As most of you might not know, there is a method (or reason, at least) for my madness (or my traveling to Thailand over Spring Break and not seeing the beaches). I am completing research for my thesis, which is a documentary about outsourced/offshored manufacturing jobs in Thailand and Bangladesh. Of course, it's important to get video of the country to sort of establish the location in the documentary, which is why I've also been going around to places like the floating market.
Long story short, my goal is to get into factories, mainly garment ones, to show the jobs that Americans are wanting back (think Rick Santorum's "Made in America" campaign venture, which actually stems from a piece of legislation that Obama passed in 2010). But, getting into the factories, especially with a video camera and a language barrier, has been difficult to say the least. I got an email back from one factory about a week ago, Apparel Creations, Ltd. in Bangkok, and I was thrilled. I got there today, with the help of Jeab at the front desk (the directions were somewhat difficult, and in Thai), and they took me to their showroom. I sat down with the owner and manager. The first thing he said was, "You can't really help me, so I can't help you." I tried to explain I'm just a student, I don't get any monetary gain out of this, I came all the way from the US, if I come back with nothing I'm in big trouble... yada yada. He agrees to take me around the factory and take pictures, but refuses himself to an interview of any sort.
Fail.
So, I retreat back to my hotel. I regroup and call every factory in the Thai Garment Manufacturers Association's directory. I come across a plant that exports goods for Nike. They speak English! But they also have to grant clearance before even entering the factory. They said they'd call me back but I'm not counting on it. Although I'm pretty stressed at this point, I can't help but laugh at all of the company's hold tones (for lack of a better term, the music that plays when you're on hold). They all sound like ice cream trucks, except the tunes are "Ode to Joy," "Jingle Bells," and "Home on the Range," just to name a few. After several "call back tomorrow"s and mostly a complete lack of English, I finally get to a factory called Turbo Garments, Ltd. that exports children's clothes to TJ Maxx. After several holding periods, I am finally put in contact with Molly, who loves the idea of me coming to her factory with a video camera... what?
So, she emails me a map, I talk to the front desk, and arrange to go tomorrow afternoon. My thesis might actually come together!
I decide to take the rest of the afternoon to go around Bangkok and get more footage, since my day is packed tomorrow. Thai people are surprisingly unaware of cameras, which is great for me. I got people in the streets, street food, the skyline from the rooftop of my hotel, and the beautiful Jim Thompson House (Jim Thompson is accredited to reviving the silk industry, bringing international attention to Thailand).
I figured if I were to get a picture of anything in Thailand, it had to be Wat Arun, the beautiful Buddhist temple that you see when you Google "Bangkok" or "Thailand". I wanted to go at sunset so I could get pictures with all sorts of lighting, and also create a time lapse with video. Wat Arun is hands down one of the most incredible things I have ever seen. The detail on the prangs is intensely intricate; it's hard to tell the gold, porcelain, and seashells apart. In a sense, I got the same feeling as when I saw the Valley of the Kings in Egypt (the discovered tombs of the kings). There were people that literally spent a significant portion of their lives, sometimes the entirety, working on the temple/tombs, perfecting all of those minute details.
So, I'm back in my hotel now, worn out from a long day, but completely satisfied. The pepperoni pizza I picked up on the way home helps, too.
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