#  >  > Travellers Tales in Thailand and Asia >  >  > Thailands Travellers Tales >  >  A Stroll through Klong Toey

## stroller

Klong Toey postal district stretches over a large bit of East Bankok, from the harbour along the Chao Praya to Kong Tan/Pethburi Rd.
What is often meant by it are the market at the Rama4/Rachada intersection, and a slum area which has enjoyed a reputation as a major drug trafficking center.
I'll guide through a walk, starting with part of the market:

Straight into the maze of narrow passages strewn with an array of goods, here an amulet seller with her goods:

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## stroller

More gooddies:






These are ready-made frames:

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## stroller

You can have your own amulet made up, choose a Buddha tablet, and the craftsman will pick the right plastic glass for it

Glueing the 2 halves with the image together:



And letting it set:

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## stroller

Piercing the shape of the frame:






Filing the edges:


I don't have a pic of the finished product, since it wasn't mine, just observing for a bit...

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## stroller

I just notice4d most pics have a slight green tinge, but am not gonna change them now... :Smile:

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## mad_dog

I used to go shopping all the time at Klong Toey Market. Interesting place.

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## Gerbil

> I just notice4d most pics have a slight green tinge, but am not gonna change them now...


That's ok. Anytime I wander around Klong Toey I develop a slight green tinge myself.

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## Begbie

The temperature must be in the 50's under those tin roofs. Rather you than me.

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## YellowTrip

The real question is what type of vice was Stroller looking for in Klong Toey.

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## stroller

All will be revealed in due course, YT.
Alright then, on with the show, this will be a long thread:

And into the food section:

Dried fish:

Curries ready to e served:

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## Fabian

So I guess you were looking for dog meat?

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## Boon Mee

Very good, stroll.
Saw a bit of my favorite food in there - like the green jelly deserts - forgot the name.
Well done... :Smile:

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## Hootad Binky

Great pics of one of my favourite activities in Thailand, strolling around markets. In fact, whenever anyone visited me from abroad, the first stop after the airport was straight into Phra Kha Nong market!

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## friscofrankie

Fuckin' A. Stroll.  your pictorials are alway great.

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## kingwilly

i lived next door klong toey 5 years, but never did go into the market there....

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## Marmite the Dog

> i lived next door klong toey 5 years, but never did go into the market there....


Someone should call KW and tell him that his maid has been posting under his username...

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## sabang

Bluddy hell, I wanted to green you for this Stroll but it says I've got to spread some rep around first. So I'll thank you here instead.
Incidentally, is there any way for me to find out a historical record of who i have greened (or redded, but yet to do that)? Some of it happens late at night you know, hard to keep track. :Confused:

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## stroller

Some characters, like this seller are beautiful in their own way:



Back into the dark, claustophoboc interior:

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## stroller

It's not all low quality, some choice seafood:





No dogmeat to be found, but giant frogs:

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## stroller

More meat:



Kanom, rice cake steamed in banana leaves:

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## stroller

I'd love to film an EU health inspector walk into this market! :Very Happy:

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## stroller

Bundling herb packages:

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## stroller

Kiddies' toys:



Finally: some fat, juicy betelnuts!

Time to move out and on:

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## stroller

Into the slums of Klong Toey:



Before we venture further, I should add that I had a local
'guide', it is not entirely safe to wander about taking pics on your own.

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## stroller



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## Anonymous Coward

Very fine photos. Thanks.

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## Gerbil

> Before we venture further, I should add that I had a local 'guide', it is not entirely safe to wander about taking pics on your own.


Something of an understatement there!




^ This geezer doesn't look too happy for a start. Probably worried about his ya bah stash in the shack behind him.

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## stroller

Yeah, there is a (very justified) degree of paranoia against strangers in that area - lots of undercover cops.

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## Spin

^ I wonder if the Soi dogs could sense danger in your presence? :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

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## stroller

The area is so densely populated, that there is hardly any privacy and everybody knows everybody else's business.



One of the 'rich' plots:

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## stroller

Waht a contrast to this schoolgirl (?):

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## Gerbil

Fcuk me an air con. I think I'll move in.  :bunny3:

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## Thetyim

> Fcuk me an air con. I think I'll move in.


And some white thigh length boots   :Very Happy: 

Now what sort of a girl might live here

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## Gerbil

^ I dunno, but she's got her price painted on the wall. Seems a bit optimistic if you ask me.  :Smile:

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## Thetyim

^ Idiot,  that's the number of customers she's had   :Surprised:

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## stroller

"1116" baht? - prolly her lucky number. :Very Happy:

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## Thetyim

^ The number on the left, Mr Bat  :Smile:

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## stroller

Oh, _that_ number.
Key money for the squat, excluding the aircon, I almost went for it...

