Whenever we go away somewhere overnight I try to find an hour or so for a wander by myself with my camera. I am usually on the lookout for beautiful details of weathered urban surfaces. I seem to have an ability to ignore both the decay they represent and all the other distractions of traffic, people, adverts, dogs...
Recently we had a couple of nights in Hua Hin near the top of the Thai peninsular. A very popular beach town with a really great selection of places to eat in a relatively small area. Fresh seafood being the highlight.
Early both mornings I left my wife and her young nephew who we brought with us (and who managed to swim for the first time during this trip!) at the hotel and strolled along the main road through the town. This is what I found.
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The back end of this rusty old truck has clearly taken some hammering and yet has managed to hold on to its cheerful colours. A truck of character.
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The drip stains between two dirty old extractor fans on a roadside food-shack don't sound very promising but think of a wide waterfall tinted green by the surrounding forest foliage at dusk.
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A landscape on the side of a metal pole holding up a road-sign. This close-up was actually taken on the other side of this post (in case anybody is actually checking!).
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Both of the above photos came from this pick-up. Very old battered cars with flaky paintwork like this are one of my favourite subjects, always interesting, although the curved surfaces can make it difficult to get well focused photographs. It hasn't happened yet but one day I expect to be concentrating on taking pictures of a such a vehicle when the window suddenly rolls down and an indignant voice asks me what the hell am I doing. Reflections on tinted windows can make it hard to check!
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This boarded-up hut had a lot of artistic touches around it so I think this hanging cloth may have been an abstract artwork. Or it could have just been the cloth upon which art was created. Either way I like it.
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Chipped paint on a rusty rail. Maybe next time we come to Hua Hin I'll walk the same route and see how weathering has developed things like this. But I would have to be organised enough to take these photos with me... so it probably won't happen.
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Some deliberate graffiti that has cracked up very nicely when looked at closely on an unused shop, although, given the dog poo next to it I didn't linger for long. I have no idea if it is writing or just calligraphic swirls.
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A drinking water booth. I have seen a few of these oily, sticky looking signs around that have interesting patterns but not even I would call it attractive!
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I am not sure what the point of this "Hua Hin Municipality" sign is but I love the clear but subtle cracking pattern with just a little bit of rusty staining. It's a good example of how weathering produces natural patterns that have repetition with variation. Every little crack here is unique. Beautiful.
