Excursion to Ko Kret Island

A trip up the Chao Phraya river in Bangkok is one of my favourite journeys in the world. I’m at a loss to be able to explain why, to be honest. Bangkok doesn’t have the iconic landmarks on offer beside the Thames or the Seine and the Chao Phraya doesn’t have the spritual associations of the Ganges or the Brahmaputra. Perhaps it’s the apparent recklessness with which the long river taxis bump their stern into the floating piers as the deck-hands leap lazily to tie the boat alongside whilst passengers gingerly embark and disembark. You may think that “leaping lazily” is an oxymoron, and it is, but if you saw the laid-back manner of the river taxi guys, you’d understand.

Perhaps it’s the fact that the river taxi follows the twists and turns in the Chao Phraya in such an unassuming manner. Bangkok River Taxis don’t have the self-importance of their Parisian brothers, which puff up and down the Seine with an air of dismissive Gallic superiority. Neither do Bangkok River Taxis possess the rush-rush business-like energy of their London cousins which swish up and down the Thames carrying commuters on urgent business and brow-furrowed art-lovers from Tate Britain to Tate Modern and back again.

Then again, perhaps it’s the fact that a return journey on the Chao Phraya Express from south Bangkok to Nonthaburi, a journey of perhaps 20 kilometres each way, costs the equivalent of 70 pence whilst a return journey from Putney to Blackfriars in London costs £13.50!

All of which is by way of introducing yesterday’s outing to the island of Ko Kret, just north of Bangkok. It took three hours to reach the island and three hours to make the return journey, which left me just under 90 minutes on the island itself. Planning, you see, is crucial for successful expeditions

Not that it mattered, the purpose of the trip was really just to enjoy the view from the river and I had plenty of time to do that. Plenty of time!

Dancing with Matt

If you’ve come anywhere near an Internet-enabled computer in the last two years you will undoubtedly have enjoyed Matt Harding’s dancing travel videos. Well, after the New York Times declared Matt’s Dancing video to be an “almost perfect piece of Internet art”, World Hum have just announced that Matt is their Traveller of the Year for 2008.

For those of you who haven’t enjoyed the dancing spectacle before now, here’s a sample of Matt’s video. If you know of something that better illustrates the joy and spirit of travel, I’d like to hear about it. Enjoy!

Scenes from Victory Monument

I was taking photographs at Bangkok’s Victory Monument this morning. The large roundabout forms a transport hub in the centre of the city and, as you can see, is crowded with buses, taxis, cars, bicycles and tuk-tuks at ground level with a pedestrian walkway circling the roundabout and a higher level carrying the BTS Skytrain.

(click to open larger size)

Bangkok is always busy and nowhere illustrates this better than the Victory Monument roundabout. The layers of transport, one above the other, give a sense of the bustling heart of Bangkok. On the ground level, beside the road, street vendors cook up a huge variety of dishes including spicy salads with shredded papaya, fried chicken, pork and shrimp dishes and more variations on noodle dishes than it’s possible to count.

The pedestrian walkway is busy with friends on shopping expeditions, businessmen talking urgently on mobile phones and groups of gossiping schoolchildren whilst the Skytrain rumbles back and forth overhead.

Sadly, in another part of the city, the situation at the international airport is about to play out to what we hope will be a peaceful conclusion. If you’re one of the estimated 100,000 350,000 tourists currently stranded in Bangkok then I hope you’ve been able to get out and enjoy some of the city’s more appealing aspects. Whilst there are probably worse places to be stranded, I hope that you’ll soon be back on schedule and that being stuck in Bangkok isn’t proving to be too much of a nightmare.

A postcard from Bangkok

Jack Kurtz has asked about the situation in Bangkok and I’ve had a number of e-mails asking what it’s like in the city at present, which are appreciated.

However, before I talk about Bangkok, I awoke to shocking and saddening news from Mumbai this morning. I had tuned in to the BBC World News channel to catch up with any overnight developments in the situation in Bangkok and was dismayed by the news and pictures from India’s business capital.

