Looking forward, Sam Chuk riverside market in Suphan Buri chooses to stick to its roots.
'These are old pictures. Please come in. There are more inside," the lady at the photo shop said, smiling, as I stood admiring old photos displayed in front of the shop.
With today's digital technology, it's easy to create black and white photos that would look like the old ones. They would look even more real if one is dressed in traditional outfits and the photo is taken against a background reminiscent of days long gone.
But we are not talking about digital technology here.
"Silp Thammachart" is a photo shop that still relies on old know-how to take pictures that look the age. We are talking about the wooden-box camera that has been around more than 50 years and the technique required to process the film.
"We've had this camera since 1950 and still use it to take pictures," explained Sunee Iampichairith who it seems is probably be the only remaining exponent of the wooden-box camera in Suphan Buri.
"We don't want to go digital. This camera is unique," she said.
She sends developed pictures to clients by mail, one week after they are taken. It's amazing to learn that there are still people around who prefer it done the old way.
Silp Thammachart, located in a shophouse in Sam Chuk market of Suphan Buri Province, has defied time and technology to stay in business more than 50 years. And today, apart from being a photo shop, it has become a place of interest for visiting tourists, mostly from cities, who stop by for a chat with the friendly owner of the studio.
Besides, the studio, other shophouses in the market have also become a magnet for tourists who still cultivate a taste for genuine old-world charms.
It is part of the market's attempt to promote tourism by preserving old values and ways of life that are becoming increasingly rare in the technology-driven world we live in today.
Sam Chuk is like a living piece of history. There's no need to recreate the old atmosphere, as is customary these days, since the area is full of genuine old-world environment for the people are real, having spent their entire lives there.
The market itself is about a hundred years old. Although business is not as brisk as it used to be, the shops there have grouped together to preserve its former ambience in the hope of attracting tourists and turn it again into the busy and prosperous marketplace that it once was.
Thanks to their efforts, Sam Chuk has succeeded in attracting an increasing number of city dwellers curious to know what the market looks like and how people lived in the old days.
The most important landmark of Sam Chuk is the Baan Khun Jamnong Jeenarak, a private property, which now serves as a museum. The house used to be the nerve of the community where people gathered to discuss important issues.
Mr Jumnong Jeenanak was an eminent businessman who brought prosperity to the community and worked incessantly for the welfare of its constituents.
His three-storey wooden house has striking architecture. Serving as a museum it portrays the legend of its owner through a series of pictures and well-documented episodes from his lifetime.
Visiting the museum, children often find themselves in awe hearing their parents recount anecdotes from history.
"There are visitors everyday but the placce is more crowded on weekends," said a museum staff.
Strolling the narrow lanes of the market, you will notice that most shophouses are two-storeyed and retain their old architecture. Each shophouse has its own story to tell.
We spoke to an old woman at Boon Chuay Hattakit, a shop that's been selling clocks for more than five decades. Initially, it only sold clocks hand-made by its owner. But these days it also sells clocks produced elsewhere. It was left with no choice after the chief clockmaker passed away.
"Sam Chuk used to be an important trading port," she said, "where merchants came to trade goods in the good old days." All that is now ancient history. The market has since gone into a decline.
There are gold shops, old-style hair saloons and hotels which are being renovated, shops selling traditional medicine and a shrine dating back to the founding of Sam Chuk itself.
Tired, we stopped at a shop that served tea and coffee brewed in the traditional Thai style. The drink was thick and aromatic, remindful of the time before Lipton, Starbucks and other brands arrived on the scene.
Sam Chuk also offers a variety of culinary delights. Recommended dishes are "Khao Hor Bai Bua" (rice covered with lotus leaves), red pork noodle, "Pla Salid" (gourami fish), "Nam Prik Mae Kim Lung", grilled duck and shrimp.
And with that ended our sojourn to Suphan Buri. It was an exciting trip steeped in history that opened up our eyes and ears to the charms of the old world which is alive in Sam Chuk, thanks to the collective effort of its residents to keep it that way.
MORE INFO
To get to Sam Chuk Market from Bangkok, take Highway 340 and drive towards Suphan Buri for 145 kilometres.
Bangkok Post September 2005 www.bangkokpost.com
