City lights, bright, windows luminescent orange, or white,
Towers, bridges, city streets, a colour explosion.
Dark but so much to see and can be seen,
Night is just a concept here where sleep does not occur,
For some yes, but these streets never stop, the life never fades,
Changes, metamorphoses, as the glow of day becomes that of night.
Time, like the streets, so fast,
Pace changed from Lanta island life,
The calendar plays on fast forwards as we move among the madness,
Yet somehow organised, a rhythm to the streets,
Train, bus, taxi, tuk tuk,
Scooters buzz by as feet pound the pavements,
Novelties become noise. Ears, eyes, head fatigued,
But a moment in an oasis, sought out, revived,
And the charm twinkles once again.
Tour today, boat across the river,
New alleys, graffiti streets, art by design,
Art without design – the route itself,
Cafes and coffee shops hidden, unless you know where to look,
Amongst the mechanical debris of the past, life flourishes,
Old streets here, hipster corner there,
Street food carts, booming golden shopping centres,
A thirty minute walk along the pulsing streets,
No doorways – too hot,
In England there would be walls, here everything open,
Maybe everyone welcome,
In these city places, so many faces,
One large sprawling body, yet a million souls within.
Roaming, exploring this endless maze,
Entering the markets of Chinatown,
We follow in line, one way or the other,
Don’t stop or get out of step, the whole passage will stutter and falter.
Things, so many things, colours, trinkets galore,
So many eyes gazing, glazing, but barely one stops to look,
The attraction is being here, being in it, observing without partaking.
Does anyone ever sell anything? Surely they don’t sell enough, how do they survive,
Surrounded by their pile of stuff?
Large roads lead to back alleys,
Shop here, houses there, sometimes one and the same,
Tin roofs sit beside skyscrapers,
Everywhere, everything, a juxtaposition,
City bling and poverty, ways of life old and new,
All play their part in this reality,
The exciting, exhilarating, exhausting, moving picture –
Bangkok.
