Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
it has only three, the fourth being impractical because of the India Emporium, which ad-
joins the structure on the eastern side. The gurdwara is more than a temple, it is a self-
contained community centre that includes a clinic, kindergarten, function rooms, and the
traditional
langar
hall where vegetarian food is served as an act of hospitality and freely
available to anyone.
Although the Sikhs form the majority of the population in Pahurat, which is now re-
garded as the centre of Thailand's wholesale and retail textile business, this is also the
home of Hindus and Muslims, and is one of the most densely packed districts in Bangkok.
The pavements are almost impassable at weekends, but even the pavements seem relat-
ively clear when the alleys that run through Pahurat market are explored. Lined on both
sides by textile shops and stalls, some are barely wide enough to allow two people to pass.
But here one is in an Indian bazaar. here is Indian music, the smells of Indian spices
and cooking, and of course the textiles and garments that can be purchased are dazzling
in their variety and cheapness. Here too is chunky Indian jewellery, pictures of deities,
and household shrines. Tiny restaurants serve food at prices that are next to nothing, and
Bangkok's oldest Indian restaurant, Royal India, opened here half a century ago in the al-
ley opposite the shrine to the Chinese goddess of mariners, San Chao Mae Tuptim, built
by Fukkien Chinese who plied between Bangkok and South China. First registered as a
place of religion in 1917, the shrine was destroyed during the Allied bombing and rebuilt
in 1955.
A remnant of the original days of Ban Yuen is still here. Wat Dibaya Vari, to be found
down a small alley behind the Nightingale-Olympic Department Store, was built in 1776
by Mu Thien Su, an ethnic Chinese immigrant from Vietnam. The temple was later aban-
doned, after the Vietnamese had left, but was renovated by a group of Chinese immigrants
who settled here in the time of Rama
V
. A fire later badly damaged the temple and it was
rebuilt after World War
II
. In the past few years it has been completely rebuilt, and given its cramped surroundings
is surprisingly large, rising to a height of four storeys. Inside is an image of Kuan Yin, the
goddess of mercy, and figures of several other Chinese deities. The name of the temple
means “holy water” after the well above which it was built.
