Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
out unexpectedly to reveal another European mansion, which is even more surprisingly a
mosque. The Luang Kochaid Sahark Mosque is the only mosque in Chinatown, and takes
its name from a native of Pattani province in Southern Thailand, who worked as a Malay
translator in Bangkok and who built the mosque for Muslim traders from the southern
provinces and from British Malaya.
Beyond the mosque is the turning for Yaowa Phanit Road, which leads into a network
of lanes that have been paved over to form a Walking Street (try telling that to the pickups
and motorcycles) and which again form a far more quintessential image of Chinatown. If
the walker follows the trail, he will come to Wat Samphanthawong, the temple that has
given its name to this immediate district. The temple pre-dates the founding of Bangkok
and originally stood on a mud bank surrounded by water, which is why it was originally
called Wat Koh, or Temple on the Island. Rama
I
renovated the temple in 1796 and up-
graded it to royal status, and the king's son, Prince Samphanthawong, renovated it in the
reign of Rama
III
, whereupon the temple took the prince's name. The image in the
ubosot
is made from a hollow log with a covering of lime, and its wooden arms have a gold layer.
There is an outstandingly beautiful teak house in the grounds.
As we head eastwards back towards the river we pick up Songwat Road again, passing
Wat Pathum Khong and, next to an attractive terrace of timber shophouses, we find the
Siang Gong Shrine, a name that translates roughly as “god uncle”. Immediately beyond the
shrine sprawls a district of streets and alleys that has become known as the Siang Gong
Zone and which is remarkable for the fact that it looks like a breaker's yard. Street after
street is piled high with engines, crankshafts, gearboxes, and everything you will ever find
in the innards of a motor vehicle. This had originally been a district of Hokkien black-
smiths and tinkers. Directly after World War
II
., with a large amount of vehicular scrap in
Bangkok and with shortages of new parts to build or repair vehicles, agricultural equip-
ment and boats, a few industrious Chinese families began to dismantle abandoned milit-
ary equipment and sell the components. The scrap that couldn't be used was melted down
and used to make other components. Thailand was industrialising fast, and demand began
to exceed supply, so Siang Gong began to import used car parts from Japan. Engines,
transmission shafts and spare parts were sent all over the country, the extraordinary junk
yard supplying the nation's buses, trucks, riverboats, tractors, generating sets, refrigerat-
ors, pumps, pile drivers, and, yes, the famous little tuk-tuks that have become a symbol
of Bangkok. This recycling of old equipment has kept costs down and been effective in
helping the country develop. Siang Gong these days also takes pride in its craftsmanship,
building engines that save fuel and cut down on emissions, and technical college students
