Little India in Bangkok Phahurat
 | | Phahurat or Pahurat, 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 which was named "Phahurat" by King Chulalongkorn in remembrance of his daughter Princess Phahurat Manimai who had died at the age of 10. 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. The area is also the site
of some of the more unusual markets and shopping malls in Bangkok,
including the sprawling Sampeng Market, the colonial-styled The Old
Siam Plaza, and the new four-storey India.
Chakraphet Road is well known for its Indian restaurants and shops selling Indian sweets. One of the best eateries in the area is the Royal India Restaurant, which serves north Indian cuisine and is justly famous for its tasty selection of Indian breads (Naan and Tandoori Roti). On the opposite side of Chakraphet Road from the Royal India is a Chinese temple. North of this temple, in a back alley on the west side of the road, is a large Sikh temple-turn left before the ATM Department Store to find the entrance. Visitors to the temple-reportedly the second largest Sikh temple outside of India-are welcome but they must remove their shoes and cover their head. If you arrive on a Sikh festival day you can partake in the langar or communal Sikh meal served in the temple.
Several inexpensive Indian food stalls are found in an alley alongside the ATM department store. Behind the store, stretching westward from Chakraphet Road to Triphet Road, is the Pahurat Market.
Pahurat is easily accessible by walk, after alighting from a Chao Phraya River Express boat at Tha (pier) Saphaan Phut, which is just to the north-west of Phra Phut Yot Fa (Memorial) Bridge.
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