The Road to the Golden Peninsula Exhibition: How Chaiyos Pinpradab Rediscovered Southern Thailand Through Film

Expats Lifestyle
Jul 15
4 min read

After a 20-year hiatus, the Phuket-born photographer returns behind the lens with 114 panoramic photographs capturing the landscapes, architecture, and multicultural heritage of Southern Thailand

Black-and-white longtail boats rest on a muddy shoreline at low tide, with distant hills and a quiet, overcast sky.

Sometimes the greatest journey isn't about discovering somewhere new—it's about seeing a familiar place with different eyes.

That idea lies at the heart of The Road to the Golden Peninsula, the first photography exhibition in nearly two decades by Thai photographer Chaiyos Pinpradab.

Opening at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC), the exhibition presents 114 film photographs documenting a 150-day road trip through Southern Thailand, inviting visitors to experience the region beyond its postcard beaches and famous landmarks.

For Chaiyos, this isn't simply an exhibition. It is a homecoming.

Smiling man with a camera stands before Yosemite Valley cliffs and waterfall above a dense pine forest under a blue sky. — *Chaiyos Pinpradab*

Returning to Photography at 74

Born and raised in Phuket, Chaiyos built his career in publishing before becoming one of the founding figures behind Phuket Bulletin magazine. Photography had always been part of his life, but after stepping away from the medium for nearly 20 years, he had even sold most of his beloved film cameras. Then something changed.

Recalling his years behind the camera, he contacted an old friend in Bangkok to help him source a Hasselblad XPan panoramic film camera. What began with a few rolls of film eventually evolved into a body of work spanning 50 rolls, a photography book, and now his first exhibition in two decades.

"I've always considered myself an amateur photographer driven purely by passion," Chaiyos says. "Because the South is my home, it felt natural to start there. Every weekend I simply got in the car and drove, regardless of the weather. I thought I knew the region well, but I discovered so much more—its landscapes, historic architecture, temples, and the stories hidden within them."

Black-and-white view of trees casting long shadows on a sandy beach, with calm sea and horizon in the background.

Black-and-white riverbank with several tied fishing boats, Thai lettering on hulls, and steps leading up to trees and huts

Black-and-white bay with sailboats anchored near a wooded hill, seen past tall dry grass in the foreground.

A 150-Day Journey Across the Southern Peninsula

Between September 2024 and January 2025, Chaiyos traveled alone across Thailand's southern peninsula, beginning in Pran Buri in Prachuap Khiri Khan before continuing south through the Sankalakhiri mountain range to Tak Bai in Narathiwat.

Rather than chasing famous attractions, he focused on the rhythm of everyday life.

His route took him through mountain ranges, coastal communities, historic towns, Buddhist temples, mosques, and neighborhoods shaped by centuries of cultural exchange. The exhibition reflects the enduring spirit of what ancient Western navigators once called the Golden Chersonese—the historic Malay Peninsula that encompasses Southern Thailand.

Throughout the journey, Pattani became his operational base, allowing him to immerse himself in local communities with assistance from residents who helped him gain access to places rarely visited by outsiders.

Looking Beyond Thailand's Famous Beaches

While Southern Thailand is often associated with tropical islands and beaches, Chaiyos found himself increasingly captivated by another landscape altogether.

"We've become so familiar with the sea that we sometimes forget the grandeur of the mountains," he explains. "Driving through the South, I often felt surrounded by enormous mountain ranges. Some peaks were intimidating, others soft and gentle.

After so many years away from photography, I even ruined five rolls of film while getting used to the camera again. But once I reconnected with it, everything began to flow naturally." That patience became central to the project.

Many photographs required him to revisit the same location two or three times, waiting for the perfect light and conditions rather than settling for convenience—a working method rarely seen in today's instant digital culture.

Black-and-white street market in Thailand under power lines, with signs for Trang, Satun, and Little Penang.

Black-and-white railroad tracks lead into a steel bridge through palm trees, with 120 and 100 signs nearby.

Black-and-white view of a large stilted wooden building with tiled roof and palm trees in front, empty courtyard.

Architecture as Cultural Memory

If mountains became the emotional backdrop of the exhibition, architecture became its language.

For Chaiyos, buildings are never merely structures. They preserve stories of faith, craftsmanship, and identity.

Among the exhibition's highlights are photographs of the Abbot's Quarters at Wat Chontharasinghe in Narathiwat—a Buddhist temple located in Thailand's Muslim-majority south that reflects remarkable local craftsmanship—and the striking European-style Red Pavilion on Tang Kuan Hill in Songkhla, a little-known historical landmark unfamiliar even to many Thais.

He deliberately avoided obvious viewpoints, instead photographing ordinary streets, quiet buildings, and overlooked corners where light, shadow, and everyday life reveal histories often missed by passing visitors.

"I want people to recognize the value of Southern Thailand beyond its famous landmarks," he says. "Especially Southerners who have moved to Bangkok. I hope the younger generations will look back at their roots and appreciate the richness of where they come from."

Why Film Still Matters

In an age dominated by digital photography, Chaiyos chose one of the medium's most iconic cameras: the Hasselblad XPan panoramic rangefinder.

Its distinctive 24×65 mm panoramic format creates expansive compositions that digital cameras struggle to replicate naturally. More importantly, the slower pace of shooting encouraged deliberate observation rather than rapid image-making.

More than 50 rolls of film were used to create the exhibition's 114 photographs.

Every negative was developed and printed using international-standard darkroom techniques by Srisuphat "Big" Satiansri, founder of Min Black and White Darkroom and Chaiyos' longtime friend of more than three decades.

Their collaboration reminds visitors that every photograph is the result not only of artistic vision but also of craftsmanship, patience, and friendship.

Row of weathered stone guardian figures carved into a temple railing, black-and-white, with repeating solemn faces.

More Than a Travel Photography Exhibition

The Road to the Golden Peninsula isn't simply a travelogue.

It asks viewers to reconsider Southern Thailand through a slower, more thoughtful perspective—one where landscapes coexist with memory, architecture becomes cultural evidence, and everyday scenes carry extraordinary emotional weight.

Inspired by Marcel Proust's belief that true discovery comes from seeing familiar places with new eyes, Chaiyos' photographs encourage visitors to rediscover a region many thought they already knew.

Rather than documenting destinations, the exhibition documents relationships: between people and place, photographer and subject, tradition and modernity, and ultimately between memory and home.

Visitor Information

Exhibition: The Road to the Golden Peninsula

Artist: Chaiyos Pinpradab

Venue: Curved Wall, 5th Floor, Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC), Bangkok

Dates: July 28 – August 9, 2026

Opening hours: 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM (Closed Mondays)

Admission: Free

More information: https://www.facebook.com/cpinpradab

[PHOTO: Courtesy of FYI]