Market Friday: walking around Sampheng market towards the old canal.

After walking around the old family house near Chinatown, I decided to go through Sampheng market towards the old canal. I walked along the main road (Yaowarad road) which was the last stretch of Chinatown. I’d like to observe old shophouses in contrast to newly modified and renovated shophouses. The original structure of these rows of shophouses had only two levels. The owners could apply for permission to modify these buildings. So, I would spot some modern houses with contemporary architecture and with four to five floors. Several old shops had disappeared after the completion of the renovation project.

Those old shophouses which could remain in renovated as they didn’t sell their houses to the development project’ s owners. So, it’s rather strange seeing newly painted shophouses and nearby old buildings. I wondered how these residents could put up with loud noises and lots of dust during the process of reconstruction. Some old people just didn’t want to move away from Chinatown as it has been their homes for since their grandparents’ generations. Those renters who had their leases ended a few years ago had a rough time as it wasn’t easy for them to find a new house around Chinatown at affordable prices.

Some families went to court and fight for their rights to live in the old houses. They never thought they would have to move away in their old age. I did interview the last residents of the last house which remained I renovated during the three years of court proceedings. In the end they had to leave as the judgement was in favour of the project’s owners. Most people who had to move out of these old houses usually had to move quite faraway; some had to live with their relatives.

Most of these renters had been living in the small shophouses for over sixty years at least. These houses were built over 120 years ago by King Rama V for Chinese immigrants to rent at very low fees. In this way, many hard working and entrepreneurial families could become rich and move to more middle class neighbourhood. But lots of these Chinese renters didn’t have high level of education so they found it difficult to climb up the social ladder. My elderly neighbour was unmarried and lived on her own in her later years. Neighbours kept her company and bought her food from time to time.

Several years ago, I went to visit her, I had no idea that all her brothers had passed away so she was on her own. The low rent made it possible for her to cope with her savings. People in these houses had been living there for three generations so it became like a small village where people looked out for each other. That’s probably why I felt very safe as a child running and cycling around this neighborhood. The elderly lady had to live with her distant relatives in a far away town. I was quite angry with the development project’s owner and those officials in the Crown Property who decided to sell this big piece of land. This decision was directly against the wish of King Rama V who wanted to help poor Chinese immigrants to start their new lives. I wondered how much commission these committee members got from this project.

I continued towards Sampheng market which used to be the most important ‘shopping mall’ in Bangkok twenty years ago. This market was like a natural extension of Chinatown which has become the hub for eateries, gold shops, imported dry food from China and a large wet market. Sampheng became the center for all household goods, textiles and fashion products. But during the last twenty years, cheap imports from China had drastically changed the structure of Sampheng. Most textile shops were gone and replaced by shops selling cheap Chinese goods. Many shops turned into gift shops, toy shops and accessories for fashionable items.

By the time I arrived there, most shops had already closed. In the old days, shops would be opening till 7pm as there were still shoppers walking around. Nowadays, the market became quiet around 4 pm, so they didn’t want to waste money on electricity bills and let their staff going home early. I felt rather sad for these shopkeepers and their staff. Making a decent living has become much tougher with more competition from cheap imports. So many lives had been unsettled by these sudden changes and uncertainty of future trends. I wondered what would happen to these people when AI and digital technologies became common features of our society. The government has no clue about potential future scenarios and the impact on majority of people. They would simply follow the trends and imported the technologies.

I walked through the narrow alley towards the bridge and the old canal. This area used to be very trendy among young people before the plandemics. There used to be several buskers along the bridge and youngsters came to take selfies and enjoy streetfood along the canal. The evening would become very lively with crowds walking along the canal. The lightings did make the ambience more appealing and lively. But things had changed after the long lockdown. Streetfood stalls and youngsters had disappeared. I couldn’t see groups of indies having cold beer by the canal. No more buskers performing along the canal either.

I had to accept all the unexpected changes as I realised that more changes could be expected before the end of this year. I had to enjoy what life has to offer in the moment instead of pining for the good old days. Some old graffiti could still be seen around the area. This section of the canal in Sampheng was still lively as there were restaurants dotted along the canal. Several Indian restaurants could be found along the north side while shops selling imported Indian spices including Hindu religious items seemed popular among superstitious Thai youngsters. This area was known as ‘little India’ as a Sikh temple was close by and Indian shopping mall was just across the main road.

It would be too late for me to visit those Indian shops so I went along the south side of the canal to observe any changes. A busy main road divided the canal into two distinct sections. The south side seemed to have fallen into decay. Lots of old graffiti were gone as they had been damaged by stormy weather and neglect by local authority. I liked to observe the old houses among the modified houses which reflected different changes in local residents. Richer people could afford to reconstruct and renovate their old houses.

The atmosphere was very quiet and lonesome. There were only a few shops opened for cold drinks and coffee. All the local tourists and trendy youngsters of yesteryears couldn’t be found. Street food stalls had migrated to more crowded locations. It was calming for me to have this quiet and slow walk along the canal. I stopped for some reflections on my life in relations to this abandoned tourist spot. Local residents would probably be glad to have peace and quiet atmosphere instead of noisy tourists laughing and taking loudly along the canal.

The trend has shifted to big entertainment complex and shopping malls where mini concerts were frequently featured to attract youngsters and tourists. Visitors preferred to be entertained with fireworks, celebrity fashion shows and live bands. The quiet and humble canal seemed to attract lonesome tourists and some lost tourists on their way to Chinatown.

It would have been nice if the local residents could be allowed to enjoy the evening by the canal by placing their chairs on the pavement. I could conclude that tourism along the canal had passed its zenith. The local authority should allow local residents to enjoy this space at the back of these houses. This would keep the area safe and lively in the evening.
I hoped that some positive changes would be forthcoming in the near future.

Wishing you peace, good health and prosperity.

Stay strong and cheerful.

#marketfriday created by @dswigle.

I hope Denise would be returning to post lovely photos of flowers in her new posts soon.