Phahurat or Pahurat ( th, พาหุรัด), often known as

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

's Little India, is an ethnic neighborhood surrounding Phahurat Road in Wang Burapha Phirom Subdistrict, Phra Nakhon District,

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

. The area that would become Phahurat was an enclave of Annamese ( Vietnamese) immigrants who came to Siam during the reign of

King Taksin King Taksin the Great ( th, สมเด็จพระเจ้าตากสินมหาราช, , ) or the King of Thonburi ( th, สมเด็จพระเจ้ากรุงธนบุรี, ; ; Teochew: Dên Chao; April 17, ...

(1768–1782). In 1898, a first broke out and paved way for a road which was named "Bahurada", commonly spelled today as Phahurat or Pahurat (as it is pronounced), by

King Chulalongkorn Chulalongkorn ( th, จุฬาลงกรณ์, 20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910) was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, titled Rama V. He was known to the Siamese of his time as ''Phra Phuttha Chao Luang'' (พร� ...

in remembrance of his daughter Princess

Bahurada Manimaya Bahurada Manimaya, Princess Debnariratana ( th, พาหุรัตมณีมัย; ; 19 December 1878 – 27 August 1887), was a Princess of Siam (later Thailand). She was a member of the Siamese royal family. She was a daughter of Chul ...

( RTGS: ''Phahurat Manimai'') ( th, สมเด็จพระเจ้าลูกเธอ เจ้าฟ้าพาหุรัดมณีมัย) who had died at young age. Many of today's Phahurat residents are of

South Asian South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...

descent. A

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

community settled there more than a century ago and established a textile trading center that is still thriving. The golden-domed Siri Guru Singh Sabha temple is a landmark of Phahurat. The neighborhood is also home to

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

s and

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

s. For the road, Phahurat is a short route that is divided into two parts. The first is the road continues from

Ban Mo Road 250px, "Book Club" the first headquarters of Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) on Ban Mo Road Ban Mo ( th, บ้านหม้อ, ) is the name of a street and its corresponding neighbourhood in Bangkok's Wang Burapha Phirom Subdistrict, Phra Nakho ...

at Ban Mo Intersection ended up at the point where it meet

Tri Phet Road Tri Phet Road in the phase of Poh-Chang Academy of Arts, Rajamangala University of Technology Rattanakosin and Long Corridor of Suankularb Wittayalai School Tri Phet Road ( th, ถนนตรีเพชร, , ) is a road in Rattanakosin Island ...

, known as Phahurat Intersection, while the second separates itself from the left side of

Chak Phet Road Chak Phet Road at front of Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha. Chak Phet Road ( th, ถนนจักรเพชร, ; sometimes spelled Chakkraphet or Chakphet) is a road in Wang Burapha Phirom Subdistrict, Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok, with a t ...

to the termination at Phahurat Intersection, both parts are

one-way road One-way traffic (or uni-directional traffic) is traffic that moves in a single direction. A one-way street is a street either facilitating only one-way traffic, or designed to direct vehicles to move in one direction. One-way streets typic ...

s. The sprawling of Chinese shops from the nearby

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Aust ...

are slowly encroaching on Phahurat, but South Asian restaurants and businesses still dominate the area. It is home to some of Bangkok's more unusual shopping sites, including the sprawling Sampheng Market ( Saphan Han),

The Old Siam Plaza The Old Siam Plaza ( th, ดิโอลด์สยามพลาซ่า) is a shopping mall in Wang Burapha, a historic neighbourhood of Bangkok, Thailand. It is surrounded by Tri Phet, Burapha, Phahurat and parts of Charoen Krung roads, an ...

, and

Nightingale–Olympic Nightingale–Olympic or The Nightingale–Olympic Co.,LTD. ( th, ไนติงเกล-โอลิมปิก; or Nightingale is a department store in Thailand. It is the oldest shopping mall that still operating in Bangkok and all of Thail ...

, with the four-storey India Emporium.

References

Indian diaspora in Thailand Streets in Bangkok Little Indias Neighbourhoods of Bangkok Shopping districts and streets in Thailand Phra Nakhon district {{Bangkok-stub

See also

References