Satun Downtown
The most charming walking street is Buri Wanich Road where shop buildings are built in Sino-Portuguese architectural style. In the past this road was an important trading center. Buri Wanich is considered as the first road of “Negeri Setol” or Satun. In the past during the time of the “Tonku Baharuddin” Governor, Satun was rapidly developed. The economy was good. Trade in birds’ nests and black pepper was extensive and Satun became the center between Penang and Phuket, thus the name “Negeri Setol Mum Bang Seagra” or the City of the Angel of the Sea was given to Satun.
Satun also became a very important province at that time. Legend has it that the Governor had very close relationships with the authorities in the City of Siam. He could send “Bu Nga Mas” or a gift made of precious flowers to the royal palace directly without passing through the City of Saiburi. The Governor of Satun was a reformer. He developed the City of Satun by building new roads, installing telephone lines and telegraph lines, and expanding the harbor to make transportation of goods more convenient.
In the old days, Satun had Seng Hin Pier or Rian Thong Pier, Sala Kan Khong Pier, Koh Nok Pier near the downtown areas with docks for steamboats. The Governor also expanded the pier at Klong Sen Den, which was a deep-water canal running through the mouth of Klong Jeh Samad to the Andaman Sea, to make it a pier to transport mangroves and river mangroves as goods to Penang. Buri Wanich was then the busiest trading center and enjoyed its glory days for more than 100 years.
Nowadays, Buri Wanich Road is full of shops on both sides of the road. The buildings remain in the Sino-Portuguese architectural style. They are old shop buildings with arched corridors in front of them, connecting to form walkways which are called “Ngor KhaKhi” – a Hokkien name. Shops still conduct their business, selling almost everything. Some adapted to new shops while some remain the same. The glass showcases made of wood still display various kinds of goods in the style of a small shop and they remind us of the old days when merchants and customers gathered around on this road.
Thung Wah district (or Su-Ngai U-Pe District) was also an international trading center which prospered so much. Merchants – Chinese, Mon, Malay and Indian – all came to buy pepper since at that time Chinese from Penang migrated to grow pepper crops in Thung Wah. Steamboats commuted back and forth from Thung Wah to Penang. In addition to pepper, other products were birds’ nests, green turtle eggs, and charcoal. Currently, buildings in Sino-Portuguese architectural style are prevalent, like the ones on Buri Wanich Road, and they seem to be influenced by the style in Penang. They are assumed to have been built between; 1897 – 1902.