Love it or hate it, Khao San Road deserves at least one evening. But the real treasure is the neighborhood around it: Banglamphu, the old working-class town, with its quiet temples, its artisans and its riverside streets. Here’s how to make the most of it.
Khao San Road, backpacker central
Forty years ago, Khao San was a street of rice merchants: its name means “milled rice.” Since the 1980s, it’s been the world’s backpacker meeting point: hostels, travel agencies, tattoo parlors, pad thai stalls, scorpion skewers for selfies, bars serving cocktail buckets and music at full blast.
In the evening, the street goes pedestrian and turns into one giant party. If that’s too much for you, the next street over, Soi Rambuttri, which curves around Wat Chana Songkhram temple, is more laid-back, with its terraces under the trees.
Phra Arthit, the peaceful side
Along the river, Phra Arthit Road is lined with cafés, small restaurants, galleries and bars frequented by students from nearby Thammasat University. At the end stands Phra Sumen Fort, white and octagonal, one of the last two remnants of the 18th-century city walls. In the little Santichai Prakan Park, locals do aerobics at the end of the day, and you can watch the boats go by at sunset.
The Golden Mount, the best view of the old town
This artificial hill topped with a golden stupa was long the highest point in Bangkok. A staircase of 344 steps, easy and shaded, winds around the hill up to a terrace with a 360-degree view. Go in the late afternoon for the sunset. Open every day, roughly 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; 100 THB.
Just across the way, Loha Prasat is a “metal palace” unique in the world, bristling with 37 spires that symbolize the 37 virtues leading to enlightenment. Inside, you make your way up to the top through a maze of corridors.
Wat Suthat and the Giant Swing
The Giant Swing, a 21-meter red teak frame, was once used for a ceremony in which men swung through the air to catch a bag of silver with their teeth. Behind it, Wat Suthat is one of the most beautiful temples in the city and one of the least visited: a large bronze Buddha, remarkable murals and cloisters of absolute calm (100 THB). Bamrung Muang Road, which leads there, is lined with shops selling religious goods: a sight in itself.
Ban Bat, the last makers of monks’ alms bowls
Near the Golden Mount, the small community of Ban Bat is the last in the city to make monks’ alms bowls by hand, from eight strips of metal, like the eight spokes of the dharma wheel. A few families let you watch them work. A bowl, from around 1,000 THB, is an authentic souvenir that keeps the community going.
Where to eat in the neighborhood
- Thip Samai, near the Golden Mount: pad thai wrapped in a thin omelet, since 1966.
- Krua Apsorn, Dinso Road: refined home-style cooking, famous for its crab omelet.
- Jay Fai, near the Giant Swing: the Michelin-starred cook in the ski goggles. Pricey and a very long wait, so book ahead.
How to get there
The nicest way: the orange-flag boat on the river to Phra Arthit pier. Otherwise, the MRT to Sam Yot, or the Saen Saep canal boat to Phan Fa, at the foot of the Golden Mount.
Good to know: for a full day, combine the Grand Palace and Wat Pho in the morning, then the Golden Mount at sunset in the afternoon, and finish with dinner in Banglamphu and a stroll along Khao San.
Want to dig deeper?
Mr Schaka’s guide, Bangkok – The Practical Guide (“Bangkok: The Practical Guide”), describes every Bangkok neighborhood in detail, with how to get there, opening hours, prices and the best addresses, from the old town to Sukhumvit. The English edition is out now as a PDF ebook: buy it here →
