Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
been cleared, but right up to the end it was still possible to see the faded lettering above
the interior doorway, saying:
PLEASE ENTERTAIN HERE
.
On the southern side of Wat Yannawa is a row of shophouses, one prominent estab-
lishment making and selling vendors' carts, and several others dealing in marine engines,
paint and tarpaulins. At a gap in the row, through a modest gateway, and unexpected in
this urban setting, is a large dockyard. British entrepreneurs founded the Bangkok Dry
Dock in 1865, Captain Bush being one of the shareholders. Built to service sea-going cargo
vessels, the dock was conveniently sited for all the foreign ships coming into Bangkok, and
it became one of the most prominent businesses along the riverbank. The dock was re-
quisitioned by the Thai Royal Navy during World War
II
., and subsequently badly dam-
aged when bombed by Allied forces. After the war the dock was handed back to its British
owners, but the 45.7-metre (150-ft) timber-built No 1 dock had been almost completely
destroyed. A ferro-concrete replacement more than twice the length was built and there
are now two docks, handling vessels up to 4,000 dwt. The company shares were gradu-
ally bought up during the 1950s by Thai interests, which explains the name: The Bangkok
Dock Company (1957) Limited.
The end of the line for this tram at the former terminus of Thanon Tok.
And so you trudge on down Charoen Krung Road, beginning to realise what a long
road it is, and no doubt a spiffing place to drive one's horse and carriage. Over Klong Bang
Kolaem you go, where until the early 1940s, until it was washed away in serious flooding,
there was a thriving floating market. We are now in the old Western residential district of
Bang Kolaem, an area that grew up even before Charoen Krung Road was laid because (a)
everyone travelled by boat, and (b) there was nowhere else. But there is nothing left of this
now, except for a blank iron door set in a high wall.
The Protestant Cemetery, the final destination for so many members of the Western
community, owes its beginnings to Colonel William Butterworth, formerly of the Madras
Army, who became Governor of the Straits Settlements in 1843. Butterworth had become
friends with Rama
IV
before the king had ascended the throne, and in those days before
