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Das Thema Asien begeistert den 1973 geborenen Fotografen Peter Nitsch schon seit seiner Kindheit. Damals waren es die chinesischen Kung-Fu-Filme. Heute sind es die Lebenslust und Lebensart der Thailänder. Seit einigen Jahren verbringt er mehrere Monate im Jahr in Thailand, dessen faszinierende Metropole er dem interessierten Publikum mit diesem Buch näherbringen möchte. Jochen Müssig, Jahrgang 1960, Ex-Chefredakteur mehrerer Magazine, jetzt Reisejournalist (»Süddeutsche Zeitung«, »Welt«, »WAZ« u.v.a.) sowie Buchautor zahlreicher Bände kennt Thailand seit 27 Jahren. Dutzende von Reisen führten zu zahlreichen Artikeln und Büchern über Siam. Nach Landung in Bangkok sucht er immer als erstes eine Garküche in der Nähe der Silom Road auf.
The subject of Asia has enthused Peter Nitsch, the photographer who was born in 1973, since his childhood. As a boy, he gained his first impressions by watching Chinese kung-fu films. Today he is fascinated by the zest for life and the savoir vivre expressed by the people of Thailand. He spends several months each year in Thailand and would like to convey some of the spellbinding impressions that the fascinating metropolis has to offer by presenting this book to an interested public.
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Bangkok, Megacity, Wirtschaftsmetropole und Stadt der 400 Tempel, ist Faszinosum und Moloch zugleich: laut, dreckig und chaotisch, dann wieder ruhig und in sich gekehrt. Der vorliegende Bildband zeigt das »Venedig des Ostens« in seiner widersprüchlichen Schönheit, ohne die Stadt zu romantisieren. Authentisch, überraschend und gefühlvoll. Bangkok, mega-city, economic metropolis and city of 400 temples, can be both fascinating and sometimes nauseating at the same time: loud, dirty and chaotic, then again, there is also a peaceful and reserved side. The illustrated book at hand displays the »Venice of the East« in its contradictory beauty, without over-romanticising the city. Authentic, surprising and bursting with emotion.
Jochen Müssig, born in 1960, ex chief editor of several magazines, now a travel journalist (»Süddeutsche Zeitung«, »Welt«, »WAZ« etc.) and also an author of numerous book volumes, has become very familiar with Thailand during the last 27 years. Dozens of trips have lead to numerous articles and books about Siam. After landing in Bangkok, the first thing he always does is to visit a cookshop not far from Silom Road.
Deutsch | English 35,90 €(D) 67,50 sFr 27,80 £ 55,50$ ISBN: 978-3-9809430-7-9
Cover: Siam Square ISBN-13: 978-3-9809430-7-9 www.rupapublishing.com
www.rupapublishing.com
Falz 8mm bis zum Buchblock! Hardcover schließt somit bündig mit Buchblock!
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Bangkok Bangkok
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Peter Nitsch
Es ist paradox: Bangkok ist leicht erreichbar, aber doch manchmal schwer zu entdecken. Allein ab Deutschland werden wöchentlich mehr als 20 Non-Stop-Verbindungen angeboten. Für die Entfernung von etwa 9.000 Kilometern brauchte man früher Wochen, manchmal Monate, aber man hatte die Zeit, sich einzustellen, sich der Region und den Menschen gebietsweise zu nähern. Heute fliegt der Jumbo in knapp zwölf Stunden über die 89 Längengrade. Da ist es gut, dass es endlich auch ein Buch über Bangkoks Alltag gibt. Ein Buch, das den Charme der Stadt ohne seine Sehenswürdigkeiten zeigt, eines, das kein Reisebildband ist oder sein will. Es ist vielmehr ein Buch, das mit dem Wechsel von Chaos und Ruhe spielt, Hektik und Gelassenheit dokumentiert, von Tradition und Moderne erzählt. Peter Nitsch fängt mit seiner zwischen Kunst- und Reportagefotografie angesiedelten Arbeit nicht das plakativ Exotische ein. Er öffnet Blickwinkel und Sichtweisen, hält schlaglichtartig Momente fest und bildet wunderbare Alltagsszenen ab, die jedoch nicht auf den ersten Blick als wunderbar zu erkennen sind. Nitschs Bilder öffnen die Augen. Und ein Thai-Sprichwort besagt: »Die Augen sind das Fenster des Herzens«.
