s wonder.

Literal flowers everywhere

The gold ones they use for offerings are my favorite. What an affectionate and warming color.

So many pretty vibes.

This was on the way there in which I saw this 75ft Buddha and couldn’t resist. Quite astounding too, but lessened with the tourists being obnoxious.

I imagine people trying to get selfies like people scrounging for food, they don’t give a fuck what they have to do to eat.

The underbelly

The less glamorous work

Locked in. Or mayb he’s in a perfect ambiance? Maybe there’s some opera playing in the background, or maybe he’s in a trance of how beautiful life is. I like to imagine.

I didn’t capture a perfect one, but the girls with more flowers than they could carry were magnificent to witness. Look at her smile! It’s pure joy. What is better in life??

There were girls with 3x this much that I couldn’t believe they could walk. I was running to get in front to take a picture and just couldn’t figure it out. Next time, screw it, I’m just gonna ask 😝

I don’t think I’m allowed to take photos of Buddhist monks. Some tourist was ready to yell at me in Laos, but Thailand doesn’t seem to care about much. I settled for him from behind walking across the street.

Him talking on a cellphone seemed just as amusing to me.