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## stroller

This pics are a contribution to DD and his "Building in Thailand- electric installations" thread:

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## Gerbil

^ In the wise words of Prince Phillip "Looks like an Indian put that in"  :bunny3:

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## stroller

Where was I? Wandering on to explore the wonders of Klong Toey - an "unforgettable experience", matching the TAT's new slogan:





I had to walk through shops and people's living rooms to get to my unspecified destination:

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## Gerbil

> Oh, _that_ number.
> Key money for the squat, excluding the aircon, I almost went for it...


If the boots are included, I'm interested.  :bunny3:

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## stroller



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## stroller

One of the junkie chicks incidentally torched her gaff with a candle while she was blotto, half the settlement burned down as a result, about 10 years ago.

Not implying anything about anyone in the pics here, just reminiscing.

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## stroller

Cul-de-sac:

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## stroller

The shoe repair guy:

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## stroller

Idling away the time before happy hour:





I should charge for this snippet of info, mad_dog are you 
reading? The area is bordered on one side by a main road, with frequent police road blocks in either direction, on the other by a railway track...but the cops know this as well, of course. :Wink:

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## daveboy

Recently read a book on Klong Toey keep the pics coming stroll very enjoyable

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## stroller

At your service:

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## sabang

Y'know, maybe living in a slum isn't all that bad.
There's certainly plenty of life and vibrancy on the streets, and everything you need [ :Wink:  ] is just around the corner.
If I could have aircon, a western flush toilet and a security guard might even consider it. :Smile:

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## stroller

I suspect the novelty value would wear off rapidly, specially for Westerners who value their privacy.

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## stroller



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## lom

A very interesting pictorial Stroller, when did you go there ?

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## stroller

The pics are from 1999, but it hasn't changed much as far as far as the visual impressions go.

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## sabang

> The pics are from 1999, but it hasn't changed much as far as far as the visual impressions go.


Hold that thought, and hold those phot's Strollers.
In 1987 or so I did a similar pictorial tour through the worst part of the Tondo slums in Manila (built on and near the edge of the city garbage dump). Nowhere near as good or comprehensive as yours btw.

Those slums are now gone, so what I took was a piece of social history.

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## Homer

Cheers for that Stroller. 

The last time I was down that way was at a party at New Year's, about 2001 if memory serves. Not so deep into it, quite close to Rama 4. The folks there wouldn't let us go out alone at any time and would go with us to the shops or anywhere else. At the time I didn't understand it.

Sometime after that one member of the family we visited for the party was ordained at Wat Khlong Toey. Now that had things you do not expect to see at a Bhuddist monastery.

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## stroller

^
Now this comment is making me curious!
Please elaborate. :Smile:

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## stroller



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## stroller

Ok, now I'm sobered up, on with the show:

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## stroller



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## hillbilly

I have spent the last 45 minutes viewing this thread. Ok, I have to admit the net has been slow, but also I kept going back and looking at the pics that stroller took.

When i first arrived in BKK several years ago the Klong Toey Market was one of the first places I visited with my camera. Why? It was close to where i lived. I remember having a feeling that a 'falang' should not be walking around depicting life in the Thai ghettos!

Well done stroller!  I appreciate the memories...

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## stroller

I better upload the rest of the pics, got the next pictorial in the pipeline already.

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## stroller



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## Marmite the Dog

I never have the balls to take pictures of people like you have done. Fascinating shots; thanks a lot.

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## Propagator

Great thread and some really awesome photos.    What sort of camera was you using then?   :goldcup:

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## stroller

Thanks guys!
The pics are extracted from a video on mini-DV, I had a very nice Panasonic camcorder at the time, with a feature called "progressive photo shot". Still, the technical quality of pics is not impressive at all.




> I never have the balls to take pictures of people like you have done.


Generally, in Thailand people are very cooperative and like to have their pics taken, but yeah, it takes a certain attitude, I am not always in the right frame of mind, either. With some of the characters in this thread I made sure I had permission beforehand.

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## Thetyim

> The real question is what type of vice was Stroller looking for in Klong Toey.





> All will be revealed in due course, YT.


When ?

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## stroller

In the last post from the market, I found me betelnuts!  :Very Happy:

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## Thetyim

You went all the way to Klong Toey for some betelnuts ?

Were you living in Bangers at the time.

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## stroller

Yes, I lived near Ekamai which is not far from Klong Toey.
The market also serves as a wholesale point for vegetables and other food-stuff in the early mornings.

