Picture by Si Yaek Huatakhe Cafe & Guesthouse on Facebook
Looking for the old-time charm of Bangkoks canal life and local people, who are taking care and rejuvenating it? Then Hua Takhe Old Market ตลาดเก่าโบราณหัวตะเข้ along Khlong Prawet Burirom in Lat Krabang district and near Suvarnabhumi Airport is worth a day trip. The community was established after the canal was built during the reign of King Rama V for transports of goods to the Eastern provinces. Luang Prot Than Liam Community got its name from the landlord who donated his land, later the name changed to "Hua Takhe" (หัวตะเข้), meaning "crocodile’s head", referring to a crocodile’s skull which was found in the middle of the intersection of the canals.
Khlong Prawet Burirom and Si Yaek Huatakhe Cafe & Guesthouse
Almost a hundred years ago, Hua Takhe market was a major trading location for the communities living nearby. And it was the home of rice mills and wooden-boat builders. Wooden terraced houses were built on the banks of the khlongs, with a wooden patio and a wide walkway, that could be used for docking boats, trading and shipping. But when the transport traffic turned to the streets, it lost its function and its decline began. Many houses were abandoned. In 1994 a fire destroyed around 150 houses south of the khlong, but the houses on the north side have survived.
Street art at Hua Takhe market: Hua Takhe means crocodile's head
But in recent years a group of locals has worked to reinvigorate the area. They formed Hua Takhe Lovers Community Group กลุ่มชุมชนคนรักหัวตะเข้ (see their Facebook page). Local residents joined with teachers and students from nearby College of Fine Arts and created a lot of new activities and also many attractive retro-vintage subjects for photographers or instagrammers.
Sit and chill at the café of the guesthouse
Today cafés along the khlong attract customers, together with dessert shops, shops selling groceries and noodles, and there is also a barber’s. The old wooden houses have been filled with new life. Si Yaek Huatakhe Cafe & Guesthouse สี่แยกหัวตะเข้ (Facebook page) even got the Art and Architecture Conservation Award by the Association of Siamese Architects in 2016. Chavalit Satthamsakul, who was born not far from the market, rented and renovated the two-storey shophouse. "I like this area very much. It is very peaceful. Just sitting by the canal with my cats makes me feel relaxed," he told Bangkok Post. His guesthouse offers two rooms on its first floor.
Chinese pastry
Na Lat Krabang Café ลาดกระบัง is popular by students (Facebook page). On the first weekend of the month an art market takes place, where students exhibit and sell their art work and seek inspiration. Baan Sarm Khru is an art gallery. Most of the paintings are the work of art students and the owner, who is an art teacher (Open: Saturday and Sunday). Who needs a souvenir, may choose a small wooden model boat - remembering the traditional boat building craftsmanship along Bangkoks khlongs. Or you can join workshops by Veera Chaemsai, a leaf kite maker. He collects the leasves from trees like the ton chongko (orchid tree) or pho thale (portia tree) and presses them in a heavy book for some months. Then he attaches a 1m-long tail made of kite papers.
Nearby the market you find a lot of crocodile graffiti from a couple of years ago, when graffiti artists came together for a street art project.
Framemaker shop at Hua Takhe market
Not too many foreign tourists have found Hua Takhe Old Market so far, although it's not too difficult to get there: Go with Airport Rail Link, get out at Lat Krabang station, take a songthaew share taxi to Soi Lat Krabang 17 (17 ลาดกระบัง), the entrance of the market. Here you walk through the bustling local fresh market, turn left at the end of the soi and reach a bridge across Khlong Prawet Burirom. Nearby is also Hua Takhe railway station with local trains to Hua Lamphong station (from Hua Lamphong take the route to Chachoengsao, Kabin Buri or Prachin Buri).
Sweets at Café aux Fleurs
On the way to the old market you may stop at Ha Heng Tua Shrine โรงเจฮะเฮงตั้ว. The statue of Pae Kow depicts a Chinese monk who travelled to Thailand around one hundred years ago. A big festival is organised every year to worship the statue. See video von Youtube.
Classic barber's shop
274 Bed and Brews Guesthouse, see booking.com and Facebook. They have three rooms between 700 and 1,100 Baht.
Art at the guesthouse
Chinese temple
Read also:
Rustic canalside community reborn as peaceful art market
Hua Ta Khe provides nostalgic respite
Sleepy community wakes up
Ever seen a swimming cat? At Hua Thake market not a rare sight, as this video documents:
The Hua Thake cat has also a Facebook page.
