The Footpath Files

Stories from the Streets of Bangkok.

  • [SINGAPORE EDITION] Hiding in Plain Sight: Emerald Hill, the Last Village on Orchard Road

    [SINGAPORE EDITION] Hiding in Plain Sight: Emerald Hill, the Last Village on Orchard Road

    Sense of place is elusive in Singapore. Concepts like community, heritage and authenticity have often all too often taken a back seat to progress, growth and efficiency — in some instances being obliterated all together. While this prosperous city-state has made great strides in recent decades in restoring and preserving historic facades, rarely have the… Read more

  • Bangkok’s Original TCDC, Where Creativity Once Unfolded, Finally Folds Up

    Bangkok’s Original TCDC, Where Creativity Once Unfolded, Finally Folds Up

    This is a story about a space. Eighteen years ago on the top floor of a shopping complex, a remarkable series of rooms opened its doors to an un-expecting public, the physical embodiment of the nation’s ‘Creative Economy’. Since then, the Thailand Creative & Design Center (TCDC) has served as the de facto base camp… Read more

  • Where Spirits Reside and Wishes Flourish

    Where Spirits Reside and Wishes Flourish

    As the new year begins the world over, social media feeds abound with resolutions and reflections. In Thailand, the commencement of life’s annual chapter refresh does not generally take the form of personal resolves — which are a fairly western construct.  Interestingly, in this deeply Buddhist kingdom, we do not make promises to ourselves, we… Read more

  • A River Runs Through It

    A River Runs Through It

    Founded on one side of the Chao Phraya, Bangkok is a city both by and of the river. Due to the expansion of the greater metropolitan area over time, the Chao Phraya no longer runs along one side of the city, but rather, right through the middle, in what is now South East Asia’s largest… Read more

  • The Cabinet of Aspirations

    The Cabinet of Aspirations

    Mounted against a wall in one of Bangkok’s oldest houses, situated in a museum that was itself a former palace, is a curious display of a home in miniature — a still life of hopes and dreams. This time capsule in the guise of a dollhouse was once owned by Chao Chom Liam, a concubine… Read more

  • The Shack On The Water’s Edge

    The Shack On The Water’s Edge

    Certain places attract the weary traveller. Like moths to a flame, the source of this pull is typically within proximity to either a notable attraction or to a transportation link, or both. If this place conveys a cheap and cheerful ambience, all the better. If it is also blessed with a view that combines water, a… Read more

The Footpath Files

Stories from the Streets of Bangkok

All photography is by The Footpath Files unless otherwise credited.

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Bangkok, Thailand

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