As thanks for helping to defend the new capital, King Taksin of Thonburi granted a plot of land along the river to be given to the Portuguese expat community. Today, that community still stands as a tiny sliver of Siamo-Portuguese culture on the Thonburi side of the river.
On a beautiful sunny Bangkok afternoon, my fiancee and I took a walk across Memorial Bridge from Bangkok to Thonburi. I had seen the Renaissance Revival tower of Santa Cruz Church for years from across the Chaophraya, but had never made my way over to see it up close.
Baan Kudichin, as this neighborhood is called, is built in a square surrounding the historic Santa Cruz Church, one of the oldest churches in the city. Santa Cruz once even served as Bangkok's cathedral before the construction of Assumption Cathedral across the river.
On a beautiful sunny Bangkok afternoon, my fiancee and I took a walk across Memorial Bridge from Bangkok to Thonburi. I had seen the Renaissance Revival tower of Santa Cruz Church for years from across the Chaophraya, but had never made my way over to see it up close.
Unfortunately the church wasn't open for visitors at that time, but we saw a sign for the Baan Kudichin Museum pointing down one of the narrow alleyways surrounding the plaza, and decided to go check it out.
On the way, we passed by the Thanusingha Bakery House, which is famous as the only place in Bangkok that makes "Khanom Farang", or "Foreigner's Snack".
Khanom Farang is a dry and flaky bread-like cake topped with dried fruit and dusted in brown sugar. It's an old-fashioned type of pastry, dating from back before desserts became overly sweet. It's perfect with a cup of coffee or tea, which they also serve at the bakery.
I really liked it! It was fun to discover a secret culture hidden in Bangkok.
I wrote a little more about Foreigner's Snack on my other blog: The World of Street Food!
The Baan Kudichin Museum is a small private museum built inside an old house. Long ago, this home was owned by one of Bangkok's influential Portuguese families. Now, it's kept up as a museum full of history, culture, and artifacts from the early days of the Portuguese in Thailand.
Thailand is famous as the only Southeast Asian country never to have been conquered or colonized by a foreign power. While the Portuguese never tried to conquer Siam, they did leave quite a bit of influence in the culture and history.
At the museum, I learned about several Thai words that have their roots in Portugese as well as the Thai foods that are influenced by the cuisine brought over by the Portuguese (including some of my favorite Thai desserts - I had no idea!).
The house, owned by a Catholic Siamo-Portuguese Family is full of historical artifacts, such as documents, a framed blessing from Pope JP2, an old Portuguese metal breatsplate, canons, pistols, coins, and much more. There are also lots and lots of statues of saints!
From the roof of the house, you can see a nice view across the neighborhood towards Santa Cruz Church.
The community may be small, but it is thriving. It's a very cool secret area that I had never known about before. And I bet if you asked Thai people where the Thai word "pratu" (door or gate) comes from, most wouldn't know that it developed from the Portuguese word "porto"! Fascinating stuff.
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Bonus Video:
This isn't my video, but it is great! This short video is by the famous Co Van Kessel bike tour company about this neighborhood and the famous snack that you can find there!
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