The (Inter)National Gallery

Walking round the street stalls after a couple of Changs could leave you wondering if you’d taken a wrong turn somewhere and wondered into the National Gallery.

What you expect from market shopping in Thailand is bargain t-shirts, imitation Ray Bans and the odd phallic ashtray or bottle opener. What you don’t expect to see are mini galleries of stunning artwork.

What is undeniable is the sheer talent of the artists who can copy any famous work of art from Klimt to Leonardo Davinci, or paint you amazing copies of famous photographs including the stunning ‘Afghan Girl’ National Geographic cover of the 1980’s.

Each artist has his own style (I’ve yet to see a female painter in action) and their work is as beautiful as the originals (and at a fraction of the cost).

However for me, the most fantastic thing about the process is the passion the painter has for his work. When the last of the crowds of clubbers have staggered home wearily, you’ll find artists sitting calmly behind their easels, watching the world go by whilst perfecting their latest offering.

What a beautiful life.

Don’t judge me on my taste in tiles….

So, I keep asking myself if I could get away with covering my bathroom walls in these Buddha tiles without raising suspicion of being a secret monk.

If the answer is ‘Of course you can, they’re great, and you won’t even have to shave your head to pull them off’ then my next mission is to recruit some super stealthy (and gentle) tile thieves to come and chip them delicately of the wall of the temple I found them in, in The Cameron Highlands, Malaysia.

Let’s face it, they had plenty to go round, the temple was around 50 square metres and every inch of it’s mammoth walls was adorned with these little beauties.

On the downside….sneaking past the hundreds of Buddhist worshippers with a couple of crates of tiles might be a Mission Impossible.

Hello World

We are a pair of curious travellers from Tunbridge Wells sharing our creative musings and loves with anyone who fancies an insight into traditional art, culture and design in Asia.

Everything from haberdashery and handicrafts to Giant Buddhas and temples, if it catches our eye you’ll find it on here.