The Ghost Tower looms over the Bangkok skyline as a silent monument to the 1997 financial crisis. This abandoned skyscraper, officially known as Sathorn Unique Tower, stands unfinished and skeletal amidst the bustling city. In this narrow alleyway, a murky puddle serves as a liquid mirror for the concrete giant. The reflection captures the tower’s repetitive balconies and a massive, vibrant Apple billboard featuring a boxer. This creates a sharp contrast between the decaying architecture and the polished commercial world of modern Thailand.
While the main streets roar with traffic, this spot offers a quiet, surreal perspective on urban life. The water ripples slightly, distorting the image of the tower and the sky. You can feel the tension between the forgotten past and the fast-paced present.
This photograph invites viewers to reconsider the familiar. By using a puddle as a reflective surface, the image reveals an entirely different version of the city. One that exists only for a moment and only from a particular perspective.
Here the photograph has been printed and displayed as wall art.
As an alternative, I also composed a shot at the same location from an eye-level point of view.
Photographer’s Note
“I spent nearly an hour scouting this specific alleyway after a heavy downpour. I wanted to find a way to frame the Ghost Tower (Sathorn Unique Tower) that felt different from the usual skyline shots. I crouched low to the wet pavement to get my lens as close to the water as possible. The reflection actually looked much clearer than the real sky that day. I loved how the boxer on the billboard seemed to be staring straight out of the ground at me. It felt like I was looking into an upside-down version of Bangkok where the ghosts of the past are more visible than the reality above. Since taking this photograph, this alley has been completely resurfaced, and these puddles no longer exist after a rain shower.”
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