Phahurat Market
During Ning’s and my last trip to Thailand we had our Thai wedding. To get wedding favors we went to Bangkok Chinatown Phahurat Market. This part of Chinatown is know for fabric and wedding stalls. There was allot to pick from there.
To the left you can see some of the many stalls that were setup for everyone to shop at. There were row after row of these. You can go to different parts of Chinatown to find many different things. You can see many historic buildings through out Chinatown too. 14 % of the building are designated as historic buildings.
To the right you can see the size of the crowd that was there that day. It was late December and everyone was out getting their New Years gifts. To say the crowd was large is really an under statement. It was just jam packed to be honest. Thai police were on bull horns warning everyone to watch out for pick pockets. We did not have any problems there at all. Really all one really needs to do is use some good common sense and you should be alright. To the left is in one of the cross roads. The crowd was not bad there. But when you went down the of the smaller streets it was packed with people. It would get so packed that you had to really watch were you wanted to go. If you did not watch you would get rush past the place you wanted to stop at.
It is only a very small part of Chinatown. In the early 1780’s the Chinese merchants were originally moved to this area when Bangkok was settled. China town is best seen on foot. It really is the only way to see it because the street size is very small. Sampaeng Lane used to be China towns main street. It is not big enough even to have a car go down it. When the venders bring in their products by car or small van, every one must get off of the road to let them pass.
You can go to Wat Traimit. It is a small temple at one end of Chinatown. But it houses the worlds largest solid gold Buddha image. At five and a half tons, the 15-foot tall seated image is worth in the neighborhood of US$14 Million. The Golden Buddha is an excellent example of the gracious Sukhothai style that is still very much in favor to this day. It was cast sometime in the 13th century.
Chinatown is also one of the best places to go gold shopping. Tang To Gung gold shop on Sampaeng Lane is also one of the many historic buildings in Chinatown. Yaowarat Road is lined with many gold shops. You can find just about anything you would like in Bangkok Chinatown.