Phuket, album

All the pictures are now visible on one page, at their intended size.

Click here to view them all.

I'm planning to change all the albums into similar pages, which would mean there's no more need to click on every pic individually if you're interested in the bigger version.

The Phuket album contains 29 pictures, so give the page some time to load if you're on a slow connection... Speed shouldn't be a big issue though, since the actual pictures are still coming from the Google Picasa servers, which are quite fast...

People

One of the more interesting subjects to take pictures of is people. But I still haven't mastered that art. Basically because I feel very reluctant to just point and shoot. And asking - which I mind less - results in either a 'no' or a very posed picture. The new 70-200mm lens helps me out a bit on the long end, but the thing is so conspicuous, that even from a distance people see me pointing it at them. Still, that's more comfortable, because then I have quite a distance between them and me when it turns out they don't appreciate their photographer (which has actually never happened to me).

This scene was shot in a random street in Phuket, and I noticed it was probably a homeless guy or a beggar living in his possessions. The lighting from this angle was perfect, but the guy is for the most part invisible.


When I passed the cart I walked a bit further and then turned around. Pretending to take pictures of the street I quickly lowered the camera and took a shot of him.


I must admit I always feel quite silly when I do this. Apart from the fact this particular scene wasn't a very happy sight, people are not stupid, as you can see: he's directly looking into the lens (which is better visible on the really big original). He had already spotted me walking by with the camera. The picture, made quickly and hastily isn't great and I have the light against me, now shining from behind the cart.

Then, as if he felt my predicament - I didn't want to walk away yet - and wanted to express very clearly that he really didn't give a shit, he fell backwards - a big swing with his arms into the sky - onto his rubble, and started snoring...

And I snapped away...

Old Town Festival

Yes indeed (on the comment on previous post), Phuket looks like Europe. Apart from the occasional stray Thai, wandering around between bloated white beer bellies – I never get why these guys seem to enjoy showing off the belly by either wearing no shirt or opening up the shirt - red burned faces and heat exhausted sweaty beer guzzling tourists, it’s really like Europe on a hot and summery day. Absolutely not enjoyable if you expect to find ‘Asia’ (which in itself is of course a bit of a silly notion).

It’s still Asia. Just a different kind.

If you want similar or better beaches, islands, diving and swimming, without the feeling you're actually back in Europe, go to Malaysia.

The second day we went to Phuket Town, and that was a pleasant surprise. I expected a similar beach scenery, with too many tourist shops selling the same stuff and an overpopulation of westerners. But it was a nice city that reminded me a bit of Hanoi, and away from the west coast beaches, so not totally tourist infested. We ended up in the middle of the Phuket Old Town Festival, which was a very nice surprise, seeing the local activities going on, spread out over quite an area in the city, with music, food and performances.

As usual, click on the pics for a bigger version...

Thai school boys having fun with Thai school girls in the boat, which just passed under the bridge...

Women praying...

That brought back some memories...

Performing...

Waiting for their turn and possibly checking out the competition... Note the details on the head gear (click for a larger pic)

Sunset over Phuket Town...

Thai choir of elderly performing...

Phuket

This is Phuket... Of course - and luckily for me - this is only one side of the island, also literally... This was on Kata Beach... endless rows of white bodies sizzling in the sun or sheltering in the shade... Not really my cup of tea... Coming blogs will show some other scenes... Click on the pic for a bigger version...