The kingdom of . iver life is the watermarkets at certain places along the banks; a regularmarket is held which begins soon after midnight andlasts till seven or eight in the morning. Both buyers and sellers are chiefly women. Thesellers come in small boats bringing fish, eggs, fruit,etc., which they have themselves grown, and onemay see two or three hundred small boats, eachwith its little lamp, the owners talking and laughingwith their neighbors. Then as soon as the sun hasrisen they begin to return home, and what was abusy market is now an open space of river. To foreigners the most
The kingdom of . iver life is the watermarkets at certain places along the banks; a regularmarket is held which begins soon after midnight andlasts till seven or eight in the morning. Both buyers and sellers are chiefly women. Thesellers come in small boats bringing fish, eggs, fruit,etc., which they have themselves grown, and onemay see two or three hundred small boats, eachwith its little lamp, the owners talking and laughingwith their neighbors. Then as soon as the sun hasrisen they begin to return home, and what was abusy market is now an open space of river. To foreigners the most interesting things to bestudied, after the life and customs of the inhabi-tants, are the royal palace with its surroundings andthe numerous Buddhist temples. The town of Bangkok being comparatively modern(1782) is interesting chiefly on account of its up-to-dateness, but within easy reach of Bangkok by railare many places of historic interest such as Ayuthia(the old capital), Korat, Rachburee, Prapatom,Petchaburee, o o <pq tfu <: o <:z <: w K The Capital 111 The population of Bangkok is estimated at fivehundred thousand souls, of whom, some eight tonine hundred are Europeans or Americans. Besidesthese, the foreign element includes Chinese, Japan-ese, Koreans, Malays, Javanese, Hindus, Klings,Pathans, Afghans, Burmese, Arabs, Cambodians,Annamites, most of whom are rendered conspicuousby their national dress, which they seldom to this habit of retaining their national dress,which differentiates them from the rest of the peo-ple, a casual observer is apt to overestimate theforeign population, the number of which, excludingthe Chinese, is comparatively small. The Chinese population, by the returns of thepoll-tax in 1900, was 65,345 male adults, and theentire estimated Chinese population, allowing forold men, women, and children, who pay no tax,85,500. In 1903, owing to exceptional circum-stances, the number rose to 100,000. Bangkok is the terminus of
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