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| A few months ago, I had a
chance to explore the route of the one-day Walking Tour
of Chinatown, Bangkok, and found it quite interesting.
This area is one of the earliest Chinese communities
in Thailand. It bears a lot of interesting aspects-history,
architecture and commerce-which are worth promoting
as a valuable heritage. |
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Realizing this, the River
City Shopping Complex, the Tourism Authority of Thailand,
Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and Samphanthawong
District Office thus cooperated to launch this project
of Walking Tour. |
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Inside the Holy Rosary Church |
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Now follow me to
explore the route. From the starting point at the
southern end of the area which was formerly a commercial
centre and berths for junks and now is the River City
Complex, the first place you will find is the Holy
Rosary Catholic Church. It is called by the
local people as the Kalawar Church. The word Kalawar
is a corruption of Calvary, which is derived from
the name of the hill near Jerusalem where Jesus Christ
was crucified. It was built in 1897 in the Neo-Gothic
style of architecture. The colourful stained glass
of this church depicting stories from the Old and
New Testament is still in its original condition though
it is 105 years old now. |
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The beautiful stained glass
in the Holy Rosary Church |
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From the Holy
Rosary Church, turn left and continue walking for
a while, you will catch sight of the Siam
Commercial Bank, which is the first commercial
bank of Thailand run by Thais. Built in 1904 (in the
reign of King Rama V, 1868-1910), its architectural
style is of the Art Deco. Each gable is unique with
delicate patterns of stucco. The surroundings are
shady with a large bo tree and a banyan tree. |
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The principal Buddha
statue at
Pathum Khongkha Temple |
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| From the bank, turn left
and walk along the Sieng Kong Zone,
the oldest auto spare parts business centre in Bangkok,
you will arrive at Pathum Khongkha Temple.
Built in the Ayutthaya period, it was commonly known
as "Sampheng Temple". The present name "Pathum
Khongkha" was given by King Rama I (1782-1809)
when the temple was renovated for the first time. The
ordination hall houses a decorated principal image of
Buddha named Phra Buddha Mahajanaka in the posture of
subduing Mara. Mural paintings on the east wall depicting
the Buddha's victory over Mara were painted by the same
artisan who painted the Buddhaisawan Throne
Hall. At present, they have been restored to their perfect
condition. |
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A gift shop at
Sampheng |
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From the temple, walk to Wanit I Road and you will enter Sampheng
shopping centre, an old Chinese community
originally residing in the Grand Palace area but moved
to outside the city wall by order of King Rama I who
was establishing his capital at Rattanakosin Island
in 1782. Various kinds of goods, mostly for wholesale,
ranging from sewing instruments to souvenirs are available
here. The narrow street is usually crowded like a
marketplace. |
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Shops at Phahurat
shopping area |
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| Walk
on and on, you will come to the end of Sampheng and
face the intersection of Chakkrawat Road. |
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Shops at Phahurat
shopping area |
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| Cross the road to Siphon
Han and Phahurat shopping
area. There are plenty of jewellery shops in this area.
Moreover, cloths, ready-made clothes, cosmetics, souvenirs
and snacks are sold along the way. |
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An
electrical appliance store
at Khlong Thom Market |
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| Turn right into
Chakkraphet Road, on your right-hand side is the Khlong
Ong Ang Market where you can purchase almost
any kinds of toys. Next to it is Nakhon Kasem
Market, which is the retail and wholesale market
of machines and musical instruments. Adjacent to this
market is Khlong Thom Market where
thousands of consumers come daily to buy electrical
appliances and sundry goods. Everything here is believed
somewhat cheaper than elsewhere because the stall-owners
pay just a nominal rent to the metropolitan administration. |
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| These markets
are off Yaowarat Road, which was developed later than
Sampheng. But before long, as international trade started
to grow, this road became the first important business
centre in Bangkok. Roast chestnuts and imported |
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Wat
Mangkon Kamalawat,
a Chinese Buddhist temple |
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products, chiefly
from China such as fruits and foodstuffs are symbol
of Yaowarat. And if you feel hungry, there are many
choices of food stalls and restaurants to select from,
especially in the evening when it becomes a paradise
for gourmets. Furthermore, Yaowarat is an ideal place
for gold-lovers. Scores of gold shops here are famous
for their fine craftmanship and high quality.
And after indulging yourself in shopping, you can walk
through Mangkon Road for about 200
m to a Chinese temple called Wat Mangkon Kamalawat to pay homage to Chinese deities. This was once the
biggest Mahayana Buddhist temple in Bangkok. During
important festivals, like the Chinese New Year and Vegetarian
Festival, thousands of Chinese Buddhists flock here
to worship the Buddha. |
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The
gold Buddha image enshrined
at Traimit Temple |
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| Back on Yaowarat
Road, walk further for 320 m, you will notice the archway
of Traimitwitthayaram Temple (or Wat
Traimit for short) on your left-hand side.
The feature of this temple is the largest 5.5 ton gold
Buddha image in the world whose name is Phra Sukhothai
Traimit. This is an image of Buddha in the posture of
subduing Mara made of pure gold. In the old days, this
image was covered with plaster to hide it from the enemy
invading Thailand at the end of the Ayutthaya period.
Later, when the image was being moved to be enshrined
in a new vihara, the covering plaster was accidentally
broken, revealing the hidden radiance of gold. |
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The
King's Birthday Celebration Arch
at Odien circle |
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| From the temple,
go for a further 50 metres and on your right is The
King's Birthday Celebration Arch built by Chinese-
Thais to show their loyalty to King Bhumibol on his
72th birthday anniversary on 5 December 1999. On the
arch is written four big Chinese characters in the handwriting
of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, meaning "Long
Live The King". This area is called Odien circle.
It is the last point of this walking tour. Now walk
along the Charoen Krung Road back to the starting point,
the River City Complex. |
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A
pavement stall selling
Chinese house decorative items |
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| Though this route
is less famous than that around the Temple of the Emerald
Buddha and other routes nearby, it is worth exploring
because you will have a chance to witness the lifestyles
of local people and at the same time, you will enjoy
shopping and bargaining many items along the route. |
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Special
thanks to River City Shopping Complex, to Rev. Fr.
Joseph Suphakij Lertjitleakha of the Holy Rosary Church
and to Phra Ratrattanadilok of Pathum Khongkha Temple
for giving information to Thaiways- Ed. |
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