Another Day, Another Adventure

Walk 1: From Krung Thonburi to Wat Arun (new updates in March 2025!)

This half-a-day to full day walk splices together some of the hidden gems and dazzling jewels of the old city of Thonburi, formerly the capitol of Thailand. Besides savouring historic architecture and laid-back cafes along the riverside, it also provides an insightful look into the lives of the ethnic residents of Bangkok and how they coexisted in history and in harmony.

Thonburi, on the west bank of the Chao Phraya river, is, with the exception of the behemoth mega-mall called IconSiam, mostly forgotten in time. Thonburi can be easily accessed by taxi or by public transport, by taking the Silom Line to Krung Thonburi station and switching over to the newly-constructed Gold Line, a driverless light rail spanning just three stations and built largely to serve IconSiam (alight at Charoen Nakhon).

Photo credits: Wikipedia Commons

Krung Thonburi, named after King Thaksin’s old city founded on the west bank of the Chao Phraya river, is only visited by the occasional tourist. Perhaps its most famous piece of real estate is Wat Arun, or the Temple of Dawn, whose image is stamped on the Thai 10B coin.

After the sack of the ancient capitol of Ayutthaya by the Burmese in 1767, General Thaksin founded a new capitol in the south at Thonburi, loosely translated as a “fortress of wealth”. Thonburi was unremarkable as a city capitol during that time, functioning as a small garrison town. Because of how the Chao Phraya river once curved around the area in a horseshoe, it presumably gave rise to the modern name “Bangkok”, from the Thai word “Bang Ko”, meaning island village.

In 1782, after declaring himself as a divine figure and imposing harsh judgement on his subjects, King Thaksin was disposed off by General Phraya Chakri, who moved the capitol across the river to where the Grand Palace now stands. General Chakri, styling himself as Rama I, the first in the new Chakri dynasty, established the first city pillar in the vicinity at the precise time of 6:45am on 21 April, 1782. Since then, while the new capitol rapidly developed under the supervision of the lineage of Ramas, Thonburi’s development stagnated. Luckily for us, this backwater town retained much of its charm in the canals crisscrossing the city, earning it the nickname “Venice of the East”.

IconSiam is one Bangkok’s latest mega developments and spans an impressive eight floors, containing a dazzling array of shops, restaurants and entertainment venues. It is possibly a microsystem of commercial Bangkok, and a mecca for avid shoppers of all ages. One can easily spend an entire hour just browsing through the mall’s directory.

For those wanting a sanitised taste of Thailand’s local street food, a mockup of a traditional Thai settlement, complete with canals, riverboats and timbered housing, is situated at the ground floor. The stalls here sell small eats: a dessert there, a pastry here, and some local snacks. There is a particularly nice dessert stall just by the canal that sells fresh and fragrant tapioca balls with coconut milk and a host of other toppings.

Further in is the main food hall. This is Sook Siam, a place to find almost all types of sweet and savoury dishes: pork basil with rice, grilled river fish, gao moo or pork skewers, and the national dessert, mango sticky rice. On some months, there are special bazaars focusing on a certain type of cuisine or location: in March this year, the focus was on Andaman Sea, and hence there were a lot of stalls selling grill seafood such as lobster, large river prawns and salt-baked fish, but there were still the usual Thai fare such as oyster omelette, stewed pork leg, Pad Thai and other seasonal fruits such as durian (usually carrying the Thai species Monthong (Golden Pillow), which is a bit more fibrous, with small seeds and with almost no pungent aroma – to be fair, the ones we tried at IconSiam were probably not the best Thailand has to offer. Monthong is usually sold for around 150฿ per 100g – expect to pay around 500฿ for a decent-sized piece.)

While the choices are aplenty, the prices are naturally higher than those found along the streets. Behind the food market is a posh area called the Veranda, where expensive restaurants compete for a view facing the river.

On the upper floors are the big chain outlets such as Zara, H&M and Muji. A whole wing is given over to the Siam@Takashimaya store, itself spanning five floors, with a nice section called the Rose Dining (situated at the fourth and fifth floors)that is dedicated to high-end Japanese cuisine comprising a cluster of restaurants that offer everything from Omakase, Unagi, Tonkatsu (Katsukura is a Japanese favourite) to Shabu-Shabu.

IconSiam also has a two-story Starbucks complete with its own IconSiam merchandise is located right at the top (Update: in my latest visit in March 2025, I saw that Starbucks had shifted downstairs into considerably smaller dwellings). In between the floors are several themed sections called IconTech (offering massage chairs, electronics), IconActive (which has sportsware) and IconCraft (artisanal shops selling local handicrafts such as costume jewellery, earthenware and furniture). It also features IconLuxe, a high-end, expensive section just at the entrance that sees the likes of luxury brands such as Piaget, Patek Philips and Louis Vuitton setting up.

