Author: Steve Barru
Photographer, bookworm, traveler, born in the United States in 1949, left the United States in 1987, spent years in China, settled in Vietnam in 2016.
Crowded Sunday, Guangzhou, China
A rainy Sunday in Guangzhou turns a huge downtown IKEA into a mob scene of shoppers. A friend and I ventured into IKEA looking for a place to have a coffee. We got lucky and found a couple of seats in the cafeteria and sat for 45 minutes sipping IKEA’s coffee, about 80 cents for a cup with unlimited refills. A more than passable cup of coffee as well, especially compared to the offerings at Starbucks across the street, where a small cup of the swill Starbucks passes off as a premium brew goes for around $3.00. The photo was taken on the ground floor near the entrance to the store. I held the phone up as high as I could and this image is what I got. After three years away from China, a few days in Guangzhou, and especially a Sunday with rain outside, were definitely a reminder of just how crowded big Chinese cities are.
Luxury Shopping, Hong Kong
To Eat or Not to Eat, Hong Kong
The three women are discussing the satisfaction of having some of Fong’s egg tarts versus the damage this will do to their diets. It was a conversation I could definitely identify with.
Opening for Business, Hong Kong
My one full day in Hong Kong consisted of cloudy weather with just bits of sun peaking through in the morning. Not a day for images of magnificent Hong Kong vistas, but there was still no shortage of photo-worthy material out there. The elderly couple here is opening their tiny locksmith business in Sheung Wan for the day. Not being too many years away from where they are now, I found myself wondering how they get by on what they earn from their little business. And whether they choose to keep working every day or have no choice but to do so.
Thaphae Gate, Chiang Mai
Study in Blue Denim
Gold Seller, Chiang Mai
This gold shop in a Chiang Mai market catering primarily to local residents is almost certainly owned by a Chinese Thai. Ethnically Chinese Thai families, many of whom have been in Thailand for generations, in some cases for hundreds of years, dominate the small businesses in local markets. While these Chinese Thais are thoroughly assimilated into Thai society, they remain part of the Chinese trading networks that exist throughout Southeast Asia. The Chinese style decoration on the shop’s door and the neon-lit Chinese characters above the woman’s head make it clear that the shop caters to, among others, the many Chinese who visit Chiang Mai every year.
Shop Til You Drop, Chiang Mai
The Chinese women are shopping for cosmetics at the night bazaar in Chiang Mai while their boyfriends look on. In the second image, the vendor in the green tee shirt on the right has punched in a price on his calculator and is ready to begin the haggling festivities. This will take place in English and be rather amusing, as nobody involved speaks much English.
Night Bazaar Vendor, Chiang Mai
This night bazaar vendor sells colored wax flowers displayed in small black bowls. There are many vendors selling these at the night bazaar. They sit around carving pieces of wax when waiting for customers – there are carvings on this man’s table in front of the wallet. But it was unclear to me where the coloring is done, because I did not see anybody doing this in the market. Nor was it clear to me that vendors like this one personally made all of the flowers sitting on the tables in front of them. In any case, this man is counting what appears to be a fairly meager take for the evening.