Thailand – Exploring the Land of Smiles by Photos
Sun beaming down on the golden Chedi at the Grand National Palace – Wat Phra Kaew (Bangkok), Thailand.
It’s with great pleasure that I introduce a guest post from a fellow travel blogger today. For the next three months Vera and I are going to be exploring Thailand, and sharing our tales and photos of this amazing looking country on this blog. And what better way to kick off our trip than with a photo essay from one of my absolute favourite travel photographers: Samuel Jeffrey, the man behind Nomadic Samuel. Over to him!
Sometimes a country can get so saturated with tourists or over-rated to the point a traveller or backpacker does not want to return ever again. I’ve felt that way about certain countries; however, when it comes to Thailand, a nation as popular as any as a tourist destination, my love affair with the country continues to grow stronger every time I set foot in the Land of Smiles.
Many head south to check out the world class beaches for rest and relaxation, water sports and a chilled out atmosphere; however, I’m often finding myself charmed by the chaotic steamy disco of a city that is known as Bangkok or heading up north to the Cultural Hub of Chiang Mai and surrounding areas. Thailand has such diversity in geography and culture that makes it seem like several nations rolled up into one.
The following is a photo essay of some of my favourite shots from Thailand. I hope that it’ll inspire you to visit Siam at some point in time:
Thai ladies set up market just as a motorist zooms past them on the street – Bangkok, Thailand
A group of Thai ladies engaging in conversation at a night bazaar in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Man vs Snake – the intensity of the situation – Thai Snake Show Performance
A female Muay Thai boxer surrounded by trainers gasps for breathe after being rendered unconscious
A cute girl from the Karen Hill tribe (long-neck) poses with a lovely smile in her village nearby Chiang Rai
I’ve captured this Thai monk making a rather strange/quirky looking face
A Thai boy puts on a stunning display of theatrics by wielding a knife in his mouth during a performance in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
This quirky little cat was stretching just outside of a Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai, Thailand
A giant ‘golden’ Buddha looms large in a remote section nearby the Thai-Laos border
A Thai Monk stands in the middle of the cross walk waiting to get to the other side of the road – Bangkok, Thailand
A group of ladies make their way up the impossibly steep Wat Arun – Bangkok, Thailand
Samuel Jeffery is the wizard pulling the strings behind the curtain of Nomadic Samuel and Smiling Faces Travel Photos. He’s also the lesser half of Backpacking Travel Blog which he runs with his girlfriend Audrey of That Backpacker. Together they’re backpacking addicts with perpetually itchy travel feet.
Thanks to Samuel for providing today’s guest post! If you’ve got any tips or advice, or just thoughts on the above spectacular photo series, do share them in the comments below!
This article originally appeared on travel and photography blog http://www.findingtheuniverse.com/, and was written by Laurence Norah. Please contact Laurence for re-use of text or images.
2012-11-12 09:26:37
Source: http://www.findingtheuniverse.com/2012/11/thailand-exploring-land-of-smiles-by.html
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Whistler Blowers, Insiders
“A cute girl from the Karen Hill tribe (long-neck) poses with a lovely smile in her village nearby Chiang”
How “lovely.”
Initially little girls will be forced to wear a single coil of heavy brass around their neck.
Rings are snapped around the necks beginning at the age of six. They have no choice in this barbaric practice. A few rings may be added every year until there are 20 rings or so.
The weight of the rings gradually crushes the girls collar bones and vertebrae, leaving her deformed and with a crippled respiratory muscular structure, and producing the illusion of long neck. The illusion of a longer neck is created by the deformation of the clavicle. The size of the coils has to be changed as the victim get older…hollow pipes are used to unwind the rings, which causes pain and suffering to the wearer.
A human zoo that allows tourists to gawk at the giraffe women of the Burmese Kayan tribe has opened near the beach resort of Pattaya and other places, by people, that some say, are the equivalent of slave traders. Some girls and women are abused. Tourists are charged approximately 10USD per person in order to enter these “Human Zoos”. The girls and women see a pittance of the tourist entrance fee. Armed rebel groups in Burma have expressed interest in returning the refugees to the Kayah State in order to set up their own tourist villages.
“Responsible Tourism
We believe that tourists should not participate in the exploitation of these or any other people. By paying a fee to go and look at people you are taking part in their exploitation. The women receive only a small percentage of the profits that are made, most of the money goes to Thai tour operators. The girls of these tribes will never have the freedom to choose not to participate in this tradtion as long as tourists make it profitable. By paying to visit one of these villages, you are ensuring that more 5 year old girls will be forced to wear the neck rings. If it were not for the exploitation of these tribes, this tradition would have likely died long ago”
Perhaps a positive side effect of this exploitation is some women of the tribe began remove their neck rings in 2006 in protest against their exploitation, and this trend is continuing as many of the older woman now have refused to perform the body deforming practice on their own little girls.