For some authentic Thai cuisine, head to Kub Kao’ Kub Pla on the fifth floor. It spices up local dishes with a twist (for example, Wagyu minced beef with basil). The taste is perfection and the ingredients are always fresh. As a bonus, its window seating faces the river so there is a nice view of the Bangkok city skyline as you tuck into your Tom Yam Kung, deep fried baby shrimp with betel leaves, and crispy fried sea bass with sweet sauce.

For some entertainment, head out to the promenade abutting the Chao Phraya river and catch the musical water fountain displays on the hour every evening. Even better, grab a cocktail at D’ARK, a restaurant and bar at the Veranda that sells excellent handmade pizzas and drinks, and watch the intricate water and laser show that lasts around 8 minutes. Some nights, there are even fireworks lighting up the night sky.

This mega-mall, which is now swarming with tourists (yes, large Chao Phraya river cruises such as Chao Phraya Princess start and end here so you can imagine the crowds) would give both Siam Paragon and CentralWorld a run for its money. Even the Isetan supermarket is packed with expensive sashimi, melons and strawberries, and miniature packets of delicate snacks, typical to those found in Toyko.

For those wanting less glamour, a short walk from IconSiam is the old Klong San Market, repurposed from an old train station of the same name. Stalls selling local cuisine, clothes and other bric-a-brac items are arranged along a long platform beneath a continuous zinc roof. Despite the lunch hour, most of the stores were closed or in the process of setting up. Klong San Market leads to the Klong San Pier, which has a shuttle ferry (5฿) to bring locals across to the right bank of the Chao Phraya River – to the River City Bangkok Art and Antiques Mall.

Further in, the dessert stall most blogged about, Bua Loy Khai Khem, sells Bua Loy, taro balls steamed in fragrant coconut milk. It’s supposed to be popular in this vicinity, but alas it was closed too when we were there.

Update: In our latest visit in March 2025, the permanent stalls on the left of the tracks, with the rounded blue roofs, were closed and dismantled, and the whole area could be slated for redevelopment. I’m not sure where all the stalls were moved to, but there were still some make-shift tables and carts selling clothing, toys and food around.

Making a left from the market, at the corner of Lat Ya Road, is a ship’s mast, conveniently plopped in middle of some low-rise office buildings. Erected after the signing of the Bowring Treaty to hoist the flags of ship owners arriving or departing Bangkok during the time when Rama IV opened up the city to foreign trade, this mast was originally located within the walls of the adjacent Pong Patchamit Fort but was then moved to the current location by the State’s Meteorological Department to indicate weather conditions. After the modernisation of the weather forecasting system, it ceased to function as a weather station and became associated with the residences behind it housing the Thai Harbour Department.

Walking past the mast and into Lat Ya 21 alley alongside a police station is the actual Pong Patchamit Fort, hidden within the compound of the Klong San District Office. Nicknamed the forgotten fort, Patchamit was initially built by Rama IV in a series of eight forts along the bank of the Chao Phraya river to offer protection to the city’s inhabitants. The fort fell into disuse and was subsequently demolished over the years, until the Fine Arts Department rescued the crumbling remains in 1949.

True to the guidebook, you need to be really looking hard to find it amidst today’s concrete sprawl. Today, the ramparts are painted in a fresh coat of white paint and the floor tiling has been replaced. It looks as good as new, and picture perfect with the ship mast in the background.

Backtrack to Somdet Chao Phraya Road and make a right to Wat Thong Noppakhun. In the forecourt that today hosts a carpark, stands a somewhat spooky shrine. Representing an ocean-going vessel, it is painted cream and rounded on both ends, a bodhi tree with gnarly roots anchoring in the middle as a mast. Beneath it are some porcelain dolls, complete with niches showing black and white photos of the deceased. The Wat itself, comprising a series of buildings with colourful tiled roofs, was unfortunately closed (as were many other non-touristy temples due to Covid-19).

Making an S around some houses, the Che Chin Khor Morale Uplifting Society temple complex becomes immediately noticeable from its towering 8-story marble and bronze pagoda. This pagoda, opened in 2001, must surely provide heavenly views (pun intended) of the Chao Phraya river. Despite it being a Saturday morning, the gate was pulled shut, preventing us from having a quick look around. The society, founded in 1952, is active in charity work for the poor and provides relief to victims of flood and natural disasters.

