I remember people keep reckoning to me to Khao San Road at Bangkok. I can't recall of how many travel books or forums I had read before was highlighting about Khao San. So what is Khao San all about when it was called the backpacker's paradise at Bangkok? So during my visit to Bangkok this time, I am about to discover by myself what kind of a place it is :).

Destination:

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Elaine and I headed off to Khao San road early in the morning on our third day in Bangkok. As there is some distance from Sukhumvit to Khao San road and there is no easy public transport there, we decided to catch a taxi there. We waived for a taxi right outside our hostel and told there driver to take us to Khao San. We were told that it is pretty jam on that morning, so he asked us to be patient while he is going to take us there in the shortest time he could. I was leaving him to drive me there as I was totally without any idea how to get there :p.

Just as what he told us, it was pretty jam on that morning. We were stuck half way through to Khao San nearby Petchaburi Road. As I was not in a rush and the driver seems to be pretty honest one as his meter was not running fast like running tap, I was taking my time observing the daily life of the locals by the road side :). Although it was still early in the morning, the place was full of life with crowded people. Our driver squeezing out way through the jammed road and finally got us there at Khao San after some 30 minutes. It was pretty amazing that the fare was only 110 Baht! Pretty cheap right? I truly believe that the right working attitude is implanted in these Thai people in doing their daily business, being honest and without going through short cut by cheating on the tourists! Wake up our fella taxi drivers, please don't make riding taxi an expensive transport in Malaysia!

So let's come back to Khao San. Khao San Road is a short street in central Bangkok, Thailand. It is located in the Banglamphu area of (Phra Nakhon district) about 1 km north of the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew. "Khaosan" translates as "milled rice", a reminder that in former times the street was a major Bangkok rice market.

The first business to open on Khao San Road was a small hotel aimed at serving civil servants from the provinces who came to Bangkok on business. In the last 20 years, however, Khaosan Road has developed into a world famous "backpacker ghetto". It offers cheap accommodation, ranging from 'mattress in a box' style hotels to reasonably priced 3-star hotels.

Backpackers from around the globe used to gather at Khao San road and make it their default stop in Bangkok, Thailand before making their next stop to other south-east asean countries. Accommodations, shoppings and restaurants serving international cuisines are available along the road.

Along the street, both sides of it were all packed with stalls selling touristy stuff like souvenir tees, branded beg replicas, art and craft items and many more! Elaine and I were busy doing some shopping around as the touristy stuff we found there were so much different from those we can find from other local markets like Pratunam and Suan Lum market. Apart from that, there were some stalls selling local food which were superb tempting to me. The one that we got was a freshly fried fish cake from a stall which was at the back alley of Khao San road. The snacks cost 20 baht for a big plate of it. The fish cakes were superb fresh and it was best to be eaten while it's still hot! Together it was dressed with some special thai chilly sauce, a perfect bite!

Soon, we got tired of shopping as the sun was so hot. We headed for lunch at one of the "well-known" restaurant at Khao San - Tom Yum Kung. It was a highly rated restaurant at Khao San which was famous for it's thai cuisines. But to our disappointment, the food they served that afternoon was awful =_=". Well famous not necessarily means good :). After lunch, Elaine and I went for a body massage shop at Trok Mayom (a back alley off Khao San road).

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The rate for a full Thai body massage was amazingly low @ 180 Baht for an hour! It is definitely a good choice to spend an hour or two here relaxing and enjoy a full Thai body massage! It will definitely make your day one of the best time of your stay in Bangkok! :) I highly recommend this place!

 

We were done with our body massage around 3:30 pm. As there was nothing much to discover more about the place, we left and headed off to the nearest pier to catch a public ferry to Yaowarat (Chinatown), our next stop for Seafood dinner :).