It can be a source of great pride to live in a house that's more than a century and a half old, but it's pride that comes with a cost.
The heady times of the Rattanakosin period meet the modern day at Sou Heng Tai House in Talad Noi district.
Phusak Posayajinda lives in Sou Heng Tai House — the 167-year-old house built by an ancestor of the Sou family using wood and concrete — in Talad Noi community. He's an eighth generation member of the Sou family.
To keep the old house in shape, Mr Phusak has to shoulder monthly costs of at least 150,000 baht. He stays there with his wife, five-year-old son and mother, who's now 69.
“Sou Heng Tai House is the pride of the community. It’s of great sentimental value to us,” said Mr Phusak, 48.
There were many tough years for the family as they fought to keep the house habitable. But there was light at the end of the tunnel when the “Bangkok Chinatown World Heritage” project was launched.
A collaboration between Arsom Silp Institute of the Arts and the Health Promotion Foundation, the project aims to restore communities in Chinatown and raise historical awareness of the neighbourhood among the local residents and tourists.
Sarinporn Poommanee, the project leader from Arsom Silp, said Sou Heng Tai House was selected as a pilot restoration project because it is unique.
With the community being compact, it also meant restoration work would be much easier. The house is a fine example of beautiful Chinese architecture that can provide educational and recreational access for tourists and academics.
Ms Sarinporn said members of the institute inspected the house last year and discussed the restoration with the owner who had agreed to the project. Stepping in to help was the Siam Society, the Engineering Institute of Thailand and the Association of Siamese Architects.
Ms Sarinporn said experts are now discussing which areas require urgent restoration and the appropriate techniques to use. The restoration will cost about 10 million baht.
She said the team plans to arrange talks to seek public support for general community restoration, while raising awareness about conserving historical sites in the city that have cultural and historical value, as well as creating a sense of community pride.
One activity, “Sketching Talad Noi's Cultural Heritage”, was held last Saturday by the Siam Society. Members of the society took about 50 people with their sketch pads on an exploration tour of the neighbourhood and encouraged them to draw their favourite spots.
Talad Noi has always been overshadowed by the popular Yaowarat, or Chinatown. But many visitors to the area don't realise that the small neighbourhood is a gem and located only a stone's throw from the main Chinatown. The neighbourhood portrays a picture of the contemporary way of life of Chinese descendants.
Situated in Samphanthawong district, the Talad Noi Community is a place where visitors can explore shops where craftsmen make original knives using age-old techniques, or sample authentic Chinese food cooked by residents and served in their cosy houses. There are several Chinese temples in the community that give educational and recreational access to visitors.
The community is also home to Bangkok’s most remarkable vegetarian festival that has been running since the beginning of the Rattanakosin era. It's held at the Chow Sue Kong Shrine located in the heart of the community.
The two-storey Sou Heng Tai House is perhaps one of the most striking features of the community and draws hordes of tourists because of its beautiful golden teakwood.
Mr Phusak said the structure had been badly damaged by white ants, while the foundation poles and beams are not in good shape.
Located on a one-rai plot (about 1,600 square metres), the house features a series of square-shaped dwellings with traditional Chinese style roofs. Surrounded by a fence, the house has a large gate with Chinese letters on it.
Mr Phusak said their ancestor was a holder of a government concession for bird’s nests in the early Rattanakosin era. The ancestor turned the house into a centre that provided a money exchange for Hokkien immigrants living in Thailand to send their earnings back to China.
The Hokkien make up the largest Chinese ethnic group to migrate to Thailand and they largely occupied the Talad Noi neighbourhood that once was one of the largest business centres for the Chinese.
The Sou family was one of the largest Hokkien clans and the ancestral beginning of such well-known families as Chatikavanij, Srivikorn, Panyarachun, Bhirombhakdi, Settabut and Posayajinda.
But the family's fortunes gradually diminished and that made it impossible to keep the old house in shape. Mr Phusak decided to build a pool on the premises to hold diving classes.
A diving instructor, he said he was blamed by many family members for upsetting the feng shui of the compound by building the pool which would bring bad luck. But he argued that the diving courses taught at the pool were a source of income to cover the maintenance fees.
To keep up with the maintenance, he said it was suggested he register the house as a heritage site with the Department of Fine Arts.
But Mr Phusak felt that would only make renovations more complicated. Once registered, the owner would have to get permission from the department before any changes or repairs could be made, and that he would have to bear the renovation costs, without help from the department.
Mr Phusak said ownership of Sou Heng Tai House is a source of pride for the family.
He proudly displays a photograph of King Rama V — another feature of the house — taken by an ancestor who was the king's personal photographer. On the back, it bears the date July 4, 1900.