Khao San Road Khaosan road or Khao San road is located in the Banglamphu neighborhood (Phra Nakhon district) about 1 km north from the Grand Palace with Wat Phra Kaew. It has developed over the years into probably the most profound worldwide example of a backpackers ghetto, with relatively cheap accommodation compared to other areas of central Bangkok. The accommodation varies from 'mattress in a box' style hostels, to full Western-standard luxury.
Many tourists use Khaosan road as their base for exploring the rest of Thailand as there are many direct coaches from the street to virtually all major tourist destinations in Thailand, from Chiang Mai in the North to Ko Pha Ngan in the South. Many visitors will also take advantage of the abundance of relatively cheap travel agents to arrange visas and transport to surrounding countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Malaysia, though many (if not most) of these travel agents are scams of some sort[citation needed], and travelers would do themselves wise to use Thai public buses instead.
Khaosan road in Bangkok is known for its relatively cheap guesthouses, bars & restaurants with constant new release movies, night clubs and numerous travel agents. Over the years Khaosan Road has become more and more commercialized attracting not only the foreign backpackers but also the younger Thai generation, who love to meet and make friends with the foreign tourists. During the day and night (till 1am) Khaosan Road is lined up both sides with stalls selling food ,clothing, accessories, shoes, paintings, handicrafts, handmade goods and more. There are many camera shops developing photos or copying your photos to cd. They also offer a service of transferring your photos from a normal film camera to cd. khaosan road
Copied Music CD's are also available in khaosan road with a huge variety of music cd's from all genres available. Be sure to make the person selling the CD play the one you buy as it is not unusual for them to make mistakes. Cheap copied software is also available in khaosan road. Yet again be sure to test this software before you leave. A better place for software or hardware in bangkok is pantip plaza in phetcha buri road. There are also many very good Tailors in khaosan road who can make a suit or a dress for reasonable prices.
Very cheap internet access at Internet cafes are also available in khaosan road. They usually offer printing and cd copying too. If you are traveling with a laptop you can ask to plug in to there network to use the internet from your own laptop, although not all will allow this.
You can also get your hair done up in khaosan. For a few years Thai's have been setting up hair dreading, plating or hair extension stalls and these are very popular with tourists. The cost of dreading your hair in khaosan is much less than having it done anywhere else.
Thai artists also work on khaosan road offering caricature painting on the spot for 59 baht. Prices for accessories like candles, leather goods and clothing in khaosan road are usually slightly higher than at the weekend market or pratunam market.
The great advantage that keeps attracting tourists to khaosan road is not only the entertainment but also the fact that you can very easilybook your next trip for anywhere in Thailand or abroad at very competitive prices. Transport leaves from close to khaosan or a minivan takes you to the departure point. Due to the high volume of people traveling from khaosan road prices remains relatively cheap.
When you step into the road, located in Bang Lamphu, you feel as if you are stepping into another world. Khao San Road is the place where you can find people from different countries around the world. Most of the tourists who came to Khao San Road said that they knew about this place from their friends who have been there before. The road is very close to major tourist attractions such as the Grand Palace and Rattanakosin island. The road itself is an attraction too.
Khao San Road provides many kinds of businesses. You can see an endless supply of guest houses, travel agencies, used book stores, and the booming internet cafes. You can also see many bars and restaurants where new Hollywood videos are shown all day long. As the centre for backpackers, it is a good starting point for them to get to know Bangkok and Thailand.
Friendships grow easily on Khao San Road. Just eating in the same restaurant, people soon find themselves talking about the places they have been. According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Khao San Road can accommodate 8,000 tourists a day. The high season is between January and April with the peak period at Songkran time. Then the number of tourists staying in the guest houses rises to 10,000 a day. Khao San Road offers all kinds of services to the tourists, including visa applications for Indochinese countries. Not only foreigners, but also many Thais come here for an inexpensive tour to other provinces.
|