Our next destination is Lhong 1919, a mansion complex cum shrine dedicated to the Mazu, goddess of the sea. Although located beside the temple, such is the layout of the perimeter fencing that, annoyingly, we had to walk all the way back to the main road and onto the adjacent Chiang Mai road to reach it.

The entrance to this truly hidden gem is via a small unassuming doorway abutting a large carpark, but stepping inside affords one with astounding views of a large U-shape complex facing the river, flanked by timbered two-story buildings surrounding a pleasing courtyard. Being a functioning temple, Chinese lanterns dangled overhead in the courtyard while strong incense burned from joss sticks in front of the shrine dedicated to Mazu.

Lhong 1919 actually comprises of two areas, the steamship pier and the Chinese mansion. The former was constructed during the heyday of steamships transporting goods from China, Malaya and Hong Kong after Rama IV opened up Thailand to international trade. The pier was built by a wealthy investor named Phraya Phisansuppaphol (or Cheun), and the warehouses beside were used to store imported goods while a shrine dedicated to Mazu was erected behind, providing seafarers with an avenue to pray for safe passage. Teochews knew this place as Huay Jung Long, with Huay Jung meaning steamship and Long, in this context, a pier. The name Long stuck, and over time, became Lhong.

As for the mansion, a self-made businessman named Tan Chu Huang built a rice mill beside the pier and three more downriver to take advantage of the burgeoning rice exports. In 1881, he adopted the name Wanglee and constructed his family mansion at the current location, and in 1919, he bought over the shrine, the pier and the warehouses to store his produce and provide living quarters for his workers. While this pier was used right up to the 21st century, most of the buildings had fallen into disrepair and the site was derelict. Thankfully, the new generation decided to preserve the complex, and in 2017 the gentrification was completed, making the buildings you see today.

Cast your eyes around the beautiful and sometimes cheeky murals plastered onto the walls; they seem to blend in rather than stand out. Ascend the steps to the second floor for a new vantage point to survey the surroundings and read up on the history of this mansion printed on small plaques lining the floor. Lhong 1919 feels like an oasis in the middle of the old city: a tranquil, welcoming and unexpected find.

Besides the temple, there are multiple indoor cafes and art galleries on the ground floor that are a welcome respite from the heat and also a fantastic way to explore the local art scene. The exhibits combine modern art with an asian twist, and a good place to pick up a piece in support of the local artists.

The Heijii Cafe and Art Gallery, located on the first floor, would have gone unnoticed had the faded words announcing an art gallery not piqued my interest. The rustic and charming cafe, with exposed walls of cement and brick, is equipped with quirky 1960s furniture and decorative art pieces mounted on the walls. Restoration was done carefully using original materials to preserve the design and condition of the building as far as possible. The cafe offers a spread of pastries, cakes and cold drinks, but at steep prices: a fancily dressed up Matcha Latte is priced at 150B (SGD$6)!

Lhong 1919 is an amazing place steeped in history amidst the sprawling old city, and a worth the extra effort if you happen to be in Thonburi.

The surrounding alleyways and riverfront paths are excellent for some aimless wandering. Expect to find obscure cafes with character and a great view of the river, or just catch locals going about their daily business. Some of the places worth stopping by include Wat Thong Thammachat Worawihan, a third grade royal temple with a gilded arch dating to the Ayutthaya period, Tha Din Daeng Road, a busy local shopping street leading down to the pier, and the Deep Roots Cafe, an F&B establishment facing the Chao Phraya river.

Walking along the riverside path and turning inwards to Somdet Chao Phraya, a tiled narrow street with cafes and souvenir shops is a great place to explore. On the opposite side is the Princess Mother Memorial Park, opened in 1997 and the former home of King Rama VIII’s mother, Princess Srinagarindra.

A short distance away from the park and facing the waterfront are two worthy stopovers: the Guan Yu Shrine and My Grandfather’s House. The shrine, the oldest of that type in Bangkok (even before King Thaksin’s era), is also one of the most beautiful sights lining the Thonburi bank. It is named after Guan Yu, a General serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the Han Dynasty in China, and, as depicted in Chinese films like Red Cliff, is historically renowned as being loyal and righteous. The shrine comprises of an indoor hall featuring images of Kuan Yin, Bodai and Amitabha which were shipped from China in the 1800s, and was largely empty save for a few temple helpers.

Beside it, along the waterfront, stands an three-storied pagoda tower with colourful dragon sculptures coiled around the pillars and statues of black horses flanking the sides to symbolise strength, vitality and beauty. The shrine is said to be popular with landowners selling their land or houses.

