Khao San Road (Thai: ถนนข้าวสาร) is, technically speaking, a small road located about a block from the Chao Phraya River at the northern side of Rattanakosin. Backpackers and budget travelers are drawn here by some of the cheapest accommodation and travel deals in Thailand. This article also deals with the widerBanglamphu area that hosts a few interesting temples, as well as lots more places to stay and eat.
The word khao san itself means milled rice and is an attribution to the historical role of this street in the rice trade. 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. The hotel was followed by Sor Thambhakdi, a shop selling monks’ accessories. Four similar businesses moved in after, and Khao San became known as a «religious road».
Word soon spread about the easy lifestyle and friendliness of the locals. Friends told friends, and before long, the owner of the house started to charge 20 baht for food and lodging. The first commercial guest house, called Bonny, opened in 1982 with six small bedrooms.
Today, there’s a lot more than six small bedrooms on offer. In the span of just a couple of blocks, there are bars, food stalls, restaurants, convenience stores, pharmacies, internet cafes, money changing booths, ATMs, shoe stores, massage parlors, tailors, travel agencies, laundry, boxing gyms, optometrists, endless warrens of suspiciously discounted designer clothes and, oh, rooms for the night.
The chaos has spilled over to the entire area, including Soi Rambuttri, which features little bars and restaurants that are starting to spill out onto the sidewalk; Phra Athit Road, with its colonial-style mansions and riverside hotels; and Samsen Road, a quiet neighborhood with cozy guest houses and vegetarian restaurants. It is indeed a tourist destination, although it is also a little unsafe at night and instances of mugging and pick-pocketing do occur.