Phahurat

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Phahurat (Thai: พาหุรัด), often known as Thailand's Little India, is an ethnic neighborhood surrounding Phahurat Road in Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok. The area that would become Phahurat was an enclave of Vietnamese immigrants who came to Siam during the reign of King Taksin (1768-1782). In 1898, a fire broke out and paved way for a road[1] which was named "Phahurat" by King Chulalongkorn in remembrance of his daughter Princess Phahurat Manimai (Thai: สมเด็จพระเจ้าลูกเธอ เจ้าฟ้าพาหุรัดมณีมัย) who had died at the age of 10.[2]

Many of today's Phahurat residents are of South Asian descent. A Sikh 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 Hindus and Muslims. Although the sprawling of Chinese shops from the nearby Chinatown are slowly spilling over into Phahurat, South Asian restaurants and businesses are still prevalent in the area.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Pranee Klumsom. From Phahurat to Mingmueang Market (Thai). Mueang Boran journal. Retrieved on 2007-06-05.
  2. ^ Phahurat, rLocal Database (Thai). Bansomdejchaopraya Rajabhat University. Retrieved on 2007-06-05.


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