Chinatown Bangkok was started when King Rama I decided in
1782 to establish the new capital Bangkok on the eastern bank
of the Chao Phraya River. The Chinese immigrants who were
originally settled in the area that is now the Grand Palace had
to move out to a strip of land a kilometre down the river.

The casual visitor to Chinatown would probably only have the
time and energy to cover the main street Yaowarat Road
where most of the activities are concentrated. The other road
of interest is Rachawong Road which is off Yaowarat Road.

Across the road from the train station is Traimit Road where
the famous Wat Traimit
or Temple of the Golden Buddha stands. This wat houses a 3 m
high Buddha made of more than 5 tonnes of gold!

Outside the main entrance of Wat Traimit is a traffic island on
which stands a huge Chinese arched gate, the Odeon Gate,
built in 1999 to mark the 72nd birthday of King Bhumipol, the
present king. This gate marks the start of Yaowarat Road and
the walking tour of the rest of Chinatown.

The street is lined with ubiquitous goldsmith shops, sharks’ fin
and birds nest restaurants, shops and vendors selling Chinese
herbal medicine, dried mushrooms, salted fish, roast duck,
Chinese calendars, almanacs and of course, lottery tickets. The
avid bargain hunter would have a ball a time browsing
through the shops and stalls.

Most of the bigger hotels in Chinatown are located along
Yaowarat Road. The most prominent however is the Grand
China Princess at the Ratchawong junction, right in the heart
of Chinatown, overlooking the old city and the Chao Phraya.

Fifty metres after turning into Rachawong Road you’ll
encounter a tall Chinese arch to a narrow soi on the left.
During the Lunar New Year in 2004, this soi, Soi Phalittaphon,
was renamed Soi Sun Yat Sen,
after the father of the Chinese revolution who visited
Chinatown Bangkok in 1908, during his tour of South East
Asia to raise money from the overseas Chinese for the
revolution.

Further along Rachawong Road is an even narrower soi to the
right. The soi is so congested that it’s barely passable to human
traffic. Packed with stalls on either side, it would take a very
determined shopper to weave his way through.

At the end of Rachawong Road is the Rachawong Pier on the
Chao Phraya River. If you are coming by boat, this is the pier
to alight and start your of Chinatown in reverse. If you have
arrived by road, you may wish to leave by boat for a change.

Chinatown Bangkok
is one of the old treasures in Tour Bangkok Legacies,
a historical travel site on renowned places preserved for
posterity, the momentous events surrounding these places and
the legendary figures who left these legacies in the landscape of
Bangkok. The author Eric Lim, a free-lance writer, lives in
Bangkok Thailand.

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8. Tags:
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