Beside the shrine is My Grandfather’s House (daily 10am – 6pm, drinks and snacks), a 91 year old former fish sauce office turned cafe nostalgia. A wooden, handmade sign announces the entrance of the cafe, which is just facing the pagoda.

Nearby on Dilok Chan alley is the Chao Pho Suea Shrine. Although no match for the exuberance of Guan Yu, it is nonetheless pretty with a narrow but longish footprint and a decorative dragon-coiled pillar at the forecourt on which sits a lotus flower.

Making a right turn back towards the river, cross under the Phra Pokklao bridge and the Memorial Bridge, a three-spanned green girder bridge commissioned by Rama VII in 1932 that served as the river’s second crossing. The bridge was designed and constructed by Dorman Long, an English corporation whose other claim to fame was the Sydney Harbour bridge. The centre span could once be lifted in two parts to allow ships and royal vessels to pass, i.e. like a bascule bridge, but since the completion of other rigid concrete bridges there was little need to lift the bridge, and hence the machinery on either side had been sealed up.

Turning into Thetsaban Sai 1 Road, a surreal rocky outcrop in the middle of a temple greets the curious onlooker. This is the Khao Mo Mountain replica, built inside Wat Prayun Wongsawat Worawihan which houses a magnificent giant white stupa. In Buddhism, Khao Mo refers a celestial mountain known as Sumeru, a scared place and the abode of deities. This is known to be the largest and oldest mountain replica in all of Thailand.

This serene landscape includes a large pond in the foreground surrounded by pagodas on rocks and tortoises lounging around, while an artificial mountain rises in the backdrop. The mountain is actually a shrine, with caves and niches occupied by Buddha images and tombs. It is an oasis beside the noisy three-lane highway running just beside the temple walls.

Further on, just poking out between the roofline, the pink steeple of a church becomes visible. This is the little enclave of the Kudi Chin community, built on land previously granted by King Thaksin to the Portuguese, who were the earliest Europeans to settle in Siam in the 1500s. The Portuguese had also been instrumental in helping Thaksin drive the Burmese out of Siam by providing him with military assistance. Grateful, Thaksin offered them a piece of land at this current location, onto which they built a wooden church in 1770, which was then the main Catholic church in Bangkok. After the Portuguese left, the area was settled by a mix of Chinese and Thai, some of whom were Catholic.

The influences and descendants from their old European allies are still very much evident in this little community, as is their centrepiece – the Santa Cruz church, which had undergone a series of refurbishments, most notably in a Chinese style, thus lending its name to the entire community: Kudi Chin is a Thai reference meaning Church (Kudi) of the Chinese (Chin).

A lingering influence is the transfer of traditional baking techniques to the Thais, and there still exists some bakeries in this little enclave practicing the same recipe passed down for close to 500 years. One of these is Thanu Singha, a small, nondescript bakery in the middle of a sleepy neighbourhood. Finding this elusive shop proved to be quite difficult though; we had to wander through a labyrinth of small alleyways just wide enough for scooters and pedestrians, passing by the back wall of houses in pretty colours, some of them with a simple crucifix on their back door.

After traipsing through a long path beside a flowing canal, a small wooden sign announced the entrance to the bakery. Although the kitchen was closed, a lady appeared and politely told us to head to the front of the shop to a counter with basket of cupcakes.

The friendly lady, who was the owner of the shop, explained in halting English their method of baking the cupcakes, which comes in two sizes: small for 20B and large for 50B. They had preserved the tradition, passed down for generations, by using similar baking techniques such as hand-pressing the dough, which itself comprises of only three ingredients: flour, sugar and, for that extra flavour, duck eggs. All work was done by hand in the back kitchen, and the store packages their goodies to be distributed to other shops nearby.

The cupcakes, individually wrapped, are tasty, crumbly but rather dry. The duck eggs lend a rich and savoury flavour. They remind me of a Chinese New Year cake called kuih bahulu.

Around the corner is the Kudi Cheen Museum, a three story house that has a cafe on the ground floor and a museum on the second and third floors. At the landing above the stairs are information boards and exhibits explaining the life of a Catholic Chinese settler back then. The boards show the route Portuguese immigrants took when settling in Siam; the spices, skillsets and furniture they brought, as well as one of the most important ingredients that characterised this area – Christianity.