I’m sure all our thoughts go out to those who have lost friends or family members in the terrorist attacks and we will hope that those still in the city remain safe.

—

With regard to Bangkok, the truth is that even living in the city I have seen little evidence of the protests and demonstrations currently taking place. I have been going about my business, moving around the city, taking pictures, going to the Post Office, fetching groceries etc. without any trouble at all. Consequently, there’s a slight disconnect between my everyday experience and the scenes I’ve watched unfold on the nightly news.

The fact that the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protesters have taken over both the international and domestic airports is troubling and I sympathise for those people stranded and to those who have had to change their holiday plans. Whatever the politics, and I really don’t know enough to comment, I would guess that the damage to Thailand’s reputation and the loss of vital tourist income will have an impact that lasts long after the airports are re-opened.

As for what happens next, it’s impossible to predict. The PAD are refusing to leave the airports until their demands are met, one of which is the resignation of Prime Minister, Somchai Wongsawat. The head of the army, General Anupong Paochind, has called for fresh elections whilst the Prime Minister has rejected calls for his resignation, declaring that he will remain in office. It certainly seems to be stalemate and perhaps the only thing we can be sure of is that something will have to give sooner or later.

You can keep up to date with latest news from the region on the BBC and CNN web sites.

In the meantime, I’m sorry to those people who are due to join me on photo workshops in Bangkok in the next few weeks. I have been in touch with them individually and agreed that we will watch the situation closely, hope that it comes to a swift and peaceful resolution and keep our fingers crossed that we will be able to meet up as planned and spend time capturing the more typical and uplifting aspects of Thai culture.

Talking of which, I took time out this morning to go and enjoy one of my favourite parts of Bangkok. The river taxis that swish up and down the Chao Phray rivera are a great way to see the city. They were packed as usual this morning and there were as many camera-toting tourists as ever. I think the noisy, bustling Bangkok river taxi offers one of my favourite journeys in the world. I was enchanted when I first took a river taxi, several years ago, and although it’s far from comfortable when crowded, it retains it’s charm for me. The Chao Phraya isn’t really the most attractive river in the world if I’m honest but it does have a kind of shabby and aromatic charm that I enjoy.

I hopped off at Memorial Bridge and took a leisurely walk through the fruit, veg and flower market, which is always an experience. I think asparagus must be in season as there was a lot of it on sale today. I took the last remaining table for lunch at a small cafe beside Tha Tien pier, caught up with a friend who sells material prints and caught the river taxi and skytrain back home, enjoying the sight of the recently erected Christmas decorations outside the main shopping malls.

As you can see, the Land of Smiles is still very much living up to its friendly reputation and although the news bulletins are necessarily filled with less inspiring images, it’s not the complete picture.

It’s been a week or more since I last posted but you’re not going to get an apology because according to Leo Babauta, it’s the last thing that readers want to see and I agree

By way of compensation though, I have an article planned on Backup Strategy following a recent discussion on that topic that was never quite concluded (sorry Jackie) and I’m hoping to also post some news from the Bangkok Refugee Centre, where I’ve spent a bit of time recently.

For those of you who either live in Bangkok or who are still here unexpectedly, check out the Bangkok Music Society web site and their Christ Church concert on December 4th. Download the Bangkok Music Society Christmas Concert poster.

mtk.

Memories of the Ura Valley in Bhutan

I’m nearing the end of the mammoth Bhutan processing job. Almost all 4000 images are captioned, keyworded and checked for dust-spots. I should finish that today and then just have a bit of post-production work to do before I can begin uploading. However, by way of a reward, I’ve returned to a series of pictures of some kids taken in the Ura valley. The light was too harsh for decent photos but these snapshots provide memories of a favourite moment.

Towards the end of our Bhutan expedition we travelled out of Jakar to the Ura valley for a day. The Lonely Planet guide to Bhutan says that Ura is believed to be “home to the earliest inhabitants of Bhutan” and that “Ura is one of the most interesting villages in Bhutan. There are 40 closely-packed houses along cobblestone streets and the main lakhang (temple) dominates the town, giving it a medieval atmosphere“.

