You're in Talat Noi, the "little market", one of Bangkok's oldest neighbourhoods. Portuguese Catholics, Hokkien and Hakka Chinese traders and Vietnamese refugees all lived here, and each left their temples just a few steps from one another.

1A neighbourhood of many gods

The Hokkien founded the Chow Sue Kong shrine in 1804, the oldest in the neighbourhood. The one in front of you, Rong Kueak, is a Hakka shrine built after a fundraising drive in 1888. Next to it stands the So Heng Tai mansion, a Chinese courtyard house that has stayed in the same family for around eight generations. And a few minutes away, Holy Rosary Church recalls that the Portuguese built a wooden church here in 1787.

2Spirit houses

Notice the little houses on pillars in front of so many buildings in Bangkok: they are san phra phum, spirit houses. Popular belief holds that every plot of land has a guardian spirit, and it's wise to give it a home of its own so it doesn't move into the humans' house. People leave it garlands, incense, figurines and soft drinks.

Bangkok's most famous legend is that of Mae Nak: a woman from Phra Khanong who died in childbirth while her husband was away at war, and whose ghost kept waiting for him at home.

Her shrine is far from here, at Wat Mahabut, but the story has been told in dozens of films.

3What to look for

  • The ceramic dragons on the shrine's roof.
  • A spirit house with fresh offerings in the nearby streets.
  • The engine parts on the pavements: the area is famous for its second-hand machinery.
Yellow Gothic Revival façade of Holy Rosary Church, with its tall spire
Holy Rosary Church (Kalawar), heir to the Portuguese church of 1787.

Documented

The Chow Sue Kong shrine dates from 1804, Rong Kueak from the late 19th century and the first Portuguese church of the Holy Rosary from 1787.

Oral tradition

The story of Mae Nak is a folk legend, and spirit houses reflect traditional beliefs rather than verifiable facts.

Sources and credits

Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Talat Noi route; Archdiocese of Bangkok, Holy Rosary parish (Kalawar); Thai Wikipedia, «ตลาดน้อย».

Photos:

  • Rong Kueak Chinese shrine in Talat Noi, with ceramic dragons on the roof and red lanterns: Chainwit., CC BY-SA 4.0.
  • Yellow Gothic Revival façade of Holy Rosary Church, with its tall spire: Supanut Arunoprayote, CC BY 4.0.

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