GREG LOWE “GOES ISLAND” AND FINDS HIMSELF IN A RURAL, POTTERY-BEDECKED TIME CAPSULE ONLY MINUTES FROM BANGKOK’S SKYSCRAPERS
IF YOU WERE TAKEN from your central Bangkok hotel, blindfolded, driven around for three hours, dropped off at Koh Kred and then asked where you were, upstream Phitsanalouk, rural Isaan, or south of Samut Songkhram would be good guesses. Thirty minutes from downtown City of Angels would be a most unlikely reply. It would, however, be true, as this hidden gem is just a taxi ride away from Sukhumvit Road.
Koh Kred, the Chao Phraya River’s only island, is home to some 5,000 people and is man-made, the result of a channel ordered cut by King Thaisa of Ayudhya in 1722 to service the river’s increasing traffic. It caught the eye of Mon people fleeing the destruction of their kingdom in lower Burma and they have populated the island ever since, bringing their food, culture, language and traditional craft s with them. All are very much in evidence today, but one has maintained particular prominence – pottery.
Arriving on the island via the ferry from Wat Sanam Nua is a sensory experience; visitors are immediately immersed in the hustle and bustle around the food stalls. The sound of fish cakes frying in woks fuses with Buddhist chants from the temple and Mon music being played over the sound system.
Hawkers shout “chim gawn, chim gawn” (“try first, try first”), as mouth-watering aromas permeate the air. Explosions of colour burst from blossoming frangipani trees and bougainvillea, contrasting vividly with the whitewashed plaster walls and wooden houses.
Snacks are on offer everywhere. Gai sarong, balls of spiced chicken wrapped in egg noodles and deep-fried, makes use of sweeter spices commonly used in Burmese and Indian food.
Meang kam, a mix of dried prawn, shallots, garlic and chilli wrapped in leaves is another Mon favourite, as are the green vegetables deep-fried in a tempura-like batter.
A narrow street snakes its way through the network of tiny alleys of wooden houses and shops, thinning out into a more rural setting complete with coconut groves and papaya plantations.
To walk the entire eight kilometres or so takes a couple of hours, but a more leisurely pace enables you to absorb the ambience and energy that makes Koh Kred unique. The best route is to do a full circle clockwise from the main pier near Wat Poramai Yikawat, taking time to graze on local specialities, visit the island’s six temples and watch the artisans at work in their potteries.
Bicycles are available for rent for 40 baht per day; motorbike taxis typically cost less than 50 baht; and water taxis can be taken from pier to pier for a mere 20 baht per head.
Kwan Aman, the traditional Mon pottery for which the island is famed, is literally part of Koh Kred’s fabric. Rarely out of view, if it’s not on sale in a nearby store, you’ll see pots in the bottom of streams, huge water urns being used on the small-holdings and stacks of discarded earthenware shoring up the foundations of houses.
Koh Kred pottery is exceptional value, with terracotta items going from five baht to several thousand. Ornate 18-inch vases cost about 300 baht, while hand-cut latticework increases the price by a factor of three. Coffee and iced tea are served in ceramic pots – which you can keep – for 20 baht.
Abandoned kilns and traditional working potteries are in abundance and visitors are welcome to watch the craft speople at work.
Lek Liktidet, 61, a master potter at the Patum pottery, moved to the island 40 years ago and has been hand-making pots ever since. He deft ly throws pots while conversing with tourists and posing in pictures with excited kids. But when the visitors go home, the work continues.
“We make almost everything here – from small pots to the large khon thoe nam water vessels. Normally, about three to six of us are working and we produce around 400 pots per day, depending on the design. Twice a month, we light the kiln and the pots are fired in there for three days.”
While many of the island’s youth have not chosen to earn a living from traditional crafts, the island’s cultural heritage and sense of community remains close to their hearts.
Peng Jubbang is a great example of this, and of how a new generation can add a contemporary edge to its traditional culture. The 21-year-old Mon recently graduated in tourism studies from Bangkok’s Rangsit University. He speaks English, Thai and Mon, but loves returning home to run the Coffee Please cafe in the compact but lush garden that fronts his family home.
Drinks are served with traditional snacks, and samba and jazz play as customers sit at tables overlooking a tiny stream.
“My family have lived on the island for over 60 years; my dad works as a potter and I run the cafe on market days with my brother Pui,” he says. “If I had to move somewhere for work, I would, but I have no desire to, really. There’s nowhere else like Koh Kred.”
Mon and Burmese influences are also apparent in the island’s six temples: Wat Poramai Yikawat, Wat Chimplee, Wat Sao Thong, Wat Pai Lom, Wat Pa Laylai and Wat Salakul.
All are worth visiting, but the most impressive are Wat Sao Thong Thong with its Ayutthaya-style chedi, and Wat Poramai Yikawat which has a small museum of artefacts and a replica of Phra That Chedi Mutao in Hongsawadi, Burma. Wat Chimplee is the main working monastery on the island.
The best way to round the day off is with a trip to Khlong Kanom Wan and Ban Khun Aell. Boats leave from the pier at Wat Poramai Yikawat on the hour every two hours from 9am to 5pm, and cost 50 baht per head. The trip takes about 90 minutes and finishes up at the pier at Wat Sanam Nua.
The first stop offers a peek into the canal-life of Nonthaburi and visits a traditional sweet market. Ban Khun Aell specialises in desserts and Thai curries, and was set up by the eponymous proprietor in her home about 20 years ago.
Pin Boontek, who hails from the island, is a chief sweet maker there. Her favourite dish is foi thong, or golden threads, a heavenly, if cholesterol-laden, mix of egg yolks, sugar and jasmine water. Ingredients are beaten into a batter, refrigerated and then drizzled into a cauldron-like mass of boiling oil.
“The secret is in getting the batter right,” she says. “It has to be very cold, and you must use duck eggs to get the deep yellow colour.”
“If you know what to do, it isn’t that difficult. But if you don’t, then it’s really tough,” Pin laughs. “I’ve been doing this for 17 years, so I can make about 50 pieces in an hour.”
The return to Wat Samnam Nua affords a final look at the island and river life in general. It’s picture-postcard stuff. Clumps of water hyacinth float by as longtail boats boot about the Chaopraya and the sun makes its drowsy descent.
INFORMATION
River taxis from Nonthaburi pier (N19) cost around 300 baht per boat to the island, one-way. A full day’s hire costs 800 baht up. Simplest is to get a taxi to Wat Sanam Nua, Nonthaburi, costing about 200 baht from Sukhumvit Road. Two-baht boats go from Wat Sanam Nua to the island every 10 minutes. English-speaking tours leave Sathorn Pier at 10am every Sunday for 300 baht per head (Chao Phraya Express Boat, tel +66 (0)2 623-6001, www.chaophrayaboat.co.th). The market is only open on weekends and public holidays.