Whilst I’d suggest that there may be some poetic license in that description, Ura was a charming location and the picnic we had overlooking the valley was one of the more memorable meals of the trip. Young Tewfic has posted a photo that reveals a moment which remains clear in his memory and it made me think about how spurious and serendipitous such moments are. Despite travelling as a group, our individual memories of Bhutan will inevitably vary a great deal and even though we may have been standing and photographing nearby, we will have seen, noticed, observed and recorded very different things. And that’s what reminded me of these kids in Ura.

After visiting the lakhang in Ura, two of us took a walk around the village. It was pretty deserted, most inhabitants having probably left to visit the tsechu (festival) in Jakar. However, my friend Wink and I came across a group of children playing cards beside a ramshackled house and it wasn’t long before they noticed us and came to the garden wall to check us out. They spoke excellent English and explained that they lived with their grandparents.

There’s always at least one little girl who captures my heart on these trips and, truth be told, there were dozens of kids in Bhutan who made my heart melt but this girl was perhaps the most charming of all. We asked the kids their names and I started to sing an impromptu song, repeating the names, which the kids soon joined in with. I wish I could remember the names and the tune although you’ll be relieved that I can’t as I might have been tempted to record some audio for you to “enjoy”. So, despite the harsh light, these shots record a special moment shared, not only with the winsome Wink but with these delightful kids.

Captioning, keywording and dust-spotting is tortuous. My mind isn’t designed to suffer boringly repetitive tasks for very long and I’m constantly distracted by anything and everything that crosses my mind. My apartment is never as clean as it is when I’m keywording. For some reason de-scaling the kettle and cleaning the grouting on the tiles in the bathroom takes on urgent and immediate importance when I’m keywording. Dust-spotting is even worse. Peering at pixels for hours on end is a living nightmare. At least, I imagine it would be, I don’t think I’ve ever managed more than twenty minutes dust-spotting before an inescapable desire to scrub the kitchen floor with a toothbrush takes over. The other disturbing thing about dust-spotting is seeing pictures blown-up to 200% on a vision-filling monitor. No details are left to the imagination and every blemish, boil and bogey becomes frighteningly prominent. I’m seriously considering not taking any more close-ups.

The other post-production work is different. Getting the white balance and exposure just right, pulling detail out of the shadows and retrieving the highlights, it’s like alchemy, pulling the best out of a RAW file. I think I’d be over-stating it to suggest that it’s like a sculptor chipping away at a block of stone to reveal the statue within but it feels like that sometimes. You have a final image stored in your head, something you saw in your mind’s eye when you took the shot, and it needs to be brought out from the relatively flat and lifeless RAW file that’s come out of your camera. I’m not talking about trying to make a silk purse from a sow’s ear, a bad photo will remain a bad photo no matter how many clever digital effects are applied but there are occasions when good photos can be made better photos by some careful post-production work. I have a certain image in mind for a Lightroom tutorial on this very subject so check back here within the week and I’ll try to put it together for you.

Home again, home again…

Back home in my Bangkok apartment after a tiring but hassle-free return trip from Bhutan, I’m ignoring the mountain of unopened post, turning a blind-eye to the growing list of unread e-mails and closing the door on the exploding suitcase of unwashed laundry in favour of a quick flick through the photos I’ve taken over the last two weeks.

This image was made at the “Blue Palace” or Wangdichholing Dzong Lobdra (school) and is already becoming a favourite. I’ll be devoting as much time as possible to processing others over the next couple of days but I have a quick turn-around before heading off to meet up with David in Kathmandu next week and lots to do before then so we’ll see how things pan out.

Leaving Bhutan

We checked-out of our spacious Bhutanese hotel at mid-morning and by lunch-time were enjoying the roller-coaster ascent out of Paro airport. Surrounded by steep mountains, flying in or out of Paro airport requires the pilot to treat the passenger jet more like a light aircraft, sweeping left and right to follow the curves of the valley until sufficient height is gained to brush over the peaks below. This video shows the approach to the airport and will give you some idea of the surrounding topography and the obvious expertise of the pilots who fly in and out of Paro on a daily basis.