It’s a paradox: Bangkok is so easy to reach but sometimes difficult to discover. Alone in Germany, more than 20 non-stop connections are on offer each week. It used to take weeks or even months to cover the distance of around 9,000 kilometres, but travellers had time to acclimatise, to slowly adjust to each individual region and respective nationality. Nowadays, a jumbo flies across the 89 lines of longitude in around twelve hours. A good thing that, at long last, a book is now available about Bangkok’s everyday life. A book that shows the charm of the city without concentrating on typical tourist attractions, one that is neither an illustrated travel book nor does it attempt to be one. It is instead a book that plays on the contrasting lines of chaos and calmness, that documents bustle and serenity, that tells a story of tradition and modernity. Peter Nitsch doesn’t try to shoot strikingly exotic postcard pictures in his work, which is based more between art and photo journalism. He opens up visual angles and perspectives, captures brief, unique moments and displays wonderful everyday scenes, which are perhaps not recognisable as such at first glance. And as a Thai proverb says: »The eyes are the windows to the heart«.
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Bangkok
Fotografien von Peter Nitsch Mit einem Essay von Jochen M端ssig Photographs by Peter Nitsch With an Essay by Jochen M端ssig
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Herausgegeben von Ploi Malakul Na Ayudhaya Edited by Ploi Malakul Na Ayudhaya
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Hard shell – heart of gold
It is surely not the most significant and certainly not the largest of the thousands of Buddha statues in Bangkok. However, the Buddha of Wat Traimit in Chinatown is definitely the most valuable and has the most intriguing past. And it has a history that provides symbolic power. The figure originates from the 14th century, a time in which the Burmese occasionally raided and plundered Thailand. That was the reason that the statue was covered with an unimpressive plaster coating. The Burmese fell for the trick and didn’t have any interest in the seemingly worthless figure. As time passed by, the truth about the figure’s core was even forgotten by the Thais themselves. The true value of this object was not rediscovered until the 20th century, and that was only due to a great coincidence. In 1955, while the alleged plaster Buddha was being relocated to Wat Traimit, the figure accidentally fell to the ground. The coat of plaster broke and precious, shiny gold was revealed. It was quickly discovered that the figure was not merely gilded, as most of the Buddhas in Thailand are, but that it consists of a total of six tonnes of solid, 18-carat gold. The world outside is a pandemonium. Pounding jackhammers, roaring mopeds, music droning from loudspeakers – a cacophony to beguile the senses. Bangkok is loud – always, at any time of day or night. Except in the Skytrain: A soft voice practically whispers the name of the next stop of the elevated railway while two young girls in blue and white school uniforms speak in hushed tones and quietly giggle into their cupped hands about something they read in a comic. Others sit in stoic silence, hidden behind dark sunglasses or enjoying the pleasure of a peaceful nap in the Skytrain. A tourist thoroughly studies the timetable. What a shame. If he would only take the time to look out of the window he would be able to see Bangkok from a uniquely intimate perspective. Similar to the story of the hard shell and the heart of gold, with a little luck and cultural empathy, the city and its people might reveal something precious that was previously hidden from view, and he might perhaps begin to understand more about the culture and everyday life by taking a look behind the scenes and, thus, widen his tourist’s tunnel vision to consciously perceive peripheral insights. Bangkok’s everyday life, far away from the temples and the shopping miles, displays itself as being both dazzling and fascinating as well as sometimes being untidy and incomplete. Around 60 steps below, beneath the mighty, almost 15 metre high stilts of the Skytrain, many old houses, backyards and gardens seem to be snugly squeezed together. The name Bangkok literally
