Field Notes

What does it take for a place to become a community? A visit to Peninsula Plaza offers a glimpse into the lives and experiences of Singapore’s Myanmar community, while inviting us to see the migrant communities that contribute to and shape the social fabric of our city.

Whenever one speaks of the concept of community, we tend to associate this with specific places where persons live, and they often call it home. However, this is not always the case, especially in a post-place world, where innumerable virtual communities now reside within digitized environments.

On 8th November 2022, Thai communities around the world celebrated Loy Krathong, a traditional festival that also takes place in other Southeast Asian societies like Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. For Thais, it usually occurs on a November evening during the full moon within the 12th month of the Thai Lunar Calendar

In Bangkok, just beyond the tourist belt of malls, historical sites, novel attractions and its colourful night life, what is sometimes less talked about are informal street-level markets that emerge within various neighbourhoods of the city’s urban landscape.