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## Thetyim

Ahh Ok, I understand now
I have been waiting to hear what you had travelled 600 km to get but you lived nearby at the time. 

Great thread.

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## farmerfloyd

How come I cant see any pictures from Stroll and the market . Just red X, nothing works,  I look foreward to seeing  Teak  Door every weekend.
  Please help>  farmerrfloyd

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## wombat

> How come I cant see any pictures from Stroll and the market . Just red X, nothing works,  I look foreward to seeing  Teak  Door every weekend.
>   Please help>  farmerrfloyd


ditto ... no pics ?

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## lom

^ User CP -> Edit Options -> Thread Display Options.

Or maybe it is not enabled in your browser settings.

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## stroller

^
Sorry this thread has been off-line for a bit, I accidentally deleted the album from the gallery and had to reload the pics. :Surprised:  




> I have been waiting to hear what you had travelled 600 km to get but you lived nearby at the time.


Sorry to disappoint, my motives were quite ordinary on this occasion. :Smile:

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## waldo_one2

Bloody brilliant post!......really enjoyed looking at the pics,as i've always wondered what it was like down there.

This is why teakdoor is one of my favourite sites..........i really should contribute a bit more

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## JoGeAr

Great thread, Stroller. Really enjoyed the pics.

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## Butterfly

I live not far from Klong Toey, and driving through the back roads at night in the area (behinf Rama 4) is quite scary, this is one place you don't want your car break down. 

Almost ran out of gas there one day. Wasn't laughing.

Great thread  :goldcup:

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## kingwilly

> Recently read a book on Klong Toey keep the pics coming stroll very enjoyable


do you remember the name of the book?

classic old thread, great stuff! a green to teh fella that bumped it!

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## Bobcock

Emporium is in Klong Toei, my kind of market.

It actually has it's northern border at Sukhumvit, not Petchburi.

Some great pics, I love photographing people and places like this but I'd be a bit nervous to ask some of those characters....LOL

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## gusG

Excellent! Can't believe I missed this before. I thought I'd read nearly everything when I first found TD. 5 stars.

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## sunsetter

nice one stroller, wicked pics, this thread is one of the best pictorials here, could write a great book im sure if you were to have interviewed those people :goldcup:  have a green
(belated)

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## jaiyenyen

Wonerful photo's Stroller. Thanks.
Imagine how different the photo's would have been if taken after a downpour.

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## Mr Pot

Fascinating, went out and bought Father Joe's slaughterhouse book yesterday; reccommend it to everyone.  Great easy read, intresting chilling, moving, downright fcuked up stories with a few inspirational characters.  Slogged through in three to four hours and happy to read again.

Stroller, how did you organise the tour and did you venture right into the slaughterhouse slum?

How did you organise your guide?

I have always been interested in the real darker, hidden side to life, good thread and thanks.

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## stroller

Don't know what the "slaughterhouse slum" is.

The tour was not organised, a distant auntie of the gf lives there, was curious to meet me when I became known as the official appendix, so I went with the missus and took my camcorder with me. They would not let me venture further than the nearest corner-shop on my own and one of the guys there showed me around a bit.

Best you know someone who lives there, and you will be alright.

Didn't look dangerous to me, but I suppose a white face with a camcorder would attract the wrong kind of attention on their own.

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## astasinim

Great thread Stroll. Cant believe I missed this classic.
Gotto spread the love, otherwise well worth a green.   :goldcup:

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## smeden

wery nice pics thanks    :Smile:  :Smile:  :Smile:

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## cimboc

1999 explains the photo quality.

Awesome thread even is it has been kind of bumped  :Smile: 

Have a green  :goldcup:

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## ItsRobsLife

Excellent thread, thanks Sabang for the heads up.  :Wink:

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## sabang

Yessir.

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## klong toey

We live in this area,i walk back from the pub at 2am sometimes.
Its a lot safer then Sukhumvit Road at that time of night.

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## Bob63

Good story. Green sent too

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## Scottish Gary

Thanks for the photoes.  Does Father Joe the American priest still live there ?

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## Yemen

Had a close relation cremated at Klong Toey temple a few months ago. Quite an area to experience. Thanks for the pictues.

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## Mr Earl

What a great thread, don't know how I missed it first time around.

I've been living in the area about a year now. Been down some of the dodgier alleys a few times, at night even, never been hassled. By in large pretty good folks.
Sometimes I'll walk from Asok through the side streets to Rama 4, very interesting area.

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## Hoof Hearted

Great pics, great thread !  I have tried to get one of my thai family members to guide me into areas like this but no one will do it.  Thanks for the look into the area.

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## Mid

yep this thread is past due for inclusion in Famous Threads

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