“A bagrid catfish?” one of you whispers, wrinkling your nose. “In a canal?” Right here, at Pak Khlong Bang Pla Kot, the name itself evokes the image of these whiskered fish teeming in the waters. Pak Khlong Bang Pla Kot translates to “the mouth of the bagrid catfish canal”. This canal, Khlong Bang Pla Kot, flows into the Chao Phraya River, a vital artery of trade and lifeblood of Bangkok since ancient times. Imagine Pak Khlong Bang Pla Kot centuries ago, during the reign of King Ekathotsarot of Ayutthaya. This seemingly ordinary canal held a secret: a Dutch trading post known as “New Amsterdam”. Long before New York City’s famous namesake, this bustling hub of commerce thrived here. The German physician Engelbert Kaempfer documented New Amsterdam in his detailed accounts of travels with the Dutch diplomatic corps. He described a large bamboo structure, its roof piled high with hides ready for export, just two leagues from the Chao Phraya’s mouth. This trading post at Pak Khlong Bang Pla Kot, a testament to international relations, has vanished without a trace. Its exact location remains a mystery, though some believe it nestled somewhere near present-day Soi Suk Sawat 55, off Highway 303. Now AGC Chemicals (Thailand) Co., Ltd. occupies this space, with no hint of the bamboo and hides that once filled the air. The landscape of Pak Khlong Bang Pla Kot continues to be shaped by the Chao Phraya. The river’s ebb and flow, coupled with the encroaching sea, creates a lowland terrain of saline soil. This makes the area unsuitable for farming, further emphasizing the canal’s historical importance as a waterway. Pak Khlong Bang Pla Kot, though transformed, still echoes its past. Its name, a whisper of the bagrid catfish that once swam here, reminds us of the vibrant history flowing beneath the surface.
Центральный дом работников искусств
Step through the grand wooden doors of the Central House of the Workers of Art, and you’ll be transported to