Khao San Road, the must go, in spot, party on, wild fun, famous Bangkok street known to every backpacker out there.
Last stop or first stop, it will give you a going away party you will never forget, or set the mood for your upcoming backpack adventures, either way, you will not soon forget Khao San Road!
Following our super-geil stay in Koh Tao, and a long day of ferry boat and bus travel (read how to get from Koh Tao to Bangkok), we finally checked in to Cha Cha 2 Hotel on Rambuttri Road. By 10:45 PM, freshly showered and dressed we grabbed a late dinner at Gun Thai Food. For 360 baht / USD$10.50, we consumed 2 large Chang beers, 1 lemon shake, 1 fried chicken noodle, 1 basil chicken stir fry and an order of spring rolls. The food was very good, staff friendly and we were pleased with the prices after Koh Tao. Rambuttri Road is a charming place by night; big patio lanterns and one eating establishment after the next with extremely varied prices.
After dinner, we strolled one street over to the famous backpacker district Khao San Road. Wild, nuts, fun, busy, crazy! Music pumped into the street as people bounced and danced their way up and down the walking road. We bought a Bucket of Red Bull Vodka for 100 baht / USD$2.90 and joined the party.
Khaosan is bar hopping on steroids; the road is lined with drinking establishments, all portraying their own styles. Some have live bands, others DJs and some simply blare music from huge speakers and hawk drinks. Venues range between buy and go carts and street stalls with plastic stools to full blown bars with seating, tables and mood lighting. Prices are as varied as the venues and sometimes make no sense at all. Hawkers with sales boards wander the way, trying to lure you into their venue with promises of cheap drinks and ping pong shows.?
People dance in the pedestrian only thoroughfare and for the night forget about all their worries. The pleasantly surprising thing about the road was the absence of visible prostitutes / hookers. Somehow, it makes everything more relaxed. I even spotted a few families wandering through – well rounded education?.
Although bone-tired from the day of travel, it was easy to forget with the great vibe around us. Alas, exhaustion caught up and we gradually made our way back to our hotel at 1:30 am; Khao San Road, on the other hand, was nowhere ready to sleep!?Note: Taxis were backed up in a traffic jam which barely moved – if you need to get out by taxi or uber, go a few streets over.
Rambuttri Road looks much different by day; the walking street by night is open to cars again, most of the evening restaurants and shops are closed and there is no music. Definitely more charming by night! However, we did observe a huge, very loud verbal fight while eating between a taxi driver and a restaurant employee which ended in the police taking the taxi driver away. We had lunch at Samuel House, one of the only places open; 2 pad thai and 1 coke 195 baht / USD$5.70.
Hotel Note: The Cha Cha 2 on Rambuttri Road is in a fantastic location, so close to Khao San Road, but quiet enough to sleep. It was extremely clean and the rooms are spacious. It had a separate shower area, tv, comfy beds, fluffy pillows, clean smelling bedding, kettle, hairdryer, shampoo and soap. Cons: low water pressure (slow shower, but for some reason, only at night, it had lots of pressure during the day), no fridge, and the window faces a wall- very little light, but therefore quiet. Quiet is hard to find in this area. The Internet did not work in the morning, but they tried to fix it immediately (maybe). It worked for 10 minutes and was gone again. Cost: 1170 baht / USD$34.00 – Note: not wheelchair friendly
Share your Khao San experience or questions in the comments section below!
?Excerpt, The Beach: The Khao San Road is a decompression chamber between east and west. It's where you learn to breathe car fumes and tropical air for the very first time, or else carefully rearrange your memories before you catch your flight home.
