Walking along the old canal and graffiti.

The afternoon became bright and sunny; we had rainy weather several days in a roll. So, it was nice to go out for a walk along the old canal opposite Yannawa temple. I had to feed some stray cats at the remold every week but I hardly had the time to walk around the area. I arrived at the temple early and sneaked out quietly for a walk. If one of those cars saw me, he would start crying and other cats would run to greet me. That would be the end of my hope for going to the canal. These cats had very good eyesight and memory.

The old canal was only five minutes’ walk from the temple. I discovered this canal by chance a few years ago. Surprisingly, there were still many old houses along the canal and colourful wall paintings and graffiti on the walls of those old houses. There was an effort by the local authority to improve the surrounding along the old canal.

The paths along the canal were quite narrow with small handrails. A drunken person would find it difficult to reach his house during the night. The water in the canal didn’t look clean but I saw a few people with fishing rods. They told me that they occasionally got some fish. By chance, I saw a water monitor basking in the sunshine by the bridge. He was frightened by my footstep and went into hiding under the bridge.

All the houses were very quiet as if the owners weren’t back home from work yet. There’s so much contrast among houses along the canal; some poor people still had their old tin roofs, some houses look very nice with small gardens, while condo projects could be seen in the nearby area. I just hoped that those poor houses would be allowed to remain there for several more generations before the authority began a repossess of the land along the canal.

A group of school children were having their private gathering by the canal. Some were looking at me with suspicion as I was taking my snapshots along the canal. I waved to them and took photos of the graffiti: then I heard one person telling his friends “just a tourist”. They probably thought I was a plain cloth police! These children could be seen smoking some cigarettes which wouldn’t be allowed in schools.

In the countryside, young children would be enticed to try out speed pills which wound get them the addiction. It seemed drug trafficking has become a big issue this year. I guessed the economy was so bad that people had to make a living by trafficking drugs. There used to be areas in the city that even policemen were afraid to enter alone.

Looking at the graffiti, I was quite amazed that they still looked rather good despite being battered by rain and sunshine for more than five years. I couldn’t quite make the connections between the graffiti and local stories. Perhaps there weren’t any connections to local culture or stories like graffiti in other places in the city.

The nice thing was the quiet and peaceful atmosphere along the canal. The local residents have been living in the area for at least three generations. So, I felt quite safe walking alone along the canal. There were no coffee shops or restaurants in the area though I could spot some trendy coffee shops along the main road. It would be nice to see tourism coming back to this part of the city in the near future. Yannawa temple, the Ghost Tower and graffiti along the canal could be a nice tourist attraction during the day, before taking the free boat ride to IconSiam in the evening.

Wishing you peace, good health and prosperity.

Stay strong and cheerful.