Photo: Wikipedia
First published in 1887, it developed into a daily newspaper in 1900. It consisted of a 6-page, three-quarters filled with advertisements.
There was international news, such as the Boer War, the health of the Chinese emperor, the assassination of US President McKinley and the death of Queen Victoria, but also contained a lot of local news and more entertaining, short news items. All this gives a nice insight into everyday life, especially regarding the concerns and insecurities of the expats of that time, not so different from today. Let's write some down. It is the year 1900 or 1901.
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Editorial
Although the European community did not come to a port in the Far East, such as Bangkok, to see the life and customs of the Siamese people, it is still curious how little interest we show in the lives of the people around us. We strictly enforce our own customs in our own small circle and cut ourselves off from the wider community. We farangs hardly know anything about the ordinary life of the Siamese. We visit exuberant Siamese entertainment, organized by one or another department, but see few Siamese there, while the whole thing was set up according to European standards.
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We had a visit from a Mr. GMSchilling who told us that he had made a bet that he would walk around the world without a penny in his pocket. We have heard about this scam before and we have also seen many not pay.
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The police have finally taken action against the women who search for their prey at night on Nieuwe Weg (now Charoen Krung Weg). The Chief Inspector sent a number of men who arrested four women and a man who appeared in court today. It shouldn't be that hard to stop this kind of practice in Bangkok.
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It is hoped that, according to the new rules of the city council, the owner of a howling dog, tied up in his house, will be shot dead
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It doesn't take long for a newcomer to Bangkok to realize just how chaotic the traffic is. In a city the size and importance of Bangkok and where sidewalks are completely absent, rules for vehicle behavior are an absolute necessity. When you take a walk, say along the New Road, you don't know how to dodge all those rikshas, carriages and galloping ponies, let alone the “Bangkok Express”, the local tram. Given the rapid growth of Bangkok, it is essential that there are some rules. The sooner the better.
Charoen Krung Road in Chinatown Bangkok (1912)
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Last night two drunken Europeans caused a big commotion at the beginning of the “Oriental Lane”. They showed mutual affection through the free use of walking stick and umbrella.
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The motorcycle has entered Bangkok.
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In the past 5 days, Windmill Street (Silom) has had 5 deaths from smallpox and there have been at least a dozen more cases in the same street, mostly children. There is also a case of cholera. Of course, Bangkok always has cases of smallpox, but there seems to be some kind of epidemic now.
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Around 4 am on Monday morning, police arrested a man walking around with a bundle containing a loaded revolver, a pair of daggers, drilling materials, crowbars and a number of amulets, such as thieves often carry. He told police he had just bought them from a pawn shop. The police thought it was a strange story and took him away.
The man turned out to be a Mom Chao, a son of a prince, who enjoy privileges that prevent them from being held captive or tried without special permission. This permission has been requested and we assume that it has now been granted.
Princes and other nobles enjoy privileges everywhere, but it cannot be the case that this exempts them from criminal charges.
This Mom Chao has previously served 10 years.
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In the vicinity of Khorat, passengers from the train saw a tiger dragging a deer. The engineer blew his whistle, and the tiger dropped its prey and fled into the jungle in a panic.
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Source: Steve van Beek, Bangkok, Then and Now, Ab Plubications, Bangkok 2002 (still available)
It's amazing how little has actually changed. Nice piece, Tino. I have read/watched Steve van Beek's book. Beautiful pictures.
The only difference is that the Grand Palace was closed at the time. 😉
A very nice piece Tino. It was already hectic in Bangkok at the time. We can no longer imagine what life was like back then. What would it be like in a hundred years?
At that time they were much more animal-friendly and still punished those responsible. I quote: "It is hoped that, under the new rules of the city council, the owner of a howling dog, tied up in his house, will be shot." In other words, “under the new rules, the owner of a howling dog tied up in his home will be shot. Will that howling dog have tied his master so as not to escape his just punishment? Handy beast!