means village of water olives when translated. The older residents can still remember the old village named Kok – Bang means village – and they try to preserve a little of the idyllic village life within their shops and parlours, upon roof terraces or river terraces. They try to create romantic, charming oases amidst the exotic city jungle, as if the Bangkok of today were nothing more than a large, an enormous – a village with a population of ten million. The old Bang Kok seems to still be really alive in many places down below, that of the wicker dealer in his white, fine ribbed undershirt, that of the frame maker, that of the cookshops and that of the lady selling jasmine blossoms. She has buried her head in her arms and is enjoying a short nap amidst the chaos. Bangkok’s residents are true survivalists – playful and serious 24 hour people often trying to find their luck in less inviting areas and with simple means – and finding it. Bangkok is on the up and up. Buildings are escalating toward the skies at an enormous rate: Hotels, shopping centres, office buildings, sky-scraping towers, such as the 309 metre high Baiyoke Sky Tower, which has been constructed to be able to accommodate another 10 storeys if required. High above the ground, glass facades reflect one another, glittering palaces of modern architecture. High above the ground, traffic flows along toll charged, elevated motorways and the Skytrain runs smoothly through the heart of the city. High above the ground, Bangkok is transforming from a chaotically fascinating Moloch into an orderly and functioning metropolis. Bangkok has changed dramatically in a short space of time. To put it plainly, Thailand’s capital has made an enormous leap from the 19th century directly to the 21st. Rice and incense now exist symbiotically alongside microchips and the Skytrain. The white-blue-red elevated railway was inaugurated on the 5th December 1999: King Bhumibhol Adulyadej, the capital and the whole country celebrated both the monarch’s 72nd birthday and the start-up of the Skytrain. Since that day, the Skytrain runs almost silently above the bustle on its way through the city. Fast, clean, safe and punctual to the second – just perhaps a little too cold. Because outside, when you step off the Skytrain, you are suddenly hit by Bangkoks midday heat: 35° Celsius and air so thick and humid that you could cut it with a knife. Especially beneath the mighty Skytrain stilts: down there, it’s not only darker than it was before, it’s also much more stifling than it ever was. The black plumes of exhaust emission mingle with the seductive aromas of the numerous food markets. The traffic roars along eight-lane roads, which are actually used as ten-lane or even twelve-lane roads. And pedestrians have to mutate to guerrilla warriors, if they
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really want to take the risk of crossing a large arterial road: they have to take advantage of every available space and brake in traffic and be on guard at all times if they want to reach the other side in one piece. A car driver in Bangkok spends a biblical number of 40 full days a year behind the steering wheel, which is more than ten percent of his or her available time. This was a convincing reason to realise the Skytrain and subway projects, which cost billions. The Klongs were once Bangkok's traffic system. But almost all of the canals, which were the city’s main lifelines, were filled in. Streets were built, then stilts were built upon the streets, and now the people can glide high above the ground through Bangkok. Bangkok’s traffic has even been put on record at the District Court of Frankfurt am Main, Germany: »The fact that it is a laborious and time consuming task to make headway in the traffic chaos of Bangkok can be considered to be general knowledge, and this does not pose due cause for tourist complaints«, was the verdict passed by the judges, which quashed a lawsuit filed by an enervated German tourist. Power lines hang in an infinite tangle above the streets and alleys. Bangkok was never beautiful in a classical sense – nevertheless, this city leaves no-one cold. The city is bursting with life and never rests. The contrasts are really striking. And hardly anyone can bypass the ten million populated Moloch: almost all of Thailand’s tourists land at »BKK«. And all of the kingdom’s roads lead to the capital, which is still often affectionately named Krung Thep by the people of Thailand. An abbreviated name, which in complete translation can tell a whole story: »City of angels, the largest of all places of immortal, divine jewels, powerful, invincible site, nine-fold bejewelled, royal capital, divine home of the reincarnated Vishnu«. King Phra Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke the Great, who reigned from 1782 to 1809, is responsible for the proud name and, hence, the depiction. The king is popularly known as Rama I. King Rama I can be encountered again and again on the way to the 400 temples, among the 4.000 trivialities along the roadside or at the 40.000 cookshops. The city is as diverse as its name is long. Over here children laugh as they play joyfully in the dirty waters of the Chao Phraya, while over there an elegant lady stands on the jetty, dressed in a snowwhite costume with a black designer handbag over her shoulder. Over here is a tuk-tuk, the famous and noisy three-wheel city taxi, while over there stands a well polished silver Rolls Royce complete with chauffer wearing the typical hat. A cookshop with simple stools proffers wonderfully aromatic dishes while further down the road an exquisitely furnished, fully air-conditioned restaurant serves the finest cuisine upon triangular plates. A school girl in