Reflections

So now I’m sitting in my study, re-acquainting myself with the view of Bangkok’s city lights beyond the balcony and reflecting on my Bhutanese experience. Returning home after any trip inevitably involves a brief period of readjustment when familiar, homely things seem somehow different. My apartment feels a tad smaller than the one I hurried out of two weeks ago and there’s a subtle shift in the way I’m seeing things. It feels like everything in the place has been shifted by half an inch, not enough to be obvious but enough to be sensed. Of course, nothing has actually moved at all, it’s me that’s subtly changed. The one and only thing that’s different from how it was two weeks ago is me, altered slightly but fundamentally by the experience of two weeks in beautiful Bhutan.

Travel of any sort changes the person travelling. Always. But it’s rarely about the distance travelled and is not dependent on exotic locations or adventurous activities. The simple truth is that a change of perspective, however slight, will prompt an inescapable change in our thought-processes and, consequently, a subtle shift in our relationship with the world.

Now I don’t want to go all wishy-washy on you. I know that regular readers of this blog appreciate a robust, no-nonsense, get-on-with-it-and-don’t-fanny-about approach and are not the sort of people who have time to waste reading touchy-feely monologues but I also suspect that after a two-week absence you might just indulge me briefly before I get back to business as usual on Monday if I ask politely so, if you’ve no objection, here goes:

Things to be grateful for:

OK, OK, I know, making a list of things to be grateful for could take a very long time and there are, of course, a zillion things that I try to remember to be grateful for every day but there are a couple of things that I’m especially grateful for this evening.

Firstly, there are a few simple things I’m delighted to be enjoying again like a relatively stable electricity supply and hot, running water. To be fair, time in Bhutan without these was very brief and didn’t cause anything more than a temporary inconvenience. Nevertheless, I’m glad to be enjoying those relatively stable services again.

I’m also tremendously grateful for the multitude of photo opportunities that presented themselves to me in Bhutan. I’ve never filled memory cards so quickly and shot over 4000 frames. I can’t even begin to do justice to the majestic beauty of Bhutan in a few short sentences but suffice to say that a magazine editor wrote to me last week asking me to name my favourite location in the world and Bhutan had edged out all others by the time I replied. Clearly, it’s very fresh in my mind at the moment but the combination of clean, crisp mountain air, amazing scenery and the friendliest people I’ve ever encountered makes for a pretty unbeatable combination.

Outstanding local guides: Sonam, Ugyen and our drivers Norbu and Dower were impeccable, reliable, courteous and knowledgeable. A decent local guide can make all the difference and these guys really knew their stuff. Ugyen in particular was ace at getting us into positions that other visitors wouldn’t even have known existed and I’m especially grateful to him for getting me into places where I was able to capture some of my best images.

This is the important bit

I should probably work on cutting these rambling blog posts down to a more readable size, or at least on placing the important bit at the beginning so that those of you with short attention spans will still get the point, which is this: the one thing that I am grateful for beyond all others this evening is the people who’s company I shared over the last two weeks. It would be hard to put together a more eclectic bunch of photographers but, whether by coincidence or divine intervention, they shared a common trait of all being thoroughly decent, empathetic, gentle and lovable characters. It’s true that the Bhutanese people are almost invariably friendly but it still takes genuine souls to make the very best of that. Time and time again during the past two weeks I watched, enchanted, as one or other of our group made a connection with a local person that went far beyond the usual “Can I take your photograph?… CLICK… Thanks”.

I think it boils down to this: our friendly group were certainly in search of engaging photo opportunities but it seemed just as important to each of us to make memorable connections along the way. Whether that was a connection with the outrageously beautiful landscape or with the ancient architecture or with one of the charming Bhutanese people we met, these connections were pursued, nurtured and enjoyed by each of our group. I don’t think it’s possible to make really, really good images without establishing those connections first and it was inspiring to see people appreciating their surroundings before trying to photograph them.

