Chinatown Take Two

Coming out of Ban Baat – aka, Monk Bowl Village – I had two options – either retrace my steps and head back via the khlong boat or continue down Thanon Boriphat and head back home through Chinatown. Since I’m on my “farewell tour” I decided to enjoy another onslaught of the crowded and frenetic world of Chinatown and head back via the subway.

Further down Thanon Boriphat, the wood stores ended and were replaced by stores selling auto and motorcycle parts.

But, then I turned the corner onto Thanon Charoen Krung – the main drag – and ran into full-on Chinatown – curb-to-curb traffic, tiny shops crammed into every available square foot of space, people selling cell phones on the sidewalk, etc.

But even in the middle of the non-stop commerce, there were still moments of quiet and color.

After about 15 minutes I popped out of the crush at the opposite end of Charoen Krung and into the relative calm of Hua Lamphong Station, where I could get the subway and where this kid was trying to drum up an audience for his breakdancing.