Sunday, June 20, 2010

Ghost of Taxi Present

Some Bangkok cabbies create ghost-like reflections of famous Thai Buddhist monks on their car windows by placing photos on the dashboard and relying on the light and shiny surface of the windshield to produce the image. The drivers believe that the monks protect them from accidents and misfortune, but the effect is slightly eerie. As the moving world outside appears through the translucent image, it's as if the monk's spirit is with you at all times in the cab. The fact that the technique involves likenesses of monks makes it a shade less bone-chilling. I can think of much scarier apparitions that could appear in taxis.