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Finding a Coxawain

Samut Sakhon may be chaotic, but there’s plenty of history, canalside charms and seafood to engage visitors.

Manote Tripathi
THE NATION

A seaport that 140 years ago was a base for the British operators of the country’s largest sugar factory, Samut Sakhon is now known for its salt farms, seafood factories and hardworking Burmese labourers.Yet the province really owes its fame to just one man, Phan Thai Norasingh, a royal oarsman. In 1704, while trying to manoeuvre the royal barge, the Ekachai, through a 90-degree turn on the Khok Kham canal, Norasingh collided with a large tree.

The king, Phra Chao Sua, who was onboard for a private fishing trip to the mouth of Tha Chin river, did not complain as no one was hurt. But putting the king’s life on the line was punishable by death, so the oarsman proposed his own execution on the spot. Impressed with his honesty, the monarch refused.

But Norasingh insisted upon an actual beheading, so the king complied and had a shrine built in his honour on the river’s bank. He also ordered the digging of a new canal – Khlong Mahachai – to eliminate the sharp bends of Khok Kham.

Just 36 kilometres from Bangkok’s southern suburbs, Samut Sakhon – still known to many by its old name of Mahachai – is not usually considered a must-see destination, though it’s long been popular with seafood lovers in search of gourmet dinners at reasonable prices.

With factories everywhere, a haphazard network of poorly maintained roads and a city that’s grown without proper planning, Samut Sakhon is chaos at its most animated, so do take a map. Shrines to the legendary oarsman can be found in several different spots, making it difficult to identify the original, so most interested visitors end up going to them all. Many locals point to the wooden shrine at Wat Khok Kham, one of the oldest temples in the area, which also sports the remnants of an old hardwood boat salvaged from the canal. While the temple is by one of the sharpest bends in the canal, there’s no proof that this is where the accident happened.

Across the canal another spirit shrine to the oarsman beckons. And 10 km further on, near Wat San Phan Thai Norasingh, is the third and most popular. When you’re tired of chasing down the oarsman, Tha Chalom pier is a good place to chill. From Bangkok, follow Highway 35 and cross the Tha Chin river. Not far from the bridge, you’ll see a Caltex petrol station on the left and next to it, the road leading to the pier and the Maha Chai Natural Mangrove Centre. The two-lane road is poorly maintained and the going is slow, especially at weekends, when markets spring up around the temples. Carry on past Wat Chong Lom and head for the Clock Tower roundabout. Find somewhere to park and walk to the pier, taking time to admire the old houses and the magnificent view across the river.

While the drive from Tha Chalom to the mangrove centre is not a pleasant one, the journey is worth it. Take the same road, turn left at Wat Chonglom and drive along the road that runs beside the river
(see map). A few minutes later, you will find yourself in another land, with signs in Burmese and pedestrians clad in sarongs, their faces smeared with yellow talcum powder. Spare a thought for these Burmese labourers, many of them illegal, who’ve spend months at sea on Thai fishing trawlers or long hours toiling for less than Bt100 a day in seafood factories. On both sides of the road are rows of shabby three-storey concrete houses occupied by the labourers. The shantytown becomes denser and denser before finally thinning out into a scattering of fishing villages set against the vast ocean. The road comes to an end at the mangrove centre, which backs on to a lush mangrove forest that seems to stretch on forever. It’s not particularly scenic but it speaks volumes about the ecological state of Samut Sakhon.

As I stop the car at the end of the road, the motorcyclist who’s been following me for the last few kilometres approaches. At first, I think he’s going to ask if we need directions but it turns out he wants money to buy petrol. Perhaps not many tourists pass through this area. And in this rundown fishing community, anyone who seems lost is fair game. To be on the safe side, don’t set out to find the mangrove centre late in the afternoon. If night falls, you could have a different kind of adventure on your hands.

HOW TO GET THERE

Samut Sakhon is well served by Highway 35, which crosses the Tha
Chin river when it reaches the town. Take road 3242 off the highway to
get to the oarsman’s shrine. Then turn left into road 3423, which runs
straight for a couple of kilometres before becoming parallel to Klong
Pittayalongkorn. Turn left at Wat Sahakorn Kositara, continue past
Ban San Dap School to Wat Khok Kham and the nearby Phan Thai
Norasingh’s shrine.

Khok Kham canal is a stone’s throw from the temple. Across the bridge is another shrine. Going in the opposite direction on the same road for 10 kilometres, and you will see Wat San Phan Thai Norasingh and the major
shrine to the oarsman.

For Tha Chalom pier and Maha Chai Natural Mangrove Centre, take
Highway 35, then cross the bridge over the Tha Chin river. Turn left at
Caltex petrol station and continue along the road to the Clock Tower
roundabout. For the Mangrove Centre, follow the road back towards town, turning left at Wat Chong Lom and running parallel with the rivers past Wat
Bang Ya Phraek, the slums housing the Burmese workers and fishing
villagers. The mangrove centre is at the end of the road next to the mangrove forest on shore.

WHERE TO STAY

Le Chalet Resort
Road 35, Muang district
Tel: (02) 633 8067
Price range: Bt1,000-Bt1,500

New Friend Hotel
Ekachai Road, Muang district
Tel: (034) 423 453-4
Price range: Bt370-Bt400

Mosman Inn
Setthakij Road, Muang district
Tel: (034) 830210-2
Price range: Bt390-Bt650

Central Place
Ekachai Road, Muang district
Tel: (034) 412 816-9 , (034) 422 971-3
Visit:  http://www.CentralPlaceHotel.com
Price range: Bt1,000-Bt1,200

Ban Dhammachart Kung Nam Resort
Near Ban Phaeo intersection, Muang district
Tel:  (034) 839 261, (089) 117 5312
Visit:  http://www.BanKungNam.com
Price range: Bt1,000-Bt1,400

Sri Siam
Setthakij Road, Muang district
Tel: (034) 471 065, (034) 471 886
Price range: Bt250-Bt300

Homestay Moobaan
Tha Sao Phatthana Road, Krathum Baen district
Tel: (034) 473 408
Price range: Bt600-Bt900

WHERE TO EAT

Duang Dao Restaurant
Tambol Nakhok, Muang district
Tel: (081) 942 0583,

Suan Aharn Rim Naam
Derm Bang Road, Tambol
Mahachai
Tel: (034) 425 710

Tha Rue Pattakarn
Setthakij 1 Road, Mahachai Pier
Tel: (034) 411 084

New Rot Tip
Soi Seeyake Super, Setthakij 1
Road, Muang district
Tel: (034) 411-900

Thalay Chan
Sahakorn Road, Muang district
Tel: (034) 857 491

Mak Mai Chai Lain
Tambon Kalong, Muang district
Tel: (087) 750 8223

Lom Thalay
Tambon Ban Bo, Muang district
Tel: (034) 845 252, (081) 820 0618

Rabiang Nam
Tambon Khok Kham, Muang district
Tel: (034) 657 685

Khrua Chom Ao
Ya Phraek, Muang district

Tel: (034) 422 997, (034) 818 331