Siriraj | Bangkok Photo Walks, Issue 103

More than 40 photographers joined the 127th BPG Photo Walk on Sunday 11th August 2024, starting from Bang

Khun Non MRT station and exploring the Siriraj subdistrict. The route that Walk Whisperer Mark found for us

took us down Soi Charan Sanitwong 32 to the Thon Buri train station and locomotive garage, then back to the

MRT station along a parallel alleyway through the Ban Bu Community. This deceptively simple loop still took us

more than two hours to complete as there is so much to photograph along the way.

Siriraj (also spelt Siri Rat) was once the downtown area of Thon Buri, which was an important garrison town

for the Kingdom of Ayutthaya. Its full name of Thon Buri Si Mahasamut (กรุงธนบุรีศรีมหาสมุทร) means ‘City of

Treasures Gracing the Ocean’, showcasing its value as a trading port. The town and its fortress (now called

Wichai Prasit Fort) played a vital role in the Siege of Bangkok during the Siamese revolution of 1688, which saw

the expulsion of French troops and influence and secured Thailand’s independence from colonial powers.

Thon Buri’s effectiveness as a defensive bastion against an invasion along the Chao Phraya River was

completely undermined when the Burmese attacked from the west and north, across the land, sacking

Ayutthaya in 1767. General Taksin took Thon Buri back in the same year, beginning the short-lived Thonburi

Kingdom era. This ended on 6th April 1782 with the crowning of Rama I and the capital of the kingdom being

moved to the other bank of the Chao Phraya.

Since then, Siriraj has continued to play comparatively minor roles in Thailand’s history. Established in

1889, Siriraj Hospital is the oldest government hospital and has become the largest medical institution in the

country. Bangkok Noi Railway Station (which was about 800 metres/half a mile from the current Thon Buri

station) was the terminus for both all rail traffic headed south and, during the Second World War, the Death

Railway into Burma. The Ban Bu Community we walked through now holds the honour of being the last hub

of bronzework handicraft makers in Bangkok, though only one household still keeps up the tradition. The

community is said to have resettled here following the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767, even naming the street they

settled on after the one they left behind.

We received submissions from more than half of those who joined us on the walk, with the Thonburi

Locomotive Garage proving to be the most popular attraction. You can see a full spread of shots from here

on page 58. We also celebrate Thailand’s Mother’s Day (Monday 12th August) with a spread on page 32. We

hope that you enjoy these and all the photos in this issue of Bangkok Photo Walks.

Have fun,

Mark, Chutima, and Ben.

Magazine Editor

Ben Reeves

Photo Walk Coordinator

Mark A. Hathaway

Administrative Support

Chutima Panjapan

Logo Design

Ubonpayom Ongsara

Front Cover Photo

Chutima Panjapan

Group Photo

Ben Reeves

Back Cover Photo

Adrian Flint

© 2024 Bangkok Photographers

Group. All rights reserved.

Bangkok Photo Walks is a

not-for-profit publication

created by the members of the

Bangkok Photographers Group.

All photographs herein are

copyrighted by their respective

creators and published only with

their permission.

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Issue 103