Nap attack! Chiang Mai cops don’t like artist copping a snooze at tourist attractions

On Tuesday, Chiang Mai artist Norapat Kammart posted a photo of himself on Facebook.  In it, he was sleeping cozily with a pillow and blanket — in a busy crosswalk at a red light in front of loads of cars.

The curious image went viral. Social media users and local reporters thought it might be a statement or protest against traffic. As if to say, it takes so long to move, I might as well go to sleep here.

The image got so much attention in sleepy Chiang Mai that the police decided to do some investigating into the strange shot.

They discovered Norapat, an art student, and issued him a warning. They told the man that what he’d done wasn’t illegal but that it was dangerous and inappropriate, reported Chiang Mai City Life.

Once he had everyone’s attention, Norapat told the press that the single photo was part of a larger series, called “Sleep With…,” that shows him sleeping near a dozen of Chiang Mai’s landmarks and tourists spots. Some of the places that Norapat has slept around (pun intended) include Doi Suthep and Thapae Gate.

The artist told Coconuts that his professor asked him to go and take pictures at the dozen best-known tourist attractions in Chiang Mai and to make the pictures somehow reflect who he is.

“So I thought, sleeping is how I best represent who I am since I really love to sleep. The pictures I took are all connected to one another. They were all the landmarks in Chiang Mai. I am sleeping at each one of them. This proves that I am really capable of sleeping anywhere,” he said.

Once the local cops heard that, they went and issued a warning to Norapat’s art professor for assigning a dangerous project.

It all ended well though. Police said that if students need to take dangerous photos for their classes, they can contact the cops, who can help them to manage traffic during the shoot.



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