Travelling is always a privilege, that’s one of the few facts that I rarely have trouble remembering. And travelling in the company of good and honest souls is something to be cherished. My feelings about Bhutan will always be closely tied to my memories of the group I travelled with and that’s fine by me.

Finally, for a visual representation of my feelings about the last two weeks, the expression on this grinning monk’s face is a perfect example of how I feel inside when I think of Bhutan.

—UPDATE—

The leader of our Bhutan expedition, Tewfic El-Sawy, has posted his verdict of the trip on his popular blog. I can vouch for everything he says about consistently getting us to the front of the queue and into the best positions for photography. I’m going to suggest to him that he uses a new tagline when promoting his tours: “Why pay more, for less?”

Catching up: a miscellaneous blog post

If I had a blog category for “Miscellaneous” then this post would surely fall under it. But “Miscellaneous” always seems a bit vague to me so we’ll go with “Travel” although this post is a quick catch-up on several things I’ve been meaning to share.

2008 - My plans for the remainder of the year

Firstly, and most importantly right now, I’m beginning to prepare for my upcoming trips to Bhutan and Nepal. I leave next week for Bhutan in the company of a group led by Tewfic El-Sawy. Tewfic has been to Bhutan a number of times as have many of the other people in his group so I’ll be the newbie. Our itinerary includes several festivals and the photo opportunities will, I’m certain, be extraordinary.

Any return to the Himalayas is special for me and the excitment is growing as I begin to make lists of what to take. I’ll try to post details of my packing list as I know it’s of interest and I’ve been asked to share that information before. If nothing else, I’ll put up a list of my camera and computer gear.

Not content with two weeks in Bhutan, after just three days back in Bangkok at the end of October I’ll be jumping on a Thai Airways flight to Kathmandu. I’ve got a month there and hope to meet up with David duChemin at the end of his stay in Nepal. I have some commissioned work there but will have a lot of time for my own projects and am really looking forward to returning to the Langtang Valley where I’ll meet up with my guide from 2004 and spend some time in his village. I’ll trek out to Gosainkund and then walk all the way back to Kathmandu. It will be especially nice to be pretty unrestricted and have the freedom to proceed at a leisurely fashion, stopping for a day or two where the mood takes me. Wow! Just writing about it gives me goose-bumps.

And then I’ll be back in Bangkok for December although there have been distant mumblings about a trip to Indonesia before the end of the year or the beginning of ‘09. During all this time I’ll be keeping in touch with editors in the UK and US, managing my online stock sales as well as the vagaries of local Internet connections allow and making plans for 2009. It’ll be a busy time but you couldn’t say that it won’t be an exciting and adventurous one!

Web site update

Regular visitors will have noticed a change to this web site design. I know, I know, I change it more frequently than some people change their underpants. But there’s a good reason. Truly! Without boring you with the technicalties, I was using Rapid Weaver to create my site offline and then updating it when connected. That’s all tickety-boo and Rapid Weaver is an excellent piece of software. However, with so many trips to remote areas coming up I decided to migrate to a Wordpress installation so that I can post from Internet cafes. I can also post from my BlackBerry but I can still write posts offline with the verstaile Mac Journal software and then upload later. It is, as they say, the best of both worlds.

So there’s a bit more tidying up to do but most things came across really easily. I haven’t yet been able to import the Haloscan comments but I’m sure it’s possible so hopefully they will reappear at some stage. In the meantime, please introduce yourself with a comment when you feel inspired to. It’s nice to know who you are and what you’re thinking.

To the Manner Born

Completely unrelated, today’s Bangkok Post includes an article on the perceived differences between Western and Thai etiquette. It lists the following tenets to be observed at a dinner party:

• Never intentionally embarrass another guest
• Don’t gossip
• Don’t pry
• Don’t ask personal questions
• Don’t stare or point at another guest

My question is this: if you’re going to observe these restrictions, what would be the point of having a dinner party?

