21 Pictures: the Bangkok buzz

Writer and photographer Chris Schalkx traded Rotterdam for Bangkok over a decade ago, swapping grey skies for tropical light and a city that never stays still. Now based in the Thai capital, he documents its contrasts through both words and lens.

I’ll admit: Bangkok wasn’t exactly love at first sight. I remember my first visit, well over a decade ago, when the city was just a jumping-off point for an eight-month solo trip across Asia. I’d taken a gap year from my studies in Amsterdam, booked a one-way ticket to Thailand, and landed without a plan. Bangkok hit me like a bus: its humidity wrapped around me like a damp towel, and the roar of traffic burrowed into my ears. The smell of chilli and exhaust fumes was everywhere; dizzying flashes of neon, gold and grime. It was… a lot. I ended up crying myself to sleep in a 500-baht-a-night hostel down a dark Chinatown alley that did little to lift my spirits.

And yet, I’m still here. Bangkok grew on me – so much so that in 2013 I packed up my life in Amsterdam and moved across the globe for a fresh start. That decision eventually led me to my dream career: with the Thai capital as my base, I now fly around the world as a travel journalist and photographer. It’s here that I first picked up a camera, using the city’s kaleidoscope of colours and textures as a training ground. I learned to find beauty in gritty cityscapes, read light and reflections, and see oft-photographed sights through a new lens.

Below are 21 of my favourite pictures I’ve shot over the years – plus my photography tips for your next trip to Bangkok.

Temples are, of course, Bangkok’s main calling cards – and for good reason. Few places on Earth have so many in such a glittering mix of colours. The intricate mirror-work, gilded stupas and Buddha shrines make for excellent photography playgrounds, especially in the early morning or late afternoon, when crowds at the big hitters like Wat Pho and Wat Arun are still thin. Look beyond the postcard icons, too – neighbourhood shrines often dazzle just as much without the crowds, while the enormous golden Buddha at Wat Paknam Phasi Charoen, just north of town, puts Thailand’s devotion in a whole new perspective.

Buddhas and gold aren’t confined to temple grounds, though. Shrines and altars dot the city, and keep an eye out for spirit houses – tiny, pointy-roofed shrines on stilts near homes and businesses, where Thais make merit for good fortune. The smoke from spiraling incense, colourful floral garlands and glittering figurines inside make for whimsical detail shots.

Craft offers another way to get close to Thailand’s devotion to Buddhism. The Phra Nakhon district, one of Bangkok’s oldest corners, is full of workshops still producing traditional monks’ alms bowls, robes and Buddha figurines. East of the Giant Swing square, you’ll find family-run businesses that have crafted golden Buddha statues, silk monks’ fans and other Buddhist paraphernalia for more than a century.

One place I rarely skip in this part of town is Wat Saket, or the Golden Mount, and the name starts to make sense as you climb the stairs to Bangkok’s highest hill. The ascent can be sweaty, but the rewards are worth it: from the gold-domed roof, you’ll have 360-degree views over Old Bangkok and its skyscraper backdrop.

Food, for most Thais, comes a close second to religion, which makes Bangkok’s wet markets a photographer’s delight. Almost every district has at least one central market that turns – especially in the early morning – into a hive of porters, vendors and cooks picking through piles of produce, meat and seafood. My favourite for a photo-walk is Khlong Toey Market, one of Bangkok’s largest, though it’s not for the faint-hearted. Expect fish guts and pigs’ heads on full display. Alternatively, Or Tor Kor Market in Chatuchak offers a cleaner, but no less colourful, scene.

Bangkok’s streets can feel like a giant buffet. Wherever you look, vendors push carts piled high with tropical fruits, deep-fried snacks or steaming cauldrons of soup. Even restaurants with brick-and-mortar kitchens often spill onto the sidewalk. They don’t just make great lunch stops, the candy-striped parasols, piles of plates and ingredients on display make them wonderfully photogenic, too. Some of my favourite street food neighbourhoods are Chinatown’s Yaowarat Road, which glows beautifully at night, and Tanao Road in the Old Town, where you’ll find everything from Thai-Chinese noodles to deep-fried pa tong ko bread crullers and mango sticky rice.

It’s cliché, but true – Bangkok is a city of contrasts, and beautiful ones at that. Where else will you find glittering temple roofs juxtaposed with gleaming skyscrapers, or starchitect-designed towers beside centuries-old Sino-Portuguese townhouses? These juxtapositions offer endless opportunities for creative framing, especially in the Riverside area where old and new collide. I love experimenting with perspectives to capture those contrasts in a single shot.

When I started out, I thought all good photographs had to be tack-sharp, with perfectly straight verticals and level horizons. Bangkok quickly taught me otherwise. To truly capture the city’s soul, I had to embrace its imperfections. Low shutter speeds are a great way to reveal its energy. Instead of freezing tuk-tuks and pedestrians mid-motion, try an exposure around 1/20 to blur their movement into colourful streaks. Alternatively, moving your camera during a shot (a technique called shutter dragging) adds a spontaneous, painterly feel.

Even in Bangkok’s chaos, there’s beauty. The city’s jumble of colours, textures and human ingenuity creates scenes that might look messy at first glance, but reveal delightful details and quirks up close. Wander beyond Chinatown’s colour and the temple district’s spires, and you’ll find beauty in the everyday – market stalls draped in tarpaulins like stage sets, surprising reflections, and paint-peeled walls that, if they could talk, would have some amazing stories to tell.