Russell Pike Landscape Photography

Yellow folks. After the gruelling task that was shaking off the comforts of Loog Choob, we are steadily going back to backpacker basics again. Krabi town, Ao Nang, Railey and Ko Lanta are the places we have been. Krabi town at first sight a few weeks ago seemed a ghost town and not worth hanging around for, but we keep coming back. The night markets are great. The Sunday gone was a big one, with every Tom, Dick and Harry getting involved. The photo below is the painted man; he just stands dead still at the entrance to the market and lets people paint whatever they want on him. He certainly pulls the crowd. The kids where loving it more than most painting on there names and doodling. One thing that struck me when watching/framing this was that if he did this in any western country, especially England, you can bet your last green queen that he would be covered in all sorts of rude wording and drawings. Not here though. I managed to get this shot with the people walking around him before I somehow stole his show and everyone started staring into my lens. Its funny what a big camera makes people do, usually they find there compacts and snap away next to me like I’ve struck oil or something. I noticed a few business cards where left in his box by restaurants that are based in Ao Nang, his future looks bright.

Sunday Night Market, Krabi Town, Thailand

Ao Nang its self is nothing to write home about really (although I am). It’s a beach front town with its Burger King, Starbucks and many more big gun corporations along the beach. It clearly gets very busy here in the high season, we are so glad it’s the low. The town is now home to where I brought my first smart costume, a tailor made cashmere sweet….suet…..suit, yeah that’s the one. I figured it’s about time I stop barrowing them from the old man. Now all I need is a reason to wear it, I believe there is one coming up back home. From Ao Nang we went to Railey which is part of the mainland, but it acts like an island as there are huge limestone cliffs cutting it off. The only way to get there is by long tail boat. Having no roads or transport on this mimic island; it’s all about your feet. Having three quiet separate beaches all within a 5 minute walk of each other it’s bloody marvellous and right up our street. There are plenty of shots to be had too, but we where there for the low tides in the morning and evenings, the tide goes a hell of a way out which makes the place look a little dull. But we are going back there for the highs so I can attend to some unfinished business.

I’m writing this now sat in our room in Ko Lanta, which to be honest is a very boring place. It’s pretty much a big long beach that runs down the whole island with resort after resort along its shores, much the same as Phuket come to think of it. Luckily we are only staying two nights, then its back to Railey. Now then, Japanese people and there compact cameras. It’s a known fact they will take photos of everything, but bugger me after what Kara and I have seen in Thailand, they really do take photos of everything. For instants, on the ferry crossing to Ko Lanta a Japanese man took photo after photo of how close the cars where parked together. Now who wants to see that? Surely you can see that at home as well. Another time we couldn’t walk for more than 30 sec without being held up by a group of them blasting away at mundane objects like an ordinary bench for example, worst still they all take turns shooting each other with the celebrity item. Different strokes for different folks of course, but I really do feel sorry for their poor computers as they whirl away uploading a mass of photos and further more the poor souls that have to sit through their holiday sideshow.  

Due to this, Kara has coined the phrase “Japping”

jap·ping

verb.

1. Slang

a. To take pointless compact camera pictures: 
b. “One sec, I’m just doing some japping” / “Wow, great japping kara!”