Banglamphu Stroll

Since it's my last Sunday here, I decided to go for a long walk through the Banglamphu area of Bangkok, just to have one last look around. I really like the old, two-storey buildings in this part of town – you get a sense of what life was like in Bangkok before the rest of the city went high-rise.

It’s also a part of town with lots of little streets and alleys. I liked this street sign – “Thanon” means “street,” so the rest of the sign is the name of the street. Can’t imagine having to say that address every time you want something delivered.

And because it’s Bangkok, I ran into a sidewalk market. I have never seen a city so into streetside markets – there are people selling stuff everywhere! Basically, you get a table or a blanket, set it up on the sidewalk, and you’re open for business. And you could buy pretty much anything – hack saws, sandals, auto parts, statues, ties, wrenches, jeans, whatever.

This part of town is also interesting because many of the canals (“khlongs”) that are paved over in the rest of Bangkok are still exposed here. Lots of small homes along the canals, with the back (or maybe the front?) doors of the houses opening onto the path along the canal.

Because it was Sunday, it was relatively quiet but there were still a few people out having lunch. Or making a delivery on a motorcycle.

There was a huge temple at the end of one of the canals. I couldn’t find a sign but, judging from my map, I’m pretty sure it was Wat Rachabophit. It was an odd temple, with lots of small buildings in different styles. No one was around so I just wandered around for a while, snapping photos. And it was cool that, even after almost six months here, there are still new sites to see.