Petchaburi Market: Heart of the Town

A market back alley with a guy carting ice around - probably to keep the fish fresh.

Petchaburi in Thailand has been my home for the last five years. It is a city with the feel of a town. Only two hours from Bangkok most tourists pass by on their way to the beaches further south and it feels like tradition has hung on a little better here than in many places.

One such tradition is that the central market area is still the lively heart of the town. The time to visit is early to mid-morning before the real heat arrives and when the bustle is at its best and chaos often seems to rule. I was a bit late on the day I took these pictures so it looks a bit quieter than normal but then this isn't Bangkok or a thriving tourist resort it's just a proper, functioning provincial town!

The main back alley that has a lot of colour, art and character plus the feel of somewhere actually lived in.

Covered area of market with lots of confectionery, vegetables and flowers.

Watermelons.

Other fruit.

It is a real mix of the old and the new. Motorbikes and cellphones are everywhere but so are shopfronts with wooden shutters and stacks of local food made as it has been for generations. The snacks may be handed over in plastic bags rather than banana-leaf wrappers but the contents are still full of the flavours of Petchaburi. For example, the famous "morgan" dessert - a kind of caramelised egg custard that's hard to resist; and "khao chae" - iced jasmine-flavoured rice served with a selection of preserved foodstuffs some of which I couldn't recognise!

There are different areas for different goods but the lines aren't rigid so the stalls with stacks of local fruit or piles of fresh fish are not always together and surprises can pop up anywhere. It's not a vast market area but it is rambling with interesting back alleys and a riverside pavillion.

Mixed veg.

Selling eggs from the back of a pickup truck.

The uncomfortable children's furniture is worth it for the "khanom jeen" served here - fermented rice noodles with coconut curry.

The one of the left had an important role in the development of Petchaburi around 150 years ago. The one on the right is enjoying her noodles.

And for me the key to it managing to hold on to its heritage so well is that interspersed with all the stalls are the regular shops selling just about anything you could imagine. These are not modern franchised enterprises, these are local family businesses serving the community as they have been doing since great-grandmother first took over from her mother. This gives the place character beyond most town centres these days. There's hardware, cookware, clothing, shoes, baskets, fishing gear, pets, flowers and plenty more. It's all stuff for practical use so if you are looking for purpose-made souvenirs then I suggest you carry on down the coast to Huahin.

There is a big mall on the edge of town but for most Petchaburians the market is the go-to place and it is always a great area for a wander with impressive temples nearby and tucked-away cafes to relax in for a while before diving back into the market.

Petchaburi River sign using the official "Ph" spelling which confuses lots of western visitors.

Shops just over the river from the market with Petchaburi's most important temple, Wat Mahathat, in the background.

Old-style shop-fronts spilling into the road.

Well-restored wooden shop-front.

My feeling is that the people of Petchaburi have pride in their market. A retired cousin of my wife was born and bred in the town, and it was an absolute pleasure to take a walk around the market with her one day. She knew everybody and stopped for a chat every three or four steps. There were permanently smiling faces and laughter as they swapped their family news and poked fun at each other. It gave me a sense of the market as a village that thrives on being open to outsiders. I was left feeling that Petchaburi market still has a living, breathing community beating as its heart.

Traditional wooden building next to Mahathat Temple with shop downstairs, home upstairs.

Live animals (fish and frogs here) are available to buy for releasing into the river to gain merit - not my favourite part of Thai culture.

Map of historical sites on the less-busy western side of the river.

I asked people crossing the bridge what this meant but nobody could explain it to me!