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uniform stands beside a yuppie dressed in a stylish outfit. Instead of pin-up girls, pictures of monks are hung up around the bus drivers. Garlands of artificial flowers adorn the consoles and rearview mirrors. This is considered neither kitsch nor cult in Bangkok. The garlands are actually rather to fulfil the symbolic purpose of good-luck charms for a – as everyone would agree – very difficult profession in a city populated by ten million. During the monsoon period, between June and October, the roads are sometimes flooded, just as they were a hundred years ago. Business people from the hyper-modern office buildings and fine boutiques seem to be able to cope with this situation just as well as the lady selling vegetables, wearing worn-out slippers on her bare feet. The city is a micro-cosmos without a centre. Europeans, Americans and expats living in Bangkok, mostly reside in the Silom Road area, package tourists populate the Sukhumvit Road and backpackers from around the world swarm to the smaller Khaosan Road. The Chinese residents have their very own Chinatown. But then again, if a newcomer were to be placed in Chinatown without him knowing it, he probably wouldn’t be able to recognise it as Chinatown. There isn’t even a classical city centre. The city has dynamically developed and expanded with uncontrolled growth – a nightmare for urban planners: twisted shanties, breathtaking skyscrapers, hidden brothels, golden Chedis, a motley architectural mixture that seems to fit together harmoniously despite the differences. In fact, it’s probably the chaos that attracts. Bangkok, the 24 hour power city, stands for fascination and shock, love and hate. The latter seems to be quite foreign to the Buddhist population. Buddhism – perhaps the most tolerant of the world’s religions – rules the city and the country. 95 percent of all Thais are Buddhists. And, once in a lifetime, almost all adolescent men growing up in Thailand spend at least a couple of weeks in a monastery. Each person entering the monastery must undergo the ritual haircut. A shaven head and eyebrows symbolises the new way of life, an abandoning of everyday habits. Then the novice is bound to celibacy and the 226 other vows. To begin with, the young monk cannot sleep in a soft bed any longer and he must endeavour to collect his food with an alms bowl, very early in the morning, which he must eat by 12 o’clock midday. The utmost deference is paid to novices – as of course to the monks themselves. Because the monks are shining examples of virtue. A prime example of the level of respect paid to monks was displayed in a scene during an uproar of the democratic revolt of 1973, when a group of monks rode in an open wagon right along the line of fire between the authorities and students. None of the monks were injured, let alone shot at or killed.
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There is probably no other language in the whole world that uses the same term for both work and celebration. »Ngan« stands for both in the Thai language … Everything at the proper time and everything in the proper place just doesn’t seem to apply in Thailand. Eating, sleeping, working and celebrating often blend into one another. Especially in the country, but also still in many of the shops and small businesses in the capital, where the premises are workplace, living room and bedroom rolled into one: sometimes open around the clock. It wouldn’t be at all uncommon to find the proprietor lying asleep between brimful, packed shelves, stacks of goods and general chaos, and to have to then wake him up in order to be able to do business with him. The business premises are, after all, also his bedroom. He won’t be at all angry and he will serve his customers with the customary politeness, albeit still a little drowsy perhaps. The city of Bangkok is also a unique experience for the olfactory senses. The various olfactory stimuli literally permeate the air and infiltrate your nostrils as soon as you step off the plane. The airporttypical smell of kerosene, pleasantly scented joss sticks, air-polluting three-wheel taxis and the black clouds of exhaust fumes produced by ancient busses, the flavoursome, mouth-watering scent of roasts coming from the cookshops, stinking canal waters from the remaining Klongs and much, much more blend together in a melange of smells. These smells are almost symbolic and let you know, within the first few minutes, what you can expect, experience and discover in Bangkok. What does a Thai think about while eating a meal? Quite simple: about the next