Loving the Pocky

Finally, an article I read recently gave guidelines on how to write blog posts and recommended keeping it short. It reported research demonstrating that 86.3% of blog visitors read every word of the first few lines, scan quickly across the next few paragraphs and are reading vertically by the time they get this far down the page. With this in mind I can say pretty much what I fancy at this stage without fear of many of you ever reading it.

That’s probably just as well because I have to make an admission. Since arriving in Bangkok I have developed an addiction. I crave Pocky.

Pocky, a biscuit snack covered in chocolate, was developed in Japan and can be found on the shelves of every self-respecting Seven-Eleven in Thailand.

Indeed, I have just returned from the Supermarket clutching, amongst other things, a box of Strawberry Pocky. The illustration on the box shows luscious, ripe strawbwrries. Would I be on shaky ground if I suggested that my Pocky have probably not been anywhere near a real strawberry?

Nevertheless, I’m a slave to Pocky and am slightly concerned about the cold turkey I’ll undoubtedly experience when in Bhutan and Nepal and far from my regular supplier. It’s probably for the best I suppose, I have to get this Pocky monkey off my back somehow.

Researching this post I obviously went to Wikipedia, which has some interesting “facts” about Pocky including a list of the many flavours. I also checked out the official Pocky web site and haven’t got a clue what much of it is about but it seems that you can buy Pocky in Second Life and we will soon be able to enjoy Pocky: The Movie.

There’s a “Friends of Pocky” club, which might soon see a new member but, best of all, there’s a competition where entrants draw Pocky Art, creating characters to match different flavours. And the prize for the best entries? Why, a box of delicious Pocky of course!

Back to the serious stuff

Only 2.74% of my readers will have reached this far down the post so congratulations if you are one of the hardy few. There’s been little about photography in this post and we’ll be getting back on track next week. Members of the Bangkok Photo Club meet on Monday night to share their six favourite photos so I’ll post mine here after that meeting and explain what it is that I like about each image.

I’ll also be posting news of a new Photo Tour that I’m planning so look out for that next week too.

Golf courses on Annapurna?

Today’s Guardian reports news to bring golf courses, heli-skiing and paragliding to Nepal’s Annapurna region.

It is news that will send a shudder of disbelief through anyone who has ever been to the region.

Perhaps it is inevitable that the area, currently reachable only on foot or by air, will soon have road links that will bring thrill-seekers looking for “man-made theme parks” and “adrenaline sports like bungee-jumping and rafting” but I am not surprised that “conservationists and trekkers have reacted angrily”.

Developers agree that wildlife and plants will be destroyed, the number of trekkers will be reduced and porters and guides will lose their livelihood. The time will come, no doubt, when the gentle and hospitable people of the Annapurna and Manang regions will no longer invite trekkers inside their houses for a cup of hot, sweet Chai but will instead charge them a toll to pass through a turnstile.

I understand that you can’t stop people from wanting more and it’s all very well arriving in Nepal and declaring how quaint everything and everybody is from the comfort of a western way of life but one would hope that common-sense will prevail and that the Nepalese will appreciate what a rare, unspoiled and beautiful part of the world they are the caretakers of.

The speed at which areas like this are being lost is depressing. If you have ever considered visiting Nepal and perhaps trekking in the Annapurna region then maybe you should go now before the Pringle sweaters arrive.

Talismanic

This might seem like a strange time to talk about lucky charms. Having an elbow that’s almost completely seized-up might not seem like a state of health that qualifies me to talk with authority about winning favour with Lady Luck but I’m leaning on the old adage that “it’s all relative”. Being able to photograph and type with just one arm gives me an advantage over those with none. In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man…

I’d claim to be far from superstitious although I won’t walk under ladders and will salute magpies so I suppose I must admit to some superstitious habits. One such habit is carrying a small and rather crumpled paper bag at the bottom of my camera gear. The bag contains three tiny figures, shown here. Each has a certain relevance and resonance to me and it’s undeniable that each is imbued with magical properties.

