Talat Klong Sip Song Hok Wa in Lam Luk Ka, Pathum Thani

[PeteC]

A very good dose of "Thailand of old", a few dozen great photos at link.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/life/social ... me-and-see


Talat Klong Sip Song Hok Wa in Lam Luk Ka, Pathum Thani, has long passed its heyday yet its past glory is not all gone.

'But why? There's nothing to see there. Are you looking for a filming location?" asked the old lady at the roadside food stall when she knew that after the lunch my friends and I were going to Talat Klong Sip Song Hok Wa, a nearby waterside community so named because it is located at the point where Hok Wa and Sip Song canals cross.

Formerly a bustling market area, the place in Lam Luk Ka district of Pathum Thani has been a ghost town for decades. Not many people live there anymore, let alone outsiders visiting, except for film crews in need of a nostalgic location and cycling groups dropping by for refreshments at Tia Yong Lii coffee shop, one of the few businesses in Talat Klong Sip Song Hok Wa that keeps it from being completely dead.

"Nope, we just want to look around and maybe take some pictures," I replied with a smile.

Not long after leaving the food stall, we made it to the former market, which dates back to the late 19th century during the reign of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) when Hok Wa and Sip Song canals were excavated. The two waterways were part of a grand irrigation scheme that successfully turned the vast land between the Chao Phraya and Nakhon Nayok rivers into a major area for the production of rice, one of Siam's top export products.

The irrigation project began with the digging of the 56km-long, 16m-wide, east-to-west Klong Paed Wa connecting the said rivers. The word paed means eight and wa is a traditional measurement unit equalling 2m. Eight wa is the equivalent of 16m, hence the name.

The canal was later called officially Klong Rangsit Prayurasakdi, after a young son of King Rama V whose mother was a daughter of Prince Sai Sanitvongse who was overseeing the project. Running in parallel to Klong Rangsit are two six-wa wide canals, namely Klong Hok Wa Sai Bon to the north and Klong Hok Wa Sai Lang to the south. Hok, by the way, means six.

Stretching from north to south between the two Hok Wa canals are many minor channels that bring water to the inner areas. Klong Sip Song (canal number 12) is one such waterway. Due to the rise of motorised land transportation, the point where Klong Sip Song meets Klong Hok Wa Sai Lang is no longer filled with boats and their namesake market, which used to be crowded, is now almost deserted. It is still called a market (talat) though.

We walked along the roofed road that runs through the length of the century-old community on the south bank of Klong Hok Wa. The rows of wooden shophouses flanking the road were generally in a sorry state. Many units have obviously been abandoned for years. Only a few still served as homes.

Finally, after 200m or so we finally reached Tia Yong Lii which sits by Klong Sip Song that cuts the elongated community into two zones. After finishing our coffee, we strolled across the arched wooden bridge to the other side of Klong Sip Song. The shophouse rows in this part are shorter than the west side of the bridge but the wooden structures are better maintained. We found a snooker club, a herbal medicine shop, and hardware store and another coffee shop. However, unlike Tia Yong Lii, these are not real shops. They are film sets for rent. The studios are run by two operators and both did not mind when we asked to have a look inside their properties.

I wish I could stay longer, just chilling and soaking in the atmosphere. But we had other places to visit, too.

While walking out of Talat Klong Sip Song Hok Wa, I asked one of my friends if he thought this old community would be of interest to travellers.

"It depends," he said. "For some people, even the Louvre Museum has nothing interesting to see."

TRAVEL INFO

- Klong Sip Song Hok Wa Market is located in Pathum Thani Province, near Lam Luk Ka Hospital which is located on the other side of Hok Wa Sai Lang Canal. From Bangkok’s Sai Mai area east of Don Mueang Airport, take Road 3312 eastward past the town of Lam Luk Ka and its namesake hospital, which is 16km further down the road. About 200m from the hospital, turn right onto Lam Sai Road and up the bridge that spans over Hok Wa canal. As soon as you get down the bridge turn right into the first soi and find a spot to park your car. From there you can walk to the century-old riverside community.

- In case you use Google Maps, find the direction to Tia Yong Lii, the market’s only surviving original coffee shop. Here’s its location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/F8q9nyuL3DGrT1YB7.

- You can also search for the shop’s page on Facebook.