meal! Thus, the Thais are reputed to be a people of whom the one half cooks while the other half eats. Which in effect means: that they cook and eat at anytime, at any place, no matter what time of night or day, whether in a gourmet restaurant or at the edge of the pavement. Many of Bangkok’s cookshops are open 24 hours a day and the food quality there is often just as good as in the restaurants. You can actually eat just as well for 2 Euros as you can for 20 in Thailand. Instead of dining at a restaurant, it’s really worth gathering the courage to sit on a stool out on the street or at the market place and to simply enjoy the food and the atmosphere at one of the numerous cookshops. Once tried and tested, you’ll keep coming back for more of this kind of wonderful fast-food. Bangkok has an estimated 40,000 cookshops. They provide 40,000 different fragrances, 40,000 different ways to whet your appetite. A cook stirfries rice and prawns in her wok. Steaming hot noodle soup is proffered on a nearby cart. A third provider offers fresh fruit. It even
seems as though the ambition to eat is larger than the ambition to earn money. Eating is considered to be a kind of national sport or almost a religion in Thailand. And meanwhile, even star adorned international chefs nominate Thai cuisine to be absolute world class. Thai cuisine is the finest, or at least the most seductive, in the whole of Asia. If it’s tasty, it’s edible, is the principle philosophy. No-one worries too much about which foods are suited to one another and which aren’t. The innovative Thais simply mix together whatever they like. It wouldn’t be unusual for Thais to serve a visitor with a bowl of roast water beetles or grilled grasshoppers as an appetizer,which would probably also be accompanied by a little jovial, if somewhat mischievous, laughter. Otherwise the colourful delicacies are usually served all together at the table: green chicken curry, perch in herbs and, of course, rice. The soup can be eaten between courses. And the world famous hot spices? The Thai kids grow up, so to speak, with chilli in their mother’s milk … The significance that rice now has and always had is evident in the language: the term »to eat« alone does not exist. Because the term »to eat« is gkin Khao in Thai, which literally means: »eat rice«. »Gkin Khao ma rhoo jang« is a common greeting among Thais, which means something like »have you eaten yet«. It’s a paradox: Bangkok is so easy to reach but sometimes difficult to discover. Alone in Germany, more than 20 non-stop connections are on offer each week. It used to take weeks or even months to cover the distance of around 9,000 kilometres, but travellers had time to acclimatise, to slowly adjust to each individual region and respective nationality. Nowadays, a jumbo flies across the 89 lines of longitude in around twelve hours. A good thing that, at long last, a book is now available about Bangkok’s everyday life. A book that shows the charm of the city without concentrating on typical tourist attractions, one that is neither an illustrated travel book nor does it attempt to be one. It is instead a book that plays on the contrasting lines of chaos and calmness, that documents bustle and serenity, that tells a story of tradition and modernity. Peter Nitsch doesn’t try to shoot strikingly exotic postcard pictures in his work, which is based more between art and photo journalism. He opens up visual angles and perspectives, captures brief, unique moments and displays wonderful everyday scenes, which are perhaps not recognisable as such at first glance – similar to the story at the beginning about the hard shell and the heart of gold. Nitsch’s pictures are eye-openers. And as a Thai proverb says: »The eyes are the windows to the heart«.
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»Ich habe Bangkok als eine Stadt erlebt, in der die Vermischung extremer Gegensätze, von Ruhe und Chaos, Reinheit und Unrat, Licht und Schatten, ein ganz eigenes, neues, unglaublich interessantes und vereinnahmendes Wesen hervorbringt.« Rui Camilo, Fotograf »I experienced Bangkok as a city in which the mixture of extreme contrasts, of peace and chaos, cleanliness and defilement, shadow and light, creates a completely self-contained, new, unbelievably interesting and overpowering entity.« Rui Camilo, Photographer
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Wat Saket, Golden Mount
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Wat Benchamabophit, Marble Temple
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Wat Phra Kaeo, The Royal Grand Palace
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Maha-Uma-Devi Temple, Thanon Pan
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Wat Phra Kaeo, The Royal Grand Palace
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100 Years Market, Klongsaun
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