Local residents gathering fresh vegetables are a common sight along Tha Chin. Walking into a grocery store, one can still find wooden catapults, used for shooting birds in days gone by, on display. At nearby coffee shops, men still enjoy a game of chess as a daily social activity. And don't be surprised to see rows of metal buckets hanging on a rack along the sidewalk. On weekends, though, the narrow walkways of Don Wai can become so packed with Bangkok shoppers that it is hard to take in all the visual delights of the shophouses.
Local people know where to take a break from the crowds, though.
It's a common sight, along the river, to witness a mother singing a song to her child while sitting at a small wooden pier in front of her house, or a fisherman skilfully casting his net from a tiny boat, or a duck merchant making his way to the market on a longtail motorboat. In some places one can see children and their parents enjoying ice-cream from a boat whose owner specialises in the frozen treat. These are not tailor-made tour programmes to attract tourists, but part of the normal lifestyle of people living by the river. A forest of nipa palm, which has become a rare species in Bangkok, shows its red offspring by the Bang Chang Canal. As well, hundreds of lamphu tree, only one of which survives in Bang Lamphu district of Bangkok, can be picked out easily because of its sky-pointing roots.