Neighborhood · Thonburi side

Kudi Chin & Santa Cruz

กุฎีจีน

A 250-year-old Portuguese-Thai Catholic village hidden behind the temples of the west bank.

Jing ler? — no way

When Ayutthaya fell in 1767, King Taksin granted this land to Portuguese-descended Catholics who had fought beside him. Their descendants still live here, 250 years on — a working Catholic village with its own church bells inside Buddhist Bangkok.

Jing ler? — no way

The village still bakes khanom farang kudi chin — 'foreigners' cake' — from a 200-year-old Portuguese recipe, in charcoal ovens, topped with dried persimmon. Three families keep the tradition; you can smell the bakeries before you find them.

Source & further reading: Wikipedia · District guide: Thonburi side

Explore it in the 3D city →

Share this guide