During our brief stay in Bangkok prior to visiting Laos and Burma, I made this image of a decorated rice barge because of the way its colors work as expression. I include four different zones of color in this image. The predominant color is a deep reddish brown, the color of the hull itself. It is accented by a subtle blue stripe at the bottom, with handsome copper trim at top and also functioning, as the two incongruous “eyes.” And finally, there is the vivid mass of colors in the Thai decorations that hang from the prow. It is as if an exotic headdress has been draped over the forehead of the barge. All of these colors add up to express a sense of celebration. And that is what this rice barge is now used for – carrying visitors up and down Bangkok’s Chao Phraya River every evening and serving them festive dinners of Thai delicacies. These colors fit both its mood and mission.