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 When
visiting the narrow road of Khao San, you will
find that there is a little bit of everything for
everybody here. The place is crammed with restaurants,
shops, hotels and guest houses, and traditional old
buildings and temples surrounding the area. Due to the
confluence of different tourists from around the world,
Khao San has acquired a characteristic of its own
and is known as the backpacker’s hub of Southeast
Asia. The place is dotted with Hindus, Muslims,
Buddhists, Jews and other communities. If you are
interested in sampling traditional Thai food this is the
right place to be. One of the most popular
street-foods here are Pat Thai (fried noodles with
dried shrimp and tofu) for 25 Baht and Spring Rolls for
about 25 Baht for 3 pieces. There are also many
international restaurants offering great dishes to fair
prices.
For shoppers, Khao San Road should definitely be
on your check list. The road stocks up upon plenty of
various items mainly catered to the youth. You will find
here, T-shirts, ethnic clothing, beach attire, fisherman
pants, pirated CDs and DVDs, fake ID’s, silver jewelry,
dresses and fake branded suits. The place is also ideal
for hand crafted souvenirs which make an ideal gift from
the Land of Smiles. Markets and shops on this road
abound in art and craft pieces, clothes, fake
educational diplomas, fake driver's licenses, second
hand books and many such useful items that backpackers
might need on the road.
Khao San Road also has plenty on offer as far as
the
after-dark scene is concerned. At night, the
street transforms itself into a vibrant and colorful
area decorated with neon lights; music can be heard all
around the place; and amazingly the people seem to lap
it all up. There's no shortage alcohol and any other
stuff you might fancy to fuel your night, as clubs, pubs
and small stands selling alcoholic beverage along with
head-banging music are spread all over the place.
Hotels and Guest Houses
Most travelers to Thailand and South East Asia stop by
here for its cheap accommodation as well as the
fact that it is centrally located and most sight seeing
places are easily accessible. Since some twenty years
now, this road has been a sort of base for most
backpackers. Countless budget hotels and guest houses
costing 80-600 Baht per night make it a tourist’s
paradise. Triple rooms are available for as low as 180
Baht and dorm beds for 70 Baht per night. Also, all
necessities that make the life of the average tourist
comfortable and enjoyable can be found here: internet
cafes, massage parlors, restaurants, clubs, bars,
bookshops, chemists, tattoo shops and myriad market
stalls are the order of the day.
The Khao San Road has an atmosphere to it. Its
carefree, multi ethnicity vibrant feel draws not only
tourists but also local residents, many of whom are art
lovers. The road is distinctive in its quaint image of
traditional feel and pottering people exchanging travel
notes. Like most other places in Bangkok, the Khao San
Road has also seen changes throughout its inception.
Through the influx of fast-food joint, swanky bars and
modern hotels, the place may have acquired differences
in its look, yet it still retains its original flavor of
the bizarre and ethnic cultural diversity being deep
rooted.
History of Khao San Road
The word ‘khao san’ refers to milled rice. This
name given to the road bears testimony to the fact that
the street has a long history of rice trading done
within its periphery. Interestingly though, the first
business on Khao San Road was a small hotel which
aimed at housing civil servants from the various
provinces visiting Bangkok for business. Soon the road
had a shop which sold accessories for Buddhist monks. As
a result the road also came to be known as "religious
road".
Tit Bits about Khao San Road
One can get to Khao San Road fairly easily. You will
find taxis, buses, and the river ferry as popular
options. There is no train service though. Try to find
yourself a hotel, a little away from the main road. This
will not only be cheap but much more peaceful too, far
from the maddening crowd that is.
Khao San is one of the roads, which acts as a high point
for splashing water on each other, dancing, partying
during Thai New Year festival Songkan, which takes place
from April 13th to April 15th.
Base your visit to Thailand around the Khao San Road,
because it is a good central area, from where you will
be able to visit other Thai places of interest.
Getting There
Take the
BTS Skytrain to Saphan Taksin station (silom line)
and descend via exit 1 to Tha Sathon. Then take the Chao
Phraya Express Boat to Tha Phra Athit. Walk off the pier
and onto Phra Athit Road which runs towards Phra Pin
Klao Bridge. Just before you reach the underpass beneath
Phra Pin Klao Bridge, turn left onto Chao Fa Road and
keep on walking until you pass the
National Gallery. Then turn left to Chakkrapong Road
where yiu will find Khao San Road on your right, not far
from the corner (opposite Wat Chana Songkram).
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