The Ultimate Chinatown—Bangkok!

We step off the boat at Ratchawong Pier and into a different world. Men push loaded carts down the road while ladies grill food at a stall. Buildings appear a generation older and the din on the street is pure chaos. I feel as if we've traveled back in time fifty years, but in reality we have just entered the Chinese district of Bangkok.
 
This area has been home to the Chinese community for over two hundred years when they were dislocated after King Rama I built a new palace. They moved downriver to the Sampeng area, occupying a large area roughly between the Chao Phraya River and Charoen Krung (New Road). This space is now densely packed with shophouses and street vendors, sprawling through a complex web of alleyways.
 

Sampeng Lane.

We turn right and enter Sampeng Lane, a very narrow alley congested with shops and merchandise spilling onto the walkway. There is so little room that we have to constantly turn side-ways as we pass the oncoming crowd. Ahead is an old blind lady with a contraption on her shoulders that holds a microphone, as well as a bucket for money. She sings a beautiful high-pitched song as she walks along the narrow passageway, but walks slowly and holds up the line.
 
Everything seems to be sold here: stuffed animals, toys, t-shirts, baby clothes, purses. Merchandise is stacked high and shade canopies hang over the doorways. Sometimes it is easy to forget that we are outside because the sky is but a fleeting suggestion above us.
 
We cross another bisecting street, this one a bit wider, but still packed with vendors. Many of these are selling street food. Skinny men with dark leather faces and gray hair push carts heaping with fresh vegetables. Ladies with aprons grill bananas over a charcoal flame or fry balls of dough in simmering oil.
 

Yaowarat Road.

A mess of wires over Yaowarat Road.

Not far away we arrive at Yaowarat Road, the main corridor through Chinatown. Here now we have vehicular traffic. Taxis and tuk-tuks vie for position. Perhaps there is enough space for two lanes of traffic, but it is a dog-fight to eek forward wherever you can. Tall signs in either Thai script or Chinese hang from the buildings. Electrical wires drape across the road.
 
Chinese influence on Thai culture has been immense. Since the fourteenth century the area of present-day Thailand has seen several waves of Chinese immigration and intermarriage to the point that there is Chinese blood in almost every Thai citizen, including the king. Chinese-Thai business interests play an enormous roll in the Thai economy. This is played out in Chinatown where real estate is some of the most expensive in the country.
 
It is interesting that Yaowarat Road is lined with over 130 gold shops. It is the world's largest market for hand-made gold ornaments, supplying demands in Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Europe and the United States. As curious tourists, we decide to step inside a gold shop to see what they are all about (obviously not to buy). No sooner do we enter the doors than a gentleman whisks us out, stating that we have to be members to enter the premise.
 

Hidden alleyway.

Running perpendicular to Yaowarat Road is another narrow alleyway. Vendors line both sides of the passage, standing behind tables topped with exotic spices, fruits and salted fish. Most of the tags are in Thai or Chinese and I don't know the name of anything. One man sells a variety tea, the dried herbs piled in bins. Alongside are a selection of tea kettles.
 
Walking down this lane is almost like walking through a tunnel with numerous cave-houses built into the side. I say that because this street is a narrow gap between buildings and the canopies of the vendors are drawn out, blocking much of the light. When walking past you will notice that some of the openings are portals into dark shophouses. It's like you are visiting an ant colony with so many people, so many smells and noises, yet all you can do is walk past and hope you can take in at least a portion.
 

Leng Buai Ia Shrine.

At the far end of our dark alleyway, we see an opening with the bright noon-day sun shining down. We explore this new open-space and find a courtyard to a Chinese temple. My first observation is the difference between this temple and the more traditional temples in Thailand that have white walls and multi-tiered orange roofs with golden lamyongs flaring from the ends.
 
This temple is in the Chinese style. The roof is made of glazed colored tile and on top are two stuccoed dragons facing each other. The columns in front of the entrance are also decorated with stuccoed dragons. Inside is a shrine with a sculpture of a man and his wife, along with other deity and a couple dozen figurines. A plaque informs us that this is an ancient Tae Chew shrine that is possibly 300 years old and the oldest Chinese shrine in Thailand.
 
Bangkok is a crazy jungle of urban confusion. You can find any surprise around the next corner. How many unexpected shrines like this can you find in Chinatown? Who knows? Walking down the street is like living in a choose-your-own-adventure book and at every junction you are faced with the decision: do I turn right or left, or keep going straight? Whatever decision you make will bring a new experience.
 

Wat Mangkon Kamalawat.

The sage on the left holds a parasol, the sage on the right a snake's head. 

After wandering through the maze of streets for another twenty minutes we come to another Chinese temple, this one bigger and more well-known than the last. It is named Wat Mangkon Kamalawat.
 
There are several shrines within this temple and many devotees kneel and offer obeisance. Incense flows to the sky. Citrus is offered at the alters. This is a Mahayana Buddhist temple, which fuses several ancient beliefs, including Confucianism and Taoism. Chinese lanterns hang from the ceilings and golden sages watch forbiddingly. Elsewhere in the compound are medicine stalls, booths selling devotional paraphernalia and a fortune-teller.
 

On the fringe of Chinatown.

Heaps of used machinery in Talat Noi, a section of Chinatown.

For our final four days in Bangkok we stay at a hotel overlooking the Chao Phraya River on the fringe of Chinatown. Squeezed between other drab buildings, the hotel is very inconspicuous and would be nearly unrecognizable as a place of accommodation without the green awning draped at the front. Just below our hotel, pretty much at the side of a parking garage, is a Chinese Temple. Outside hang red Chinese globes and inside I can hear people singing or chanting. I don't dare go in. The temple is very simple, and if you aren't right there, you won't even notice it. Nearby a small shrine displays several Buddhist figurines, as well as flowers and incense sticks. A small sign is in both Chinese and Thai.
 
The neighborhood around our hotel smells like grease. This is because they sell second-hand car parts here. Walking down the street there are heaps of metal, including engines and mufflers that belong to anything from cars to mopeds. It's like having the junkyard as close and convenient as the grocery store. Sometimes a couple men will be tending the heap by sitting next to it on a chair, smoking cigarettes and talking. Any foreigner who walks past will get a look of suspicion. This area is known as Talat Noi and used to be the site of ice factories, saw mills, rice mills and shipyards. Scraps from these places were collected and sold. Nowadays it is a center for used machinery and motors.
 

The Golden Buddha.

Also located on the periphery of Chinatown is Wat Traimit, a Thai-styled Buddhist temple that is home to the Golden Buddha—the largest solid gold Buddha in the world.
 
It is an interesting story of how the Golden Buddha arrived at Wat Traimit. The image was cast in the thirteenth century. During the rein of Rama III (1824-1851) it was brought to Bangkok, but to conceal its value to would-be thieves it was encased in stucco. It wasn't until 1955 when being transported to its current location at Wat Traimit that a crack in the stucco revealed the true nature of what lied beneath. It was then restored to its original glory.
 
The lustrous Golden Buddha sits on a white marble lotus-pad surrounded with offerings of lotus flowers. The Buddha sits with the right leg folded over the left; his left hand lies in his lap with the palm upward while the right hand rests on his knee with fingertips facing the earth. The statue weighs 5.5 tons and from weight alone is valued over ten million dollars. It is very fitting that the Golden Buddha would reside in Chinatown, home to one of the world's largest gold markets.
 

Yaowarat Road at night.

It is now one of our final nights in Bangkok and after a wild tuk-tuk ride we are back on Yaowarat Road. Neon signs flash overhead and below all traffic is at a crawl. The gold shops have all closed their doors and rolled down the metal gates, but now in front of them are vendors selling food. Trays with mounds of green and red chili peppers are on a table in the middle of a sidewalk. Next to them are buckets of rice and a cauldron for cooking noodles. A sweaty lady labors to cook food for the waiting crowd. Men sit on plastic chairs and enjoy a savory dish.
 
Trying to maneuver through the streets and around the traffic and stalls are throngs of people, shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip. I look below and there is a man with no legs moving alongside us. He carries a money purse across his shoulders and uses wooden blocks to grip as he walks on stump and hand across the sidewalk.
 

We find a small noodle shop and go inside for a bite to eat. It is a refreshing reprieve from the chaos of outside and we look at a menu that offers pictures for some of the dishes. Jenelle isn't hungry, but I order a bowl of fish-ball soup. It comes in a simple form. Along with a handful of bisected balls of fish are a few slices of greens and a modest amount of noodles. The fishy broth is smooth and hits the spot.
 
Our night is winding down. On our way to our hotel we stop at Odeon Circle. This is considered the gateway to Chinatown. A large roundabout marks the intersection of Yaowarat Road and Charoen Krung. In the middle of the circle is a huge red Chinese gate. It is ornate as is everything in Thailand, with Chinese letters on one side and Thai on the other. It was built in 1999 as part of the celebrations for King Bhumibol's 72nd birthday. It is now an icon in Bangkok. Below the gate are two lion statues made of white jade.
 
On the other side of the roundabout is another shrine. It is a small but ornate building with red columns and two Chinese globes hanging from the top. In front are tables set out with offerings. I can see people over there, one lady is lighting a candle or incense. It amazes me because it is close to ten o'clock at night and the city seems as alive as ever. ♠ 

Chinese gate at Odeon Circle.