After the flurry of shoots in the latter part of 2021 (Savannah, Sim and Ava) I unintendedly put away my camera and it would be several months before I pulled it back out. Throughout 2020 and 2021 I’d sorely been missing my Thailand trips and a part of me had wondered just when the world would open back up and Covid would be behind us.
As the spring of 2022 approached I began to receive some pressure at work to start using up the leave I’d accumulated through the previous 2 years. If I didn’t use it, it’d be lost.
Naturally I dreamed of using it on a long haul adventure. I’d been seriously considering a return to Costa Rica (previous visit 2002!) as the borders were fully open without restriction. Singapore too, though that seemed a tougher proposition. Truthfully I longed to get back to Thailand and barely a week went by where I didn’t read up on travel guidance and restrictions.
Happily for me it was just at this time that Thailand began to cautiously open back up. We had the Thailand Pass, Quarantine, SHA+ Hotels, Vaccine Passports and nightlife restrictions … but it was opening. So I threw caution to the wind and booked a return flight. What the hell I figured … and what a great decision it turned out to be.
Just a few days before I was due to fly out the mandatory quarantine and testing was binned, meaning all I had to do was produce my vaccine certificates at immigration and I was in. First stop was Bangkok where I planned a couple of days before heading down to Pattaya. In Bangkok I’d arranged a photoshoot with Fernie Warisa and I figured I’d enjoy a couple of days exploring the city.
Although Bangkok was certainly a lot quieter than I was used to and a lot of shops had closed, for the most part it was as I remembered and although a 1am night time closure was in effect, everything you could want was still on hand.
Following is a selection of photos (some DSLR but mostly 35mm film) from the first couple of days on arrival, plus the final 48 hours as I prepared for my flight home at the end of my stay.
Ah, Bangkok. It was good to be back.
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