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River City is billed as a shopping complex. Those who arrive from down river by the River City ferry and visit the place for the first time might think it’s a fitting adage—shopping complex. But venture to the third and fourth floors and the aspect changes. You will discover that River City is Southeast Asia’s largest art and antique centre. Over a hundred art and antique shops dominate the two floors and to walk down the walkway between the rows of shops is like viewing a dozen cultures from Southeast Asia and China.
“For art lovers there’s no need to shop around,” said Joerg from the Old Maps & Prints Shop on the fourth floor. “It’s all here in one area. What can be more convenient?”
When friends, and friends of friends, come to Bangkok and ask me where they can find some good shopping, I of course, tell them about Chatuchak, which I wrote about in Weekly Travel Feature two weeks ago. If I can see that they are really interested in the arts and antiques of Asia, I tell them about River City. Even if they are not interested in buying, I tell them it’s a must to visit River City. It’s like visiting the museums of a dozen countries and, if you happen to have your checkbook with you, you may not be able to resist the temptations. Some remarkable displays are on view.
On my last visit I accompanied two friends, Mike and Lisa McKellar, from my hometown, Miranda, in the redwoods of northern California. Mike is an avid photographer and I had him shoot the photos for his week’s story.
Getting to River City is half the fun. I tell people to take the Sky Train to the end at Sathorn Bridge, or Taksin Station as it is also called, and there catch a River City ferry upriver to the City. It’s a splendid way to see Bangkok with all its high-rise architecture: past the Shangri-La Hotel with all its gardens and balconies; past the Oriental Hotel, the Grand Old Dame of Bangkok; and, a little beyond, the Fire Station which was the Customs House back in Joseph Conrad’s day some 120 years ago; and then the Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel, also on the river. On the other bank across the river looms the Peninsula and the Millennium Hilton Bangkok. And finally, just beyond the Sheraton, is River City with its own private docking area. Since 1984 River City has enjoyed its premier location on the Chaos Phraya.
Before you begin your tour, if you are thirsty or hungry, stop at one of the riverside restaurants. Sit and relax and prepare yourself for what is coming. River City has four first-class restaurants serving both Thai and international food. Sala Thai and Grand Pearl are on the first floor. For barbeque lovers, there’s River City Bar-B-Q Corner that operates in two locations: on the second-floor balcony overlooking the Grand Hall and on the open-air rooftop garden with a magnificent panoramic view of Bangkok and the Chao Phraya River. The River View Restaurant is also located on the second floor.
Not all art and antiques are confined to the 3rd and 4th floors. There are ten more antique shops at Antique Arcade on the ground floor. Also the large open area on the ground floor is reserved for exhibitions, everything from paintings and sculptures from local artists to rugs from the Middle East. There is also another exhibition hall on the fourth floor.
At present, something very special is located at the fourth floor hall. In honour of His Majesty the King's 80th Birthday Anniversary 5th December 2007, the River City Management and rare book collectors jointly organized the exhibition of His Majesty the King entitled “Our Beloved King in Print.” The exhibition presents over 100 rare books and magazines printed with King Rama IX’s illustrations. All visitors will receive a special card for writing messages to H. M. the King on his upcoming birthday.
The first and second floors have a variety of shops for the casual shopper—beautiful silk shops, boutiques, tailors, jewellers, art galleries, leather products stores and gift shops. Here too you can drop in on Sala Thai for a traditional Thai massage. Or have a River City Hair Cut.
Take the escalator to the third and fourth floor. I don’t think there is anyplace in the city where you will see such beauty. Walk past these shops and you are viewing a display of different cultures from a dozen past civilizations. These include rare antiques from China, India, Japan, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. There are Buddha images, large blue and white vases, porcelains, silver boxes and betel nut sets, gold ornaments, art deco clocks and sculptures, intricate wood carvings and many other rarities from around the globe. The way these treasures are displayed is stunning. You will find you want to stop and linger at each and every shop.
My friends Mike and Lisa found their own delights, and I have my own that I like to visit. One is a shop that has ship models, and what models these are. They are artistically fashioned with great care to detail. I like to study the square-riggers that made their way upriver centuries ago to Ayutthaya, the old capital of Siam. There are Chinese junks and Persian and Roman galleys. On display in the window is a sure eye-catcher—a suit of armor worn by knights in the Middle Ages.
And then there is Old Maps & Prints, a shop on the fourth floor where I can spend hours, even days, rummaging through old maps and prints. The shop is owned and run by Joerg Kohler. Here you can find lessons in history. Without visual references, it would be quite impossible to picture Southeast Asia a hundred or more years ago. But here in Old Maps & Prints you can.
These early maps may not be accurate but they are masterpieces, not only for showpieces and wall decorations but as references for historians. Each map has its story to tell. There is, for example, a map of the Chao Phraya River that shows the city as it was 120 years ago. It tells us not only the best areas where ship captains could turn their vessels around but also where foreign consulates, shipyards, godowns, and even private residences were located.
As Joerg points out, the earliest maps, before chromolithographs, were meticulously drawn in ink by hand, a laborious and time-consuming occupation. The first woodcuts, in which mass produced copies could be had, were made by Albrecht Durer in 1627, but even these were complicated to produce when they were coloured. Each colour had to be added separately.
Prints seen here are hand-coloured woodcarvings and zinc etchings, many of which began to appear in New York and Paris as early as 1870. Edurard Hildebrandt, a German artist who travelled throughout Southeast Asia in 1868, returned home with nearly 200 water colours which he exhibited in Berlin. The originals are in the museum in Berlin and were published between 1871 and 1874. All of these can be seen at Old Maps & Prints.
The intriguing charm of antiques is highlighted by the monthly auction held at the River City auditorium on the fourth floor every first Saturday of each month. These monthly auctions are organized by the Riverside Auction House Ltd., with appraisal experts provided by the Association for the Propagation and Promotion of Objets d'Art. In meeting their objective of providing a reliable platform both for dealers and collectors, River City has added a new dimension to the world of art and antique by setting up the first legal antique auction house in Thailand.
Next week we will answer an email I received in the Questions & Answers below. It’s about Thailand’s major festival—Loy Krathong.
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The four-storey River City on the Chao Phraya River
River City ferry, a converted rice barge, from Taksin
Skytrain Landing
Welcome Mike and Lisa to River City
Looking down at the Exhibition Hall
Every open door offers an attraction
Treasures through every door
Pretty sales girl ready to help
How can you refuse an alabaster from such a pretty sales girl?
You can even buy a door, an ancient one
A ceremonial drum; missing is the cart to pull it
Ceramics new and old
Can you imagine, Homer's head, two meters tall in
bronze?
Buddhas and Buddha heads in every shop
How about a gold gilded horse to take home
The author's favourite shop, Old Maps & Prints
Original posters are collectors' pieces
A shop with a hundred boats and a suit of armour
An exact replica of a Viking ship
These are the vessels that once sailed up the river
Mike and Lisa wave good-bye and board the ferry
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