Bangkok/Khao San Road

I have to travel to Bangkok, Thailand in a few days to see about getting Mam a visa and take care of some other business.

Kaho San road in Bangkok is normally one place I avoid like the plague. Why? - far too many foreigners there. I dont travel to an exotic place like Thailand to hang out with a bunch of people from my own country. I never understood why folks like to do that.

Anyhoo, the one good thing I have experienced at Khao San road is that they have a small used gear vendor there. Apparently a lot of hippy back packers pawn there gear to this guy for weed or food money then never pick it up..

Its a good thing because if you dig through the pile of gear you can usually find some decent gear. I happen to be in the market for a bigger backpack so Ill look there on Khao San road, then get the hell outta there as soon as possible.

For any of you folks out there that might be traveling to Thailand and want to experience Khao San road here is a little info from wikipedia about it.

Tomahawk – scouts out!


Bangkok/Khao San Road:

Khao San Road (Thai: ถนนข้าวสาร) is a small road located about a block from the Chao Phraya River at the northern side of Rattanakosin. Backpackers and budget travellers are drawn here by some of the cheapest accommodation and travel deals in Thailand. This article also deals with the wider Banglamphu area that hosts a few interesting temples, as well as lots more places to stay and eat.

Pronunciation tip:

The syllable "khao" is pronounced similarly to the English word "cow", but since the late 1990s, backpackers have often been mispronouncing it as "coe" (perhaps confusing it with "koh", meaning "island", which in itself is incorrect and should be an abrupt "goh"; perhaps influenced by the book/movie The Beach). Please help re-introduce the correct pronunciation into the backpacker community by pronouncing it properly.

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 parlours, 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 pavement; Phra Athit Road, with its colonial-style mansions and riverside hotels; and Sam Sen Road, a quiet neighbourhood with cosy 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.

Bangkok Tourist Information Office, 17/1 Phra Athit Rd (under the Phra Pin Klao Bridge), ☎ +66 2 225-7612(-4), [1]. 09:00-19:00 daily. It's a good idea to stop by the tourist office for some maps of the city. You can also get hotel and dining addresses here or ask any other questions you may have.