# Artikel bangkok post: Chinatown **URL:** \ **Category:** Het laatste Thailand nieuws\ **Created:** [10 mei 2009 om 07:35 UTC](https://forum.wereldwijzer.nl/t/artikel-bangkok-post-chinatown/54219 "2009-05-10T07:35:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Krung\_Thep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5e925/32.png) [@Krung\_Thep](https://forum.wereldwijzer.nl/u/Krung_Thep)\ **Post date:** [10 mei 2009 om 07:35 UTC](https://forum.wereldwijzer.nl/t/artikel-bangkok-post-chinatown/54219/1 "2009-05-10T07:35:30Z")
**Intriguing ethnic enclaves** By: Text and photos Yvonne Bohwongprasert Published: 7/05/2009 at 12:00 AM Newspaper section: [Horizons](http://www.bangkokpost.com/advance-search/?papers_sec_id=5) Pulsating with energy and life, Bangkok’s Chinatown rarely sleeps. One of the oldest parts of the city, it takes its name from that of its main artery, Yaowarat, a road which winds through Samphanthawong district, its contours bearing an uncanny resemblance to that of a dragon’s body. Typically thronged with shoppers and diners until late at night, it is one of the largest and most prosperous ethnic-Chinese communities in Thailand. A rabbit warren of sois and even narrower alleys called trok, it is packed with small businesses and streetside stalls and boasts what is probably the greatest concentration of gold shops in all of Southeast Asia. Wholesaler merchants deal in everything from bags, toys and flip-flops to household appliances, herbs and traditional supplies and decorative items for Chinese festivals. Part of its allure is the fact that it has largely escaped the attention of high-rise developers and still boasts many century-old shophouses. In a rundown old cafe’, whose walls look like they haven’t had a lick of paint since the day the place opened for business, one can sip weak jasmine tea or freshly brewed o-liang coffee under a grimy ceiling fan and eavesdrop as elderly men of Chinese ancestry gossip away the afternoon. On the same street one might find a traditional barber’s shop where cut-throat razors and other primitive-looking tools are still in use. Yaowarat also boasts several large Mahayana Buddhist temples, popular with pilgrims, and a host of colourful shrines dedicated to various Chinese deities. After dusk, the area is thronged with diners since it boasts some of the best hawker food and the most expensive gourmet Chinese restaurants in the whole city. The variety on offer is truly amazing. A short walk away is Phahurat, Bangkok’s Little India, a community of predominantly Punjabi extraction, Hindus and Sikhs who set up homes and businesses along a road laid in 1898 and named after Somdej Chaofah Phahurat Maneemai, a son of King Rama V. The busy, open-air market along Chakkraphet Road is a rich tapestry of Indian restaurants, traditional fabric shops and retailers flogging everything from incense and the latest Bollywood movies to spices and pulses imported from the Sub-continent. Here, too, is Sri Guru Singh Sabha, a beautiful, six-storey Sikh temple which was completed in 1932. Soi Pratu Lek Yai, near the recently opened India Emporium shopping mall, is a great place to check out the sights and sounds of this close-knit neighbourhood. > **[Bangkok Post - The world’s window on Thailand | Breaking news, Thailand news,...](https://www.bangkokpost.com/)** > > All the latest top stories and breaking news. Thailand’s most credible source of Thai and international developments. In-depth business and political news, leading Lifestyle trends, broad international sports coverage, plus English language learning Chalermphrakiat Arch, the symbolic entrance to Chinatown, is a popular congregation point for people celebrating the lunar new year. > **[Bangkok Post - The world’s window on Thailand | Breaking news, Thailand news,...](https://www.bangkokpost.com/)** > > All the latest top stories and breaking news. Thailand’s most credible source of Thai and international developments. In-depth business and political news, leading Lifestyle trends, broad international sports coverage, plus English language learning Bangkok Bank opened its very first branch in Soi Mangkorn, a narrow lane in Chinatown that is also the site of Tang Toh Kang, a 130-year-old gold shop which houses the only private museum in the city dedicated to the art of goldsmithing. > **[Bangkok Post - The world’s window on Thailand | Breaking news, Thailand news,...](https://www.bangkokpost.com/)** > > All the latest top stories and breaking news. Thailand’s most credible source of Thai and international developments. In-depth business and political news, leading Lifestyle trends, broad international sports coverage, plus English language learning A wide variety of food is sold from stalls along Yaowarat, with vendors often at their busiest after 9pm. > **[Bangkok Post - The world’s window on Thailand | Breaking news, Thailand news,...](https://www.bangkokpost.com/)** > > All the latest top stories and breaking news. Thailand’s most credible source of Thai and international developments. In-depth business and political news, leading Lifestyle trends, broad international sports coverage, plus English language learning Sae Lao Jin Seng, one of the longest established bakeries in Chinatown, specialises in desserts for traditional Chinese wedding ceremonies. > **[Bangkok Post - The world’s window on Thailand | Breaking news, Thailand news,...](https://www.bangkokpost.com/)** > > All the latest top stories and breaking news. Thailand’s most credible source of Thai and international developments. In-depth business and political news, leading Lifestyle trends, broad international sports coverage, plus English language learning Shrine to Guan Yim, revered as the goddess of mercy, at the Thian Fah Foundation which was established by Chinese immigrants in 1902 to offer free medical treatment to poor people. > **[Bangkok Post - The world’s window on Thailand | Breaking news, Thailand news,...](https://www.bangkokpost.com/)** > > All the latest top stories and breaking news. Thailand’s most credible source of Thai and international developments. In-depth business and political news, leading Lifestyle trends, broad international sports coverage, plus English language learning A stone’s throw from the Charoen Krung/ Yaowarat junction is Wat Trai Mit. Busloads of tourists flock here to pay their respects to a Buddha image made from five and a half tons of gold and thought to date back to the Sukhothai period > **[Bangkok Post - The world’s window on Thailand | Breaking news, Thailand news,...](https://www.bangkokpost.com/)** > > All the latest top stories and breaking news. Thailand’s most credible source of Thai and international developments. In-depth business and political news, leading Lifestyle trends, broad international sports coverage, plus English language learning Erected in 1932, the Sri Guru Singh Sabha Temple is both a place of worship and a sanctuary for the destitute; free meals are served here every day > **[Bangkok Post - The world’s window on Thailand | Breaking news, Thailand news,...](https://www.bangkokpost.com/)** > > All the latest top stories and breaking news. Thailand’s most credible source of Thai and international developments. In-depth business and political news, leading Lifestyle trends, broad international sports coverage, plus English language learning The interior of Aea Sae, a traditional coffee shop which has been doing brisk business for 70 years now and a row of gold shops in the heart of Yaowarat. > **[Bangkok Post - The world’s window on Thailand | Breaking news, Thailand news,...](https://www.bangkokpost.com/)** > > All the latest top stories and breaking news. Thailand’s most credible source of Thai and international developments. In-depth business and political news, leading Lifestyle trends, broad international sports coverage, plus English language learning A fabric vendor at Phahurat Plaza gets comfortable while waiting for her next customer. Indian accessories are also available \*Bron: Bangkok Post / [www.bangkokpost.com](http://www.bangkokpost.com) \*