Truth behind Chiang Mai’s Tha Phae Gate pigeon photo

Instagram influencers are obsessed with taking photos with the birds in Chiang Mai in Thailand, but what we see isn’t really what’s going on.

Tourists love a good photo op.

If you search any landmark or location on Instagram you’ll be met by a grid of hundreds of people taking variations on a similar theme.

There is a certain satisfaction to be gained when travelling from being “that tourist” taking “that photo” in “that place”.

The latest landmark to join the queue is Chiang Mai’s Tha Phae Gate. The medieval, red brick walls of the city in northern Thailand are a must-do photo op for backpackers and Instagram tourists.

Chiang Mai's Tha Pae Gate is now a photo op for tourists.

This photo doesn't occur naturally.

Here the favourite is a particularly dynamic pose behind an elegant flock of rock doves. But this doesn’t occur naturally, the New Zealand Herald reports.

Having grown fat and tame from feeding, the pigeons don’t take flight without a little encouragement. One enterprising local has decided to make a career out of helping out with bird-themed photography.

555555555555555555 😂😂😂
เมื่ออยากได้ภาพสวยๆ
เลยเกิดอาชีพใหม่ที่ประตูท่าแพ pic.twitter.com/oP955eCRDu

— Siravariety (@siravariety) August 20, 2019

Holding a white flag, the woman is paid to herd flocks of photogenic birds into their photos.

Twitter user @Siravariety shared a short clip of the woman in action, saying, “Because people want beautiful pictures, a new job has emerged at Tha Phae Gate.”

Local reporters, inspired by the “Bird woman”, tracked her down for local news outlet Khaosod.

Tourists pay the woman to herd flocks of photogenic birds into their photos.

Noon, a 30-year-old local, took to bird spooking after she left employment as a maid.

Foreign tourists chasing pictures will pay Noon between 20 and 30 bhat (around $1 to $1.50) to fling birds in their direction.

She says she makes about $15 a day, and her services are especially popular with Chinese visitors.

Speaking to reporters for Khaosod, she says it is putting her daughter through school.

We thought those seemingly spontaneous pigeon photos were too good to be true.

Proof that Instagram influencers have ruined everything👇

My hopes & dreams were shattered when I found out the “water” at the Gates of Heaven is actually just a piece of glass under an iPhone 😭 pic.twitter.com/oiahI5VCIo

— Polina Marinova (@polina_marinova) July 4, 2019

Recently, a tourist complained of feeling “catfished” by another southeast Asian landmark.

In July, Polina Marinova posted a picture from Bali’s Gates of Heaven showing a fabulously symmetrical infinity pool was “actually a piece of glass under an iPhone”.

This article originally appeared on The New Zealand Herald and was reproduced with permission

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