Phahurat


Phahurat or Pahurat, often known as Thailand's Little India, is an ethnic neighborhood surrounding Phahurat Road in Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok. The area that would become Phahurat was an enclave of Vietnamese immigrants who came to Siam during the reign of King Taksin. In 1898, a fire broke out and paved way for a road which was named "Bahurada", commonly spelled today as Phahurat or Pahurat, by King Chulalongkorn in remembrance of his daughter Princess Bahurada Manimaya who had died at young age.
Many of today's Phahurat residents are of South Asian descent. A Sikh community settled there more than a century ago and established a textile trading center that is still thriving. The golden-domed Siri Guru Singh Sabha temple is a landmark of Phahurat. The neighborhood is also home to South Asian Hindus and Muslims.
The sprawling of Chinese shops from the nearby Chinatown are slowly encroaching on Phahurat, but South Asian restaurants and businesses still dominate the area. It is home to some of Bangkok's more unusual shopping sites, including the sprawling Sampeng Market, The Old Siam Plaza, and the four-storey India Emporium.