security wall

Every house, apartment, and business on our soi is surrounded by a wall and gate. The result being that walking down our soi feels like walking down a big roofless hallway that was built in pieces by various architects. Many of the larger buildings have a security guard out front as well. This photo of the Asia Books training facility shows the additional step of implanting a sea of razor-sharp, metal shark fins into the top of the wall.

morning market on soi 40

8:15 AM

As I turn right (crossing traffic- the equivalent of a left turn in the US) into soi 40, the morning market is at it's peak. Fruit, drinks, grilled fish and sausages, packaged lunches, and sugary rolls are all laid out in the portable stands. The market will have disappeared in an hour. The vendors take up any sidewalk space. Pedestrians, bikes, motorcycles, cars and any other vehicle/wheeled storage share the street.

my lane

Sharing the road has a whole different meaning in Bangkok. Traffic is in its usual morning snarl, but there is always space between the lanes and along the edge of the road for bikes and motorcycles to scoot through traffic. I'll take this narrow space all the way up to the traffic light, where I turn left. Drivers are tolerant of, if not happy about, this queue-cutting for two wheelers.