Pollution

It's weird living in a heavily polluted city. Keep in mind that there are between 9 million and 13 million people living here and many get to work and home via electric sky train, subway, diesel busses, motorcycle taxis and other relativly efficient means of transporation. Never-the-less, Bangkok is a heavily polluted city.

After only two weeks here, we have stopped noticing most offensive smells like exhaust fumes and sewar gases unless they are very close. And we have quickly learned to appreciatte the smells wafting up from the food vendors on the street. All day every day smells like an exotic BBQ.

But the thing I have not adjusted to yet are the visible indicaions of pollution. Today (Oct 19) is a relativly clear day with a hot, bright sun. But unless you look almost directly upward, there is little evidence of a blue sky. Some white cummulus clouds can be seen, but they sort of merge into the bacground whiteness of the horizon rather than standing out from a field of blue. The pic of the sun shown here was taken at 4 PM with the smallest iris and fastest shutter speed my camera allows. Still, there is no obvious entity of he sun, but a mass of light hidden and diffused by the haze.


oVo