I like alleys and Phuket has lots of them. In Thai they are called sois. Traveling around can bring you to all sorts of alleys. Bangkok is the king of sois but Phuket doesn't do too bad. Now Penang also has loads of interesting alleys but the alleys in Phuket are much cleaner and safer. No offense to Penang but that's the case.
This alley I'll show you today in Phuket town was my friend's daily route from home to school as a child over 40 years ago. Those days are gone as is access to the full alley. But inquisitive as I am and you too if you've read this far... I decided to check it out. Let's have a look.
STREET ART
Some street art/tags at the entrance of the alley and the Phuket version of the 5 foot walkway. The street is quite touristy and the alley is well hidden and quiet. I like tags well enough but rarely can I every understand what they say haha.
Bit of street art beside an abandoned couch. I much prefer street art not sanctioned by and paid for by governments.
MOVING DOWN THE ALLEY
Lots of green in Phuket. Especially in alleys where few people roam.
Green, clean and orderly.
Clean as a whistle even if hidden and pretty secret.
THE RECYCLING HOUSE
Poor people recycle everything worth money in Phuket. They and their hoardings are well hidden unlike other places such as Penang where everything is out in the open. Not better or worse, just a different style.
I really liked this shot. On the magazine is a picture of some local street art. The work was a bit of a controversy because the artist isn't a local and the murals have nothing to do with Phuket history or local culture. The artist received lots of press over a "drama" about painting a mural "illegally" which was then painted over with a mural of the King which had just passed away. Perhaps there is no coincidence his art piece ends up atop the local rubbish heap as the entire event was little more than a publicity stunt ;) And speaking of stunts... no I did not create this shot, everything was there naturally.
Beneath all this is a motorbike. Probably a classic...
An alley with loads of recycled items. Perhaps waiting for the price to go up?
A metal door on an abandoned house. I wonder what the slot is for... Nefarious past activities in the alley? Maybe I watched New Jack City too many times? Not much of a lock. Squatting and theft are not big problems in Phuket.
THE END OF THE ALLEY
This is the end of the alley where a wall blocks the entrance to the old abandoned house. My local friend used to walk through here and said there a connection to the local market nearby as well. Not too many years ago we could access the house from another street but the past few years that passage has been blocked.
I'm a bit surprised no recyclers haven't taken the metal... I just love broken down buildings especially when** nature reclaims** the space.
When nature takes over from humans...
This must have been the entrance from the alley to the old house. Service entrance...
Very green down here.
A closer view of nature doing its thing...
People pay alot in Soho and Brooklyn for this look. Here its free. Just have to wait a while for erosion. I reckon the bricks are over a century old.
Thanks for joining me for an alley walk today. If you're wondering about safety... I didn't see a single person and if I did they surely would be smiling. Perhaps at most curious about what I'm doing.
Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed today's walk.