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FIRST STEPS AND SURROUNDINGS

  • alessandrobordin5
  • Oct 9, 2022
  • 2 min read

Updated: Oct 10, 2022

A canal in Bangkok. A little temple on the right and a lot of colored houses on the left.
A spirit house at the edge of a Bangkok canal - Banglamphu Ban Phan Thom, Phra Nakhon.
The room of a shop that sells Buddha statues.
The room of a shop selling Buddha statues.
A woman praying in a temple in Bangkok. She has a white dress. On the background, there is a man with a blue shirt.
A woman works beside the Buddha statues.

When I arrive in a city where I have never been, the first thing I do is leave where my accommodation without any real plan, without following a list of things to do or places to visit. I simply let myself be carried away by the sensations and explore the streets around me, gradually moving away from my starting point until I encompass entire neighbourhoods: it helps me to realise where I am, to illuminate specific areas or expanses on the map of the place and to transform them, more or less consciously, into landmarks.


I did the same in Bangkok: after settling into my room and taking a shower to get the long journey off my shoulders, I grabbed my camera and walked out of the hostel curious to give a visual dimension to the information I had read in the previous days and months. The hostel is located in a fairly central area, in a street detached enough to remain outside the chaotically touristy dimension of the city, but at the same time not too far from the area around Khaosan Road. The street that has become famous in recent decades for being the target of backpackers from all over the world.


This location allowed me to start from slightly quieter streets and gradually enter the frenetic dynamism of the Thai capital. Following the course of the canal, I strolled through the small pedestrian alleyway overlooked by the hostel until I reached, after a few tens of minutes and the crossing of a bridge, a first main street bustling with traffic. From here, eyes alert and nose up, I began to explore the surrounding activities, gardens and temples. What does not go unnoticed from the first moments spent on the street is a central aspect of Thai culture that I am exploring and would like to talk about in the future: the constant presence of the Buddha and Buddhism.



Some golden statues of Buddha in Bangkok. They are covered with plastic sheets to protect them from wear and tear.
A woman prays at the temple - Wat Bowonniwetwiharn Ratchaworawiharn.
Some golden statues of Buddha in Bangkok. On the left, a seated woman.
A man and a woman pray at the temple - Wat Bowonniwetwiharn Ratchaworawiharn.

 
 
 

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