Heading up another level is a mockup of a typical living setup, complete with four poster beds, the most pious of altars, old leather-bound notebooks, and, a traditional Portuguese dinner laid out on the dining room table (most dishes looked foreign). Families would bow their heads while saying grace, sitting by a window that had a view of the Santa Cruz’s church steeple poking out amongst the rooftops, a visual reminder that their God was watching them from a distance. There is also a small rooftop ledge, accessible via a narrow flight of steps, that has a very commanding view of the surrounding rooftops, the river, and the pink steeple.

Just a short walk away is the Santa Cruz Church, visible through the gaps in the houses. Making our way there, it reminded me of how pilgrims in the past would glimpse the facade of this holy place upon entering Siam, like a beacon offering hope and salvation.

The first settlers were missionaries and they built a simple wooden church in 1770, which became the first Catholic church in Bangkok. After a while, the Chinese came and settled into this area, converted to Christianity, and then rebuilt a church in 1845 that had heavy Chinese style architecturally influence, hence earning the local name of Kudi Chin, which soon spread to the surrounding community. Between 1910 – 1915, two Italian architects constructed the third and final church in a Renaissance Revival style, drawing influences from the grand churches in Italy.

Although the church was “closed, we managed to peek through the open doorway. The long nave was resplendent, complete with chandeliers, gilded ceiling frescos and an elaborately carved altar centrepiece.

Beside the church is a Catholic school, but it was quiet on this Saturday. On the other side of the church and a few streets down is a large temple complex, Wat Kalayanamit.

Wat Kalayanamit, meaning “True Friend”, was founded by a Chinese nobleman in 1825 and resides majestically at the edge of the river, with an assembly (or viharn) hall so large that it must surely rival the Grand Palace, not in splendour but in size. Inside this hall is the largest sitting Buddha in Bangkok, named Luang Pho To. Its other claim to fame is the bell tower, which houses the largest bronze bell in all of Thailand, at a whopping 13 tonnes.

Across the Bangkok Yai river (which used to be the old course of the Chao Phraya river before they dredged a more direct path) is Wat Molilokkayaram, and beyond it, Wichai Prasit Fort. On the way down to the fort is an elegant red longhouse with the traditional roof that looked a lot like monks’ quarters. Alas, both the Wat and Fort was closed to visitors. The Fort is part of the Royal Thai Navy, who flies the flag of its commander-in-chief at the topmast and therefore strictly out of bounds.

Nearby is the imposing entrance of the Royal Thai Navy compound, looking like the entrance to Kim Jong Un’s palace. Just beside, the elaborately decorated and immensely beautiful Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn, emerges through the gaps in between buildings.

To cap off a busy day on the left bank of the Chao Phraya river, why not visit the hawker stalls in Talat Phlu Market for dinner? Once a betel nut (Phlu) trading centre and now a market (talat) for authentic local street food, this unusual eating place sits adjacent to an actual working railway station that serves the odd train service to Wongwian Yai Station.

Within the market is the famous Sunee Red Pork rice stall, located just beside the train tracks. Surrounding it are other stalls selling gelatinous offal soup and ice cream desserts. The place was crowded and most stalls were doing a brisk business, mostly to locals and the occasional tourists.

A modest-sized plate of rice and pork costs 50B, consisting of moist meaty chunks of char siew and crispy roasted pork, coated with a thick, tangy yet flavourful gravy. It is paired with pickled green chilli for a notably spicy Thai kick, refreshing slices of cucumber, and fragrant steamed white rice.

While the market beside the tracks is a gem, more stalls have sprung up to occupy both sides of the Rachadaphisek underpass, their bright lights and smells attracting both people and flies. All manner of delicious street food are sold here- spicy noodle soup with seafood, BBQ chicken wings and squid, coconut ice cream, lok-lok (food on skewers) and even okonomiyaki!

Just around the corner, Ni-Ang Nam Kaeng Sai is a stall selling sinful ice cream and other desserts. It’s signature is its egg yoke ice cream. We ordered their special: ice cream with bits of salted egg yolk mixed in and topped with a large, salted egg yolk and a fresh raw egg for just that extra flavour and calories. The yolk bits lent a salty and chewy texture against the sweetness and smoothness of the ice cream, while the raw egg yolk gave it a silky smooth finish.

Nosing around the stalls under the underpass, we found one which sold spicy egg noodles with mince meat, meatballs and some fried fishcake. The soup was spicy from the ground chili powder, tangy from the lime, yet sweet from sugar and crunchy from ground peanuts. It was a kaleidoscope of flavours and experiences, and perhaps spicy was an understatement – it felt like licking the flames from Hell.

There are many, many other stalls that beg to be explored, but we just didn’t have enough stomach space. That caps the end of our Backdoor Bangkok Part I. Click on the other post to see our adventures in Part II of this series!