After waxing on perhaps excessively in Part 1 on the origins of my photography journey, I’ll keep it a bit more succinct here. Wandering through the streets of Bangkok with a fresh perspective after all those years stirred up feelings of familiarity right next those of utter novelty. That notion of confluence - the brackish waters of old mixing with new, juxtapositions of the traditional colliding with the ultra-modern, familiar scenes intermingling with the altogether novel, the mundane blending with the weird. These places have a gravitational pull, always drawing me in. Transitions and the interplay between two seemingly opposing forces, that dance between the odd couple… It’s where the most interesting things happen. Influences ebb and flow back and forth, reshaping each other into a new voice and aesthetic. A new noise.

In 2007, I boarded a plane to Thailand, about to take my first plunge into living overseas. I was the walking, talking version of a clueless 20-something in search of purpose. After 34 hours in airports and wildly uncomfortable plane seats, I landed in Bangkok around midnight. The city hit me like a ton of bricks— the sounds, the smells, the chaos. Tuk-tuks zipping by, street food at every turn, and the heat. It was sensory overload in the best possible way. It was like a shot of adrenaline, and I felt alive in a way in way I had never experienced. Over the coming months, I went through every emotion — excitement, confusion, loneliness, wanderlust, the lot. Though after a month, I was convinced I’d never leave despite the absolute mine field of emotions I was going through. I felt like I was on the right path even though I had no idea what that path actually was.

Travel Diary: Bangkok - Part 2

Travel Diary: Bangkok - Part 1