Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
down this odd little country lane is assumed to be lost, and along with the smiles and
waves there will be offers of help and even of food and drink from residents sitting in
their gardens. A landmark on the right-hand side, not far from the station, is the Suan
Phlu Mosque, marking one of about twenty Muslim communities in Thonburi, descen-
ded mainly from the communities that had existed in Ayutthaya or from prisoners of war
brought back by Taksin from his campaigns in the east and the south. Off to the left is a
maze of little lanes, with a few old and rather splendid houses behind high gates, a huddle
of more modest dwellings, and a couple of neighbourhood temples. One of these, Wat
Kantathararam, was privately endowed. There is a plaque on the wall outside that says the
one-and-a-half acres of land were donated by a couple named Mr Kan and Mrs Chan in
1891, and that they and their children also contributed to the construction of the ordin-
ation hall. The family were successful farmers and traders, and when Talat Phlu station
comes into view a few minutes later, the name indicates at once what this area was: a betel
market. It was in fact the main betel market for Bangkok.
Talat Phlu is on the bank of the Bangkok Yai canal and can be traced back to the time of
Taksin, when Teochew people who had migrated from southern China settled in the area.
Farmers and traders, they cultivated plantations of piper betel, or
phlu
, which stretched
along the bank of the Bang Sai Gai canal, the Bang Waek canal, and other areas next to wa-
terways. Chewing betel was popular at that time, people using it during social occasions,
as a breath freshener, and to blacken their teeth, the height of fashion. The ingredients
were kept in little ceremonial boxes, and consisted of dried pieces of betel palm nut and
betel leaf folded into a cone shape and daubed with
poondaeng
, a paste of slaked lime,
turmeric and water. Some users added shredded tobacco leaves. Farmers paddled boats
loaded with betel leaves along the canals to the wholesale market at Talat Phlu, which
grew as Bangkok grew, and eventually occupied a long stretch of the canal bank.
The betel-chewing habit continued long after Taksin's time. It only ended during
World War
II
., when the government of Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram banned
the growing and trading of betel to put a stop to the random spitting by chewers that
soiled the city's streets, lanes and buildings with red stains. Talat Phlu ceased trading betel,
but the canny Chinese traders transformed it into a successful wet market. This has also
become one of Thonburi's most popular eating areas, famous for its traditional Teochew
food that can be found in countless little family-owned restaurants and food stalls around
the market and station. This reputation actually began many years ago, having gained con-
siderable ground in the latter part of the nineteenth century when King Rama
V
visited
Jeen Ree restaurant to sample its
mee krob
, a dish of crispy rice noodles stir-fried with
