Riding The Rails To Hua Takhe
Last Sunday I went with my friend Mike on a short train trip to an old 'crocodile head' market: Hua Takhe.
My part of this little trip started at Hualamphong Train Station. (*)
Buying a ticket was not really a major investment!
Pre Krung Thep Apiwat Station this area was usually buzzing and at times packed with people, nowadays however it's usually very quiet...
Entrance to the platforms.
The main area has become a very impressive place, in fact, a museum!
New to me were the Big Legend and Hall Of Fame parts, but the old locomotives are always the main attraction.
Although these 2 are certainly eye-catching too!
I noticed some cat footprints in the dust, but have never seen any felines inside.
The platforms on the left are still actively used for the slow trains on short routes AND the lines to the East: Aranyaprathet and Pattaya.
They wash elephants in a similar way, not much has changed over the years...
We had a one-hour+ delay which wasn't great, but once on the way it became interesting, plenty to see, such as the above contraption.
Traveling 3rd class with open windows on short distances is the best, especially for taking photos and video.
The track goes through a few slummy areas.
Shortly after this clip Mike joined me, he boarded the train at Phaya Thai Station, uh..., Platform is probably a better word!
Classic 3rd class railway carriage with lots of passengers fast asleep!
One (actually two!) hours later we arrived at Hua Thakhe Station.
We walked along the khlong.
About 15 minutes later we arrived at the old market.
I could have sworn that this lady was in exactly the same position when we left 2 hours later!
Photo: Mike
Hua Takhe Market has reinvented itself as a vintage arts & crafts place with plenty of restaurants, coffee shops, and artistic activities.
The last ones range from DIY painting on canvas to kite-making workshops!
We saw lots of would-be artists practicing their painting skills!
When Bangkok was still the Venice of the East and boats were the main form of transportation, Hua Takhe was a bustling trading area with rice mills, boat builders, and more.
Later when cars and trains started taking over the importance of this market became less and less.
By early 2000 it resembled a ghost town and some of the inhabitants decided to take action before it was too late.
The Thai name of the market refers to a crocodile skull that was found many years ago during a canal excavation.
In 2008 Hua Takhe was 'rebranded' as an art destination with a crocodile head as a symbol!
View from one of the bridges.
The market has loads of murals, some of them really cool!
Buy original postcards or create your own.
The bridges are nothing fancy, but strong enough.
Another excellent mural.
We decided to walk around a bit behind the market.
Lots of fun stuff there too!
Including murals.
As well as a small open-air museum!
The other side of the market has some wooden houses as well, but only this one had an interesting wall painting.
At least it provided good viewpoints of the main market area.
No lack of rocket boat traffic either, which might be a bit scary if you'd rented a kayak or SUP!
Full speed ahead!
After lunch and ice cream, we walked back to Lad Krabang Station.
The station master was kind enough to pose for a few shots!
The train ride back to Hualamphong was without delays and a great way to end this little trip!
(*) For anyone seriously interested in Hualamphong and Thai Railways:
Yesterday Mathew's book was launched at the FCCT and Tim's book will be featured there this evening!
Besides that, large prints of Tim's photos are displayed at the Club.
And to stay up to date on anything about trains in Thailand:
Hua Takhe LINKS:
Related Train Blog posts:
This is a really fine documentation, KK, and deserves to be seen my many more people.