The first, a statue of Ganesh, is the most recent addition and was given by a good friend back home before I came to Bangkok. I’m sure my friend won’t mind me suggesting that he has a sensitive and empathetic nature and I like to think that the Ganesh brings something of that disposition with it. I hope that some of that sensitivity rubs off onto the camera gear as it bumps around from one continent to the next.

The second, a small Thai Buddha has been with me for a number of years and came into my possession at a time in my life when everything seemed to be about change. He offers a sense of serenity and calm whenever things seem chaotic and unpredictable.

Lastly, but by no means least, this little chap once belonged to my grandfather and has been with me the longest. He’s a kind of Pixie or Leprechaun and, being a family heirloom, brings a sense of heritage and continuity.

A Hindu Ganesh, a Buddha and a Leprechaun. A top team.

I’ve been meaning to photograph these three little chaps for a while and, being able to do so with a camera resting on a table top, I thought I’d take my own advice from yesterday and do so whilst the opportunity existed. The troublesome elbow remains out of action for the time being but I’m hopeful that the med’s will start to kick in and I’ll see an improvement tomorrow.

Pictures taken on the rooftop terrace of my apartment building. 1/500 @ f/2.8, ISO200 with a Canon 35-70mm and Canon close-up filter.

An enforced interlude.

Forgive me if this post is brief but I’m typing one-handed today and as it’s my left hand we could be here some time.

My ongoing efforts to bring you, dear reader, news and pictures from increasingly exotic destinations reach new highs today as I report from the inside of a Bangkok hospital.

I started to experience some pain in my right elbow yesterday lunch-time but initially put it down to overuse of the computer and the effects of carrying a heavy camera for much of the previous day. However, within a few hours my elbow had swollen to the size of a mango and I could no longer lift or straighten my arm. I took to sticking pins into my eyes as light relief from the excruciating pain that had developed.

It’s no fun falling ill at home but when you’re in an unfamiliar country there are obviously some concerns about the level of care that might be on offer. And when the taxi driver pulled into the valet parking bay of a 5-star hotel this morning I feared he’d just misunderstood my request to be taken to the Bumrungrad hospital and driven instead to a similarly named hotel, further frustrating my efforts to seek medical attention. But there was no mistake. Once inside the smart modern building I was quickly directed through the swish lobby (above) and to the Orthapaedic reception. Smartly-dressed staff quietly and efficiently took me through the registration process and I was sat in a Doctor’s surgery within 30 minutes of arriving.

Thirty minutes after that the doctor was showing me my x-rays on a computer screen and explaining his diagnosis: an infection in the bursa, a small sac that provides a cushion between the elbow bone and tendon. Nerves endings run through the Bursa, which explains the pain when it starts to get inflamed.

Anyway, this is a photographic blog not a medical journal so suffice to say that within two hours I’d been ushered back into a waiting taxi with a copy of my medical report, a small bag of medication and an appointment card for Friday. The medicines should be enough to sort it out but if not then they’ll drain the fluid and give cortizone injections. I’m pretty sure that it’ll be OK as it’s just a few hours since the first anti-inflammatory drug but I’ve already recovered enough sanity to be able to sit at a computer.

Apart from the inconvenience of not being able to lift a camera or type (much) for a few days it has served as a timely reminder of just how fortunate we are when we’re in good health and have full use of our limbs. I’ve never really stopped to consider how I’d work if I lost the use of my right arm but it would certainly be an enormous challenge. It’s frightening how quickly we can go from being fully fit to being incapacitated and I’m pretty sure that I’m not alone in having taken my own health and mobility pretty much for granted.

So here’s my photographic tip for the day: if there’s a project, photographic or otherwise, that you’ve been putting off then why not take steps to get it underway today? I have a frustrating couple of days ahead and that’s no big deal really but as I sit here looking at a bag of expensive and temporarily redundant camera gear I do heartly recommend that you don’t take anything for granted. So, make hay wile the sun shines and get started on those big plans today, for tomorrow you might be unexpectedly taken up the Bumrungrad!

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