Phahurat
Encyclopedia
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
's Little India
Little India (location)
Little India is an ethnic enclave containing a large population of Indian people within a society where the majority of people are either not South Asians or where the majority in the enclave are indigenous to states in the country of India within a South Asian Society not identifying as Indian...
, is an ethnic neighborhood surrounding Phahurat Road in Phra Nakhon District
Phra Nakhon
Phra Nakhon is one of the 50 districts of Bangkok, Thailand. It is the central district of Bangkok, including the Rattanakosin Island...
, Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
. The area that would become Phahurat was an enclave of Vietnamese immigrants who came to Siam during the reign of King Taksin
Taksin
Taksin ; was the only King of the Thonburi Kingdom...
(1768-1782). In 1898, a fire broke out and paved way for a road which was named "Bahurada", commonly spelled today as Phahurat, by King Chulalongkorn in remembrance of his daughter Princess Bahurada Manimaya
Bahurada Manimaya
Her Royal Highness Princess Bahurada Manimaya, the Princess Debnariratana or Somdet Phra Chao Boromwongse Thoe Chao Fa Bahurada Manimaya Kromma Phra Debnariratana , was the Princess of Siam Her Royal Highness Princess Bahurada Manimaya, the Princess Debnariratana or Somdet Phra Chao Boromwongse...
(RTGS
Royal Thai General System of Transcription
The Royal Thai General System of Transcription is the official system for rendering Thai language words in the Latin alphabet, published by the Royal Institute of Thailand...
: Phahurat Manimai) who had died at young age.
Many of today's Phahurat residents are of South Asian descent. A Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
community settled down in the area a century ago and established a textile trading center that is still thriving today. Their temple, the golden-domed Siri Guru Singh Sabha, is a landmark of Phahurat. In addition to the Sikh community, the neighborhood is also home to a number of South Asian Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
s and Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s.
Although the sprawling of Chinese shops from the nearby Chinatown
Yaowarat Road
Bangkok's Chinatown is centered on Yaowarat Road in Samphanthawong district.The Chinatown is an old business center covering a large area around Yaowarat and Charoen Krung Road. There are many small streets and alleys full of shops and vendors selling all types of goods...
are slowly spilling over into Phahurat, South Asian restaurants and businesses are still prevalent in the area. The area is also the site of some of the more unusual markets and shopping malls in Bangkok, including the sprawling Sampeng Market, the colonial-styled The Old Siam Plaza, and the new four-storey India Emporium.