Samran Rat ( th, สำราญราษฎร์, ), popularly known as Pratu Phi (, ), is a historic neighbourhood and road junction in Bangkok. The neighbourhood roughly occupies the area of its namesake subdistrict in Phra Nakhon district.

History

The name ''Pratu Phi'' means "ghost's gate", because the area used to be the location of the city gate used to transport dead bodies out of the

fortified city A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...

for cremation during the early Rattanakosin period. Cremations were usually held at the nearby Wat Saket, just across the city moat of Khlong Rop Krung. The area was later officially named ''Samran Rat'' ("happiness citizen") for auspiciousness. But the name Pratu Phi remains in use by many people. In modern times, Samran Rat is known as the hub of notable restaurants, serving a variety of Thai

street food Street food is ready-to-eat food or drinks sold by a hawker, or vendor, in a street or at other public places, such as markets or fairs. It is often sold from a portable food booth, food cart, or food truck and is meant for immediate consumpt ...

such as

pad thai Pad thai, phat thai, or phad thai ( or ; th, , , ISO: ''p̄hạd thịy'', , 'Thai stir fry'), is a stir-fried rice noodle dish commonly served as a street food in Thailand as part of the country's cuisine. It is typically made with rice noo ...

, yen ta fo, salapao as well as multiple traditional cafés (

kopitiam A ''kopitiam'' or ''kopi tiam'' () is a type of coffee shop mostly found in parts of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Southern Thailand patronised for meals and beverages, and traditionally operated by the Chinese community of t ...

). The neighbourhood's better known restaurants include Jay Fai, which received one

Michelin Guide The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of ...

star in 2017, and Thipsamai, which is famous for pad thai. Samran Rat is also home to the first

pawn shop A pawnbroker is an individual or business (pawnshop or pawn shop) that offers secured loans to people, with items of personal property used as collateral. The items having been ''pawned'' to the broker are themselves called ''pledges'' or ...

in Thailand. It has been operating since the reign of King Mongkut (Rama IV). At the behind of the Mahakan Fort, one of the fortresses of Rattanakosin. It is the site of a Mahakan Fort Community where people in this community lived for a long time since the early Rattanakosin period. They are considered one of the oldest and most unique communities in Bangkok. But in the year 2018 their houses were ordered by the government and

Bangkok Metropolitan Administration The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration ( th, กรุงเทพมหานคร; ) (BMA) is the local government of Bangkok (also called ''Krung Thep Maha Nakhon'' in Thai), which includes the capital of the Kingdom of Thailand. The governm ...

(BMA) to demolish and expel them from here, because to open the way to create a new

urban park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to r ...

of Bangkok.

Geography

Samran Rat Intersection is a

four-way intersection An intersection or an at-grade junction is a junction where two or more roads converge, diverge, meet or cross at the same height, as opposed to an interchange, which uses bridges or tunnels to separate different roads. Major intersections a ...

of Bamrung Mueang and

Maha Chai Samut Sakhon ( th, สมุทรสาคร, Pronunciation is a City in Thailand, capital of Samut Sakhon province. It is a stop on the Maeklong Railway. Samut Sakhon is 48 km from Bangkok. It is part of the Bangkok Metropolitan Region ...

roads. From the intersection, Bamrung Mueang road crosses the nearby Sommot Amonmak bridge into

Pom Prap Sattru Phai Pom Prap Sattru Phai ( th, ป้อมปราบศัตรูพ่าย, , or popularly just called Pom Prap, ) is one of the 50 districts (khet) of Bangkok, Thailand. Neighbouring districts are (from north clockwise) Dusit, Pathum Wan, ...

district's Ban Bat subdistrict. The next junction on Bamrung Mueang is Maen Si. Ruan Cham Junction is a

T junction A three-way junction (or three-way intersection) is a type of road intersection with three arms. A Y junction (or Y intersection) generally has three arms of equal size coming at an acute or obtuse angle to each other; while a T junction (or T i ...

where Maha Chai and Luang roads meet. The point is known by this name because it used to be the location of the Special Bangkok Metropolitan Prison (''ruan cham'' in Thai), built by the order of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) in 1889. It served to detain and train prisoners so that they could become good citizens. Later in 1987, the

Department of Corrections In criminal justice, particularly in North America, correction, corrections, and correctional, are umbrella terms describing a variety of functions typically carried out by government agencies, and involving the punishment, treatment, and s ...

moved the prison from this place to where is now Khlong Prem Prison in Chatuchak district's Lat Yao subdistrict. BMA turned it into an urban park, named Rommaninat, to present to the Queen

Sirikit Queen Sirikit ( th, สิริกิติ์; ; ); born ''Mom Rajawongse'' Sirikit Kitiyakara ( th, สิริกิติ์ กิติยากร; ; 12 August 1932) is the queen mother of Thailand. She was Queen of Thailand as the wif ...

on her fifth cycle birthday in 1992. Some of the buildings were developed into a Bangkok Corrections Museum.

Surroundings

Gallery

file:Fort Mahakan at evening.jpg, Fort Mahakan one of landmarks of Samran Rat area (although in truth, it is located in neighbouring Bowon Niwet subdistrict file:Thanon Bamrung Muang rd, Samran rat, Phra nakhon, Thailand - panoramio.jpg, Shophouses along Bamrung Mueang road, Samran Rat intersection is ahead file:Behind the wall - panoramio (1).jpg, Community behind the Mahakan Fort File:Raan jay fai stove (4430455561) (2).jpg, Cooking area of Jay Fai restaurant file:Thailand 2016 (66 of 422) (32215543992).jpg, Thipsamai

restaurant file:Krungthepmahanakorn.jpg,

Bangkok City Hall 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 ...

file:Luang, Samran Rat, phra nakhon, Bangkok - panoramio.jpg, Ruan Cham Junction (seen from Luang road, Bangkok Corrections Museum is ahead)

Notes

References

{{reflist Neighbourhoods of Bangkok Phra Nakhon district Road junctions in Bangkok Subdistricts of Bangkok