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By Graham K. Rogers
When I first came to Bangkok (a long time ago), there were not so many high rise buildings. The late-1990s saw a massive expansion in construction and it seemed that with every trip into the city from the suburbs, that the skyline had changed. I took the opportunity of wandering up to the roof of the apartment block where I live and spent a while looking out over the area I have been walking through recently.
In my extended look at this other Bangkok that I have been planning for a while -- the Thonburi side of the Chao Phraya River -- I have taken four trips into the streets. From my 9th floor apartment I have a view over the area. As I was on my way out of the door of the complex for the last walk, I bumped into one of my colleagues from work who also lives here. He told me how to go up to the roof where there is a garden area.
As Sunday is a quiet day, I took the opportunity around noon when usually only mad dogs and Englishmen venture out. For safety, there are fairly high walls round most of the garden, but to the north-west corner -- giving an extended view North, West and a bit to the East -- there is an observation platform. From here I had an almost perfect view of the areas I had been photographing in the last month and more.
In April I took photographs of the early morning atmosphere. In the second part, a Mid-morning Stroll I ventured further, a little later in the day when people had started moving. In the third section I walked as far as the canal that splits the area. Then earlier this week I went from the Canal to a Split in the Road.
While still hot (temperatures are reported to be 33 degrees) there was some rain yesterday, with more expected. Although there is some cloud, it was still hot on the roof. As well as roads and the many buildings, to the west I have a view of the BTS (suburban railway) extensions as it progresses. Also to the west is a large area of green which was once an area of market gardens and orchards, now being reduced as new development encroaches.
While the watermarking reduces the overall quality of the photographs, I am aware that my pictures sometimes end up on sites without no acknowledgement. I have the originals of course. These are available if wanted. This time, I have selected 28 images from around 120 taken. Please share the links.
Graham K. Rogers
Thonburi
6 May 2012
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Graham K. Rogers teaches at the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University in Thailand. He wrote in the Bangkok Post, Database supplement on IT subjects. For the last seven years of Database he wrote a column on Apple and Macs.
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