i left the uk on christmas day for three weeks in thailand, happy to leave the pandemonium caused by the festive break and the cold and damp behind. i had no real expectations of finding much in the way of graffiti in thailand, nor was i particularly in the mood for hunting it down, preferring to spend my time immersing myself in thai culture and making the most of the sunshine and beaches. what i did happen to come across tended to be a tad ‘primitive’, with the occasional more impressive piece. ufo managed to get a few pieces up, but there was no evidence of a fresh scene, particularly in the centre of bangkok and along the railway tracks.

the one area where there was a presence was stickers. the thais produce just about everything in their country, including stickers, but my fave trainspotting moment was on the khaosan road one night, a bit pissed, where we spotted a burning candy sticker on a bbq street stall sign. we spotted another one impossibly high up above our heads, both probably administered by cyclops, who had recently visited the country to produce some prints.

it looked like writers were more likely to throw up a piece across the chao phrao river, in thonburi, a more residential area, networked by a series of canals and rivers, perhaps because it draws less attention from the authorities.

the above piece on the left could be by the same person who did this rather nice tag in the centre of bangkok…

but my most impressive experience was not western writers throwing up fab pieces or massive bombing, but the thai script. their written language is very visual to someone who can’t read a single word of it. little squiggles and loops, curious additions and a definite calligraphic bent kept me interested throughout the trip, especially when graphic fonts came into play, like bold outline. i saw it as a style writers the world over could adapt and incorporate into their tags.

however fantastic the holiday was, and i can assure you the thai people are overridingly happy, smiling people, the one thing that kept me sane during the inevitable post-holiday comedown was the prospect of fresh graffiti to find and enjoy around bristol. now i’ve recharged my batteries and cleared some space on the memory card i’m off out to see what i can find…