Historic riverfront area becomes "Asiatique"


From 5pm onwards, locals and tourists flock to Asiatique, the city’s only cultural night bazaar.

By Terry Fredrickson

The idea behind the newly opened Asiatique bazaar is blending the mood of the old days when people traveled commonly by boats and streetcars with modern-day recreation.

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Historic riverfront area becomes "Asiatique"

For the first half of the last century, parts of Bangkok's Charoen Krung area on the banks of the Chao Phraya river served as the country's first international port, a trading hub between the Kingdom of Siam and European nations. It was also the home of the largest warehouse of East Asiatic, a Danish freight company established in the reign of King Rama V.


Visitors are free to hop on the shuttle tram.

The landowner, TCC Land, has tried to maintain the historic atmosphere of the site while turning it into a twenty-first century mall, a "festival market and living museum" concept.

This newly launched bazaar, dubbed Asiatique The Riverfront, encompasses 1,500 shops, 40 restaurants and two cultural theatres into its open-air, 72-rai architectural playground inspired by the industrial design of the Colonial period.

The idea behind the bazaar is to bring back the exotic mood of the old days when people traveled commonly by boats and streetcars, by blending the old customs and history with modern-day recreation.

Thus visitors can shop and eat in a riverside district featuring an ancient tram track, a World War II bunker, an old sawmill, an historic pier, a century-old warehouse arch and a waterfront crane.

Open from 5pm to midnight, the spacious bazaar is divided into four distinct zones. Each zone is linked by an old-fashioned tram.

The Charoen Krung district zone, or Yan Charoen Krung in Thai, is the shopping district. The Town Square district, or Yan Klang Mueang is the cultural centre. Then there is the historic Factory district zone or Yan Rong Ngarn, and, finally, there Waterfront district, or Yan Rim Nam, where most of the eating places are found.

Adapted from a story in today's Bangkok Post by Vanniya Sriangura. For much more information and many more photos, click here: http://bit.ly/JnpqvW


The Town Square district features an open-air food plaza surrounded by lots of outdoor space for cultural activities and events.


Asiatique’s waterfront boardwalk, lined with international fine-dining restaurants and wine bars.

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Vocabulary

    flock – to go someone in large numbers; to gather together in large numbers แห่กันไป
    bazaar – a street or an area of a town where there are many small shops ตลาดที่ขายของหลากหลายชนิด
    riverfront – an area of land next to a river with buildings, shops/stores, restaurants, etc. on it ริมแม่น้ำ
    century – a period of one hundred years ศตวรรษ
    bank – a raised area of land along the side of a river  ริมฝั่งแม่น้ำ
    port – an area of water where ships stop, including the buildings around it ท่าเรือ
    hub – the central or main part of something where there is most activity จุดศูนย์กลาง
    warehouse – a large building for storing things โกดังสินค้า, คลังสินค้า, โรงพัสดุ
    freight – goods, but not passengers, that are carried from one place to another, by ship, aircraft, train or truck, or the system of transporting these goods สินค้าที่ขนส่ง
    establish – to start a company or organisation that will likely continue for a long time สถาปนา, ก่อตั้ง, จัดตั้ง
    reign – a period of time during when a king or queen rules a country  ช่วงเวลาครองราชย์
    maintain – to keep รักษา
    atmosphere – the mood or feeling that exists in a place บรรยากาศ
    site – a place where something is located  สถานที่
    festival – an event that is held to celebrate a particular thing or activity เทศกาล
    museum – a building where objects of historical, scientific or artistic interest are kept พิพิธภัณฑ์
    concept – a principle or idea ความคิด
    shuttle – to take people frequently between two places; to travel frequently between two places ส่งไปส่งมา
    tram – a long narrow vehicle that travels along metal tracks in the middle of a street and is used as public transport in some places รถราง
    launch – to start something เปิดโครงการ, เริ่มต้น, เริ่มทำ
    dubbed – called; given a name ตั้งฉายา, ถูกเรียก
    encompass – to include a large number or range of things รวมทั้ง,  รวมเข้าไว้ทั้งหมด
    inspire – to give someone the idea for a piece of work ทำให้เกิด บันดาลใจให้
    colonial – connected with or belonging to a country that controls another country เกี่ยวกับอาณานิคม
    colonial period – any period in a country's or region's history when it was under the control or influence a colonial power
    exotic – seeming exciting and unusual because it is connected with foreign countries or other historical periods  ผิดธรรมดา, มาจากต่างประเทศ, มาจากดินแดนอื่น, มาจากภูมิภาคอื่น
    mood – the way you feel at a particular time อารมณ์
    blend – to combine or mix with other things in an attractive or effective way ผสม
    custom – an accepted way of behaving or of doing things in a society or a community  ขนบธรรมเนียม
    recreation – a particular activity that somebody does when they are not working สันทนาการ, นันทนาการ, การละเล่น
    feature – to include someone or something as an important part มีบทบาทสำคัญใน
    ancient – very old ที่เก่าแก่ ที่โบราณ
    bunker – a strongly built shelter for soldiers or guns, usually underground หลุมหลบภัย, ที่กำบัง
    sawmill – a factory in which wood is cut into boards using machinery โรงเลื่อยไม้
    pier – a platform sticking out into water which people walk along or use when getting onto or off boats ท่าเรือชนิดยื่นออกไปในน้ำ, สะพานที่ยื่นออกไปในน้ำ
    arch – a curved structure at the top of a door, window, or gate โครงสร้างที่มีรูปโค้ง
    waterfront – a part of a town or an area that is next to water, for example in a harbour  ริมฝั่ง, เขตริมน้ำ, เขตริมฝั่ง
    crane – a very tall machine used for lifting or moving heavy objects and building tall buildings เคลื่อนที่โดยปั้นจั่น
    spacious – large and with a lot of space กว้างใหญ่,มีเนื้อที่มาก
    distinct – clearly different แตกต่างอย่างสิ้นเชิง
    zone – an area that has an important or typical feature; an area where a particular activity is allowed or not allowed พื้นที่, บริเวณ, เขต
    link – to connect เชื่อม