The roots of this riverside community date to the reign of King Rama V when boats were the main mode of transportation and Klong Suan was a stopover for travellers heading to Bangkok.
The canal-side community boasted a market where you could purchase everything from farm commodities to items of daily use and even opium.
Today the importance of river transportation may have diminished, confined mainly to serve the purpose of tourism, but the 100-year-old market is drawing an increasing number of people with its old-world charm.
Klong Suan will dazzle you with its old shophouses and stalls selling a variety of tasty traditional food like tom yam noodles, sweet Thai sausage and pot-stewed duck to desserts made from coconut, quaint old utensils and ancient tin toys.
A symbol fitting of the market is a 71-year-old coffee shop, Pae Lee, laid out with a few single round tables and stools. The shop takes its name from its owner, a genial elderly person with a ready smile for his patrons. Sipping a freshly brewed cup of coffee amidst this antique decor and ambience made me feel as if I'd been transported back in time.
The most touching aspect of this community, however, is not the ambience nor the well-maintained buildings or their architecture, but it is the residents' traditional way of life that remains largely untouched by the march of time.
Every day local residents walk to the market to sell, buy or trade in items of daily use. Tourists or no tourists, it operates at a pace of its own.
The calm and simple lifestyle of residents never fail to impress city slickers and to old-timers visiting the community, Klong Suan brings flashing back memories from their childhood.
If you wish to escape the intensity and chaos of city life, go to Klong Suan and you will discover that peace and tranquility can be found closer to home than you ever thought.
On your way to/from Bangkok, it is only 20 minutes from the motorway, so a visit to this 100 year old market can easily be arranged.
Originally published in the Bangkok Post
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