ตลาดน้ำคลองแห : พื้นที่ประดิษฐ์เพื่อการท่องเที่ยวและการบริโภค

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to investigate: 1) the relationships between the way of life of people in the community and Khlong Hae Floating Market that affected its invention; 2) the invention of Khlong Hae Floating Market making it a space for tourism and consumption. The data for this qualitative study were collected through observations and interviews with the Lord Mayor of Muang Khlong Hae, municipal council members, vendors, Kamnan, village heads, and Thai and foreign tourists. The data were then analyzed and triangulated. The results of the study revealed that: The relationships between the way of life of people in the community and Khlong Hae Floating Market that affected the invention of Khlong Hae Foating Market revealed that people lived a simple life and were attached to each other as if they were relatives. In Khlong Hae Community, there was an important natural resource that people used together and they considered it a public treasure for the community that was Khlong Hae waterway. People in the community had, for a long time, used water from Khlong Hae for consumption, communications, agricultural activities, fisheries, and traditional ceremonies. This waterway, therefore, connected ways of life of people in the community, and when Khlong Hae itself had been changed and a floating market was invented for tourism and consumption named "Khlong Hae Floating Market", this invented space had increased people's love for the community and among themselves as it had become a source of jobs, income, as well as for tourism, and consumption for more tourists. As a result, different meanings had been given to "Khlong Hae Floating Market" according to people's feeling, attitude, understanding, imagination, status, and relationship with it. For the invention of Khlong Hae Floating Market as a space for tourism and consumption, it was found that the invention had been made for the purpose of tourism and for tourists who wanted to get the feel of the olden-day Thai society along the waterway. Therefore, Khlong Hae Floating Market was invented for the olden-day atmosphere through the way people dressed, their food, boats and traditional activities to give tourists the feeling of the past. This floating market was opened in the late afternoon of Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. The dresses of people featured the olden-day styles with no emphasis on any particular period of time. The foods were also made with emphasis on the olden-day styles and on using natural materials for food containers such as banana leaves, lotus leaves, bamboo tubes, etc. so that they looked delicious. These natural materials not only represented their being olden-day Thainess but also helped conserve the environment. The invention of boats was considered the selling point of Khlong Hae Floating Market as boats could provide tourists with the atmosphere of the olden days when boats floated in the middle of the Khlong. Nevertheless, the boats at Khlong Hae Floating Market parked around the pier, and boat-rowing shows were invented as part of the Thai tradition show. Activities were also invented to revive and promote Thai traditions through the space of Khlong Hae Floating Market such as Songkran, Loy Krathong, and alms offering, etc. to attract tourists and promote tourism continuously. "Khlong Hae Floating Market" had, therefore, been part of the invented space for tourism and consumption.