The Pandemic
©2023 Peter Mardie, all rights reserved. Protected by Pixsy.
“If I were asked to define photography in a few words, I would say that it is a fossil of light and time.”
— Daido Moriyama
Historical image, shot in July 2020. The COVID pandemic is in full swing and has a devastating economic impact throughout Thailand. The picture shows the Patpong nightlife and night market area in Silom, Bangkok, at that time.
Bar employees await tourists. There aren't any tourists. No customers means zero income. There is no social safety net. These are terrible times. Stressful times for many.
According to Google, contribution of travel and tourism to GDP (% of GDP) for Thailand was 21.9% in 2019.
Patpong usually attracts large crowds, and has served as the backdrop to many movies (The Deer Hunter; Baraka; Miss Saigon) as well as books (such as Villa Incognito by Tom Robbins, and the creepy but excellent crime novel The Queen Of Patpong by Timothy Hallinan).
With the end of the pandemic, and tourists now returning to the country in large numbers, the economic desperation is easing. But many people remain deeply in debt throughout Thailand. It will probably take years to return to some kind of normal for many people.
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Our incipient web page:
The Pandemic
©2023 Peter Mardie, all rights reserved. Protected by Pixsy.
“If I were asked to define photography in a few words, I would say that it is a fossil of light and time.”
— Daido Moriyama
Historical image, shot in July 2020. The COVID pandemic is in full swing and has a devastating economic impact throughout Thailand. The picture shows the Patpong nightlife and night market area in Silom, Bangkok, at that time.
Bar employees await tourists. There aren't any tourists. No customers means zero income. There is no social safety net. These are terrible times. Stressful times for many.
According to Google, contribution of travel and tourism to GDP (% of GDP) for Thailand was 21.9% in 2019.
Patpong usually attracts large crowds, and has served as the backdrop to many movies (The Deer Hunter; Baraka; Miss Saigon) as well as books (such as Villa Incognito by Tom Robbins, and the creepy but excellent crime novel The Queen Of Patpong by Timothy Hallinan).
With the end of the pandemic, and tourists now returning to the country in large numbers, the economic desperation is easing. But many people remain deeply in debt throughout Thailand. It will probably take years to return to some kind of normal for many people.
-
Our incipient web page: