Bangkok, City of angels and capital of Thailand
Bangkok History
Bangkok became the capital of Thailand after the former capital, Ayutthaya (60 km northwards) was ransacked by the Burmese in 1767 (for more information on this forgotten city, see our Royal Cities module). The general (and governor) of the province of Tak, General Taksin, had to flee Ayutthaya but later drove the rest of the Burmese army out of central Thailand. In 1770, he crowned himself King, and founded a new capital in the province of Thonburi on the western bank of the River Chao Phraya.
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The successor to Taksin, King Rama I (who later had Taksin bludgeoned to death) moved the capital to the east bank where it was easier to defend against the Burmese. He built the city on top of rubble brought by boat from the ruins of former capital Ayutthaya. The plans for the city were to follow, as close as possible, those of Ayutthaya. The Royal Palace and the nearby temples formed the heart of the city. The place that was chosen for the palace was already populated by a group of influential Chinese traders who had to be relocated to the south of the city, this later grew to be Chinatown.
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The many faces of Bangkok
Bangkok is now an enormous metropolis that covers over 560 square kilometres and has a population of more than 6 million. Bangkok is, alongside Singapore and Hong Kong, one of the most important Southeast Asian trade cities, and thus a very busy place. During rush hour, you’re better off not trying to go anywhere, because half of the city’s traffic becomes literally gridlocked, and there is no underground (for transport possibilities - see the Bangkok section on Transport in Thailand). If you really don't want to, you can visit Thailand without a (long) stay in Bangkok. Still, there are people who find Bangkok fantastic, and we’re amongst them. Why? On the plus side, amongst all this hustle and bustle you can do so many things. You can, for example, visit the peaceful teak wood suburb, accessible solely by boat. Or you can shop till you drop at the markets and stores. Or you can visit Chinatown for a true insight into these industrious traders.
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Khlongs
The history of the Khlongs
The area surrounding Bangkok has always been a swamp and the Chao Praya River forms the biggest waterway here. The canals in and around Bangkok, were created for a variety of reasons, and at a variety of times. In the 16th century there were already channels dug in the Chao Praya River to give shipping better access to and from the former capital Ayutthaya. The large meanders that the river course made on its way to the Gulf of Thailand were cut off by canals. The majority of waterways were created after Bangkok became the new capital. The most southern of the canals had to be filled in again because at high tide the city flooded with seawater.
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Almost all national (and with some fluctuation, international) trade was conducted on the water. Sjon Hauser said in her book “Spotlights on Thailand” that in 1850 more than half of the 400,000 residents of Bangkok lived on the water, in floating bamboo huts or in houses on stilts. Furthermore, moats were created for the defence of the city in the 18th century, after the example of the set-up at Ayutthaya and in the 19th century, for purely military purposes, a few longer canals were excavated by Chinese workers, traversing from east to west in the area west of the city. With the passing of the centuries irrigation of the surrounding farmlands and the expansion of trade mobility were prime reasons for creating new waterways as the city developed and grew. Bangkok employed Dutch water engineering experts (end of the 18th, beginning of the 19th century) to reclaim the swamp areas. After the Second World War, canal building in the swamp areas was intensified.
The ancient khlong atmosphere
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Nowadays not all khlongs are in use. Some of them have been filled in to improve land transportation. Still, parts of Bangkok have retained the old waterway atmosphere providing the opportunity for a relaxing outing. You could, for example, take the Khlong Bangkok Noi water taxi and travel the old river arm and see the original canal communities. The water taxi leaves from Tha (pier) Maharat, next to Silpakort University. Each journey costs about 20 Bhat and the further you go into the khlong the more beautiful the surroundings: wooden teak houses with gold-leafed Temples and colourful orchids cultivated in tiny gardens. This taxi service is provided by the so-called 'longtail boats’. These are brightly coloured, narrow boats, about 8m long, and equipped with huge motors (sometimes Japanese truck engines) with the propeller on a long shaft so that the boat can navigate shallow waters. You can of course, charter a longtail boat. These cost about 400-500 Bhat an hour at Tha Si Phraya. Make sure you agree the price before setting off.
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Practical river transport
If you really must travel during the rush hour, it's a good idea to take an express boat over the Chao Praya River to get somewhere. It's a bit hectic, but a lot less muggy than trying to travel over land.
Dinner cruises
You can have a wonderful meal in Bangkok on a dinner cruise in the evening. A few are named in the Lonely Planet book and it can be useful to make a reservation. We did a really nice cruise on a typical wooden ‘rice barge’ with gentle Thai music, fine service and lots of good food. This was not the cheapest (approx 1250 Bhat per person) but it was absolutely worth it.
Loy Nava Dinner Cruises Tel.437-4932 / 437-7329.
Comments from previous customers the Meijer family:
“We have returned from Thailand and would like to share our experiences. During our holiday we followed the advice offered on your website, and took a Loy Nava dinner cruise on the old rice boat. What a huge success; good food and fantastic service. We were also picked up and returned to our hotel, perfect.”
Bangkok, Royal Buddhist city
Grand Palace
You cannot fail to be impressed with the Grand Palace, it was designed in honour of the highly respected Thai royal household, and the (almost national) belief of Buddhism. The temple is actually the symbol of the Royalty. Even though the king doesn't actually live here today, as you walk around you’ll see gold leaf, mosaics and sometimes demonic statues; everything glisters and glitters! The complex is also architecturally very interesting. A good example of which is the "Chakri Mahaprasat" (Grand Palace Hall). This hall was designed in 1882 by an English architect, in the style of the Italian Renaissance, whilst keeping the traditional Thai architecture.
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Wat Phra Kaew
The neighbouring Wat Phra Kaew temple also has a special attraction - "The Emerald Buddha". This green statue is 75 cm high, and is regarded as the Royal Thai talisman. The statue is first mentioned in a legend dating from the 15th century, but the style of the statue fits those of the 13th and 14th centuries (Chiang Saen or Lanna periods). The statue is made of a sort of jasper or jade, and sports three cloaks, each season the statue wears a different robe. The king himself actually changes the robe in a special ceremony. The Thai people frequently visit the temple to offer lotus blossoms or burn joss sticks.
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Chinatown in Bangkok
As we said before in the history of Bangkok, Chinese immigrants have lived here since before Bangkok was made the capital. The Chinese have, since the 16th century, held important trading positions throughout Thailand (formerly called Siam), and also had an important political influence. The first two Kings were themselves half Chinese, and maintained regular contact with the Chinese elite. Even today, the Chinese have many key positions in Thai life. So why did so many Chinese immigrate to Thailand?
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In the 19th century, 10,000 South Chinese immigrated to Thailand (especially to the region of Bangkok) because business in Thailand was flourishing, and there was poverty in China as a result of the wars. The Chinese had very different ambitions to the Thais. They were not against working as paid labourers in a foreign city, where as the Thai people preferred not to move to Bangkok, but would rather remain an independent rice farmer. The latter also had other ambitions, and would rather be a civil servant or a monk (Sjon Hauser: Spotlights op Thailand, 1997, p 13). The Chinese turned more and more towards trading, retailing, the collection of taxes, and in later years banking.
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In the 19th century, the Chinese had fully integrated with the Thai's. They married Thai women, wore Thai clothes, and sometimes became monks in Thai temples. At the beginning of the 20th century, so many Chinese came to Thailand that the Chinese community (including the mixed blood Sino-Thai) started to segregate itself, with separate Chinese schools and Chinese newspapers. This occurred because a great many Chinese women had arrived and only married Chinese men.
In 1932, the ultranationalist Field Marshal Phibun Songkhram seized power in a coup and, following Hitler's example, saw the Chinese as ‘the Jews of the East’. During the Second World War, Phibun more or less collaborated with the Japanese. The Chinese gained a stronger economic position, because the European traders had packed up and left. The Sino-Thais could now take over sections of the economy, which had until then been predominately under European control, such as timber and tin trading, as well as banking. In particular the Chinese domination of banking was seen as very important because this capital was the key to financing the industrial development after the Second World War (Sjon Hauser- Spotlights on Thailand). After the Second World War segregation of the Chinese was no longer an issue. The large-scale immigration had stopped, and the moderate nationalistic politics, which demanded Chinese assimilation through, amongst other things, the requirement to take a Thai surname, had a calming effect leading to economic growth and stability.
Chinatown has remained active as an industrious trading centre in Bangkok.
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Walking through Chinatown
Chinatown is fantastic for people who like to rummage through (covered) markets and small fruit shops. Chinatown appears to be one great big market, where you can get everything from octopus, baby clothes, cuts of pork, to joss sticks. There are some streets in which all the shops sell just one type of product, like wedding clothes or religious articles. Nearly all shops have a shrine, which is nice to see. In Chinatown you’ll find both big, busy streets and picturesque little alleyways.
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