Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the new plot was an area of marsh next to the Saen Saeb canal, a location so remote that
even its owner had difficulty travelling there. The new road that ran alongside the land,
Ploenchit, petered out a couple of hundred metres east of the site, the land becoming
fields and swamp. The legation staff, comfortable in their Bang Kolaem homes, dreaded
the idea. The British sea captains, who were required to register their vessels with the lega-
tion, complained about the inconvenience. British subjects, who included Indians, Malays
and Burmese, faced lengthy journeys out into the wilderness.
But the Siamese government were very happy with the idea: ever since the initial
grumblings from Sir Ralph, they had begun to think what a splendid site the legation
grounds would make for a General Post Office. The British had established a Consular
Post Office in 1858 that handled mail for merchants and missionaries, sending the mail-
bags by diplomatic pouch to Singapore for forwarding, but this ceased in 1885 when Siam
joined the Universal Postal Union and started its own international postal service. The
first post office was located in a mansion belonging to Phra Preechakolkarn by the river on
the northern side of the second moat, but this wasn't very convenient for foreign custom-
ers or for transportation to the mail ships, whereas the British site was. Built in 1927 and
clad in dark stone, the General Post Office is a rather bulky attempt at Art Deco, a style
that had taken root in Bangkok through the building of Hua Lampong Station. Designers
of this period had absorbed Egyptian influences following the public interest in the open-
ing of King Tutankhamen's tomb in 1922, and this is apparent in the facade and in the styl-
ing of the two giant garudas above the entrance, sculpted by Corrado Feroci. A whimsical
statue of Rama
VII
, seated next to a perfect reproduction of a 1920s telephone, is in the
forecourt of the building.
Statue of Rama VII seated next to a 1920s telephone outside the General Post Office.
A tiny lane so narrow it is little more than a footpath runs alongside the General Post
Office, and along here is a row of ancient shop-houses that date back to the earliest days
of Charoen Krung. They are actually back-to-back houses, and between them passed a
narrow alley. With public access now from the lane only, the houses have become double
