Wednesday Walk: street art and graffitis at Talad Noi (Little Market)

I meant to get back to Talad Noi near River City a long time ago. That area of Little Market was completely shut down for two years. I wondered how the local scenes might have changed forever. So, I was delighted to find the old market community has managed to come back to life once again. There were several tourists walking towards the famous lane of ‘Horse Shoes’ temple by the river. The hotel next to River City seemed to be busy with tourists and taxis waiting for customers. The bright sunshine made me feel very optimistic and enthusiastic for more perks in tourism. The mood of local vendors and small restaurants has become much more cheerful with smiling faces.

I met two Italian tourists who had already explored Little Market the previous day; they even showed me their photos. They we’re heading for Chinatown by taking the narrow alleys along the river. There’s a new cafe at the corner of this narrow Horse Shoes lane; the cafe’s cat was sleeping on the job and let customers waiting to be served. The two Japanese tourists couldn’t help taking photos of this lazy cat so they could report to the cafe’s owner. I hoped the brown cat wouldn’t lose his job or bonus for napping on his job.

The old Chinese style building opposite the narrow lane looked much neglected during the past years. It has become a landmark for Talad Noi and the reminder that Chinese immigrants first settled here over two hundred years ago. There used to be a thriving Chinese community in this area. Nowadays the third and fourth generations of descendants have moved to more middle class neighborhoods which are closer to financial and commercial centers of Bangkok. Only elderly people could be found living in old houses along the narrow lane.

Several years ago, the local authority tried to revive this area by having street arts, graffitis and photography exhibitions around this place. Some residents decided to open guest houses and coffee shops to serve the new generation of tourists who liked blogging, photography and street arts. Then they discovered old family Chinese restaurants tugged away in strange corners of the area.

So, the new fashionable thing was to review these old family run restaurants and odd little cafes. I still haven’t got the opportunity to go around tasting all the signatured family cuisine. I would definitely get lost because of these maze of narrow alleys. But I have eyed a few small restaurants offering seafood snacks and traditional desserts.

The Horse Shoes alley has attracted people who loved selfies and colorful street arts. I was surprised to see a new exhibition of photographs on the wall and some old paintings have been replaced with new colourful themes. There’s an artist selling postcards of ink drawings of Talad Noi. He was extremely good at drawing and some tourists did buy his postcards. Some elderly residents were having their afternoon meeting on front of their house. In the past, people living here must have known each other and their families like living in a small village.

Something has changed after the long lockdown, several houses had notice ‘for sale’ in front of the houses. Some houses had ‘for rent’ on their front doors. I could see less activities along the narrow lane. However, some renovations on townhouses by the river told me that some people might be starting a restaurant or coffee shop by the river.

I could recall a nice old warehouse by the river which was transformed into a coffee shop plus bar. That’s where SteemFest meeting took place one evening, but I couldn’t find that joint again. I wondered whether they were still in business after two years of closure.

The famous coffee shop on the second floor of a warehouse was still in business. The piles of metal pieces and spare parts for trucks and vehicles were scattered on the ground making it doubtful whether a coffee shop was operating upstairs. The old wooden stairs were quite unstable and creaked as you climbed up to the coffee shop. Luckily there was some lighting to let people feeling a bit safer in such a dark staircase. There used to be several cats everywhere in this alley but I hardly spotted any cats that afternoon.

The paintings along the walls and houses reflected the local life and stories. You could see several cats in those paintings too. The oldest Chinese mansion in Bangkok was somewhere behind these narrow alleys but I didn’t have the time to explore further. This would give me an excuse to go back to check out some Chinese snacks and coffee shops later. I was glad to see some lively atmosphere during my visit. But we still need more tourism to get back to the good old days of overflowing optimism and hopeful dreams of successful future.

Wishing you peace, good health and prosperity.

Stay strong and cheerful.

#wednesdaywalk hosted by @tattoodjay