Chaotic Khao San: Bangkok’s Infamous Backpacker Road

Posted by Julia on Mar 16, 2010 in Entertainment, Travel

Khao San Road at Night, a frenzy of backpackers, booze and bright lights
Bangkok’s Khao San Road at night

Khao San Road is an affront to the senses.  For the fresh-off-the-plane traveler, a visit to this part of Bangkok, Thailand’s capital city, may have you wondering what the hell you got yourself into.

It’s a frenetic scene of neon signs, drunk backpackers and scantily-clad promo girls (who may or may not be transvestites), but Khao San is also the crux of the budget traveler scene, where hostels, tour operators and sarong shops converge.

It’s the ultimate backpacker hub for the budget South East Asian traveler. This strip is where you can book overland trips to Laos, find cheap flights to Vietnam or get your visa for Cambodia. Chances are good that, if you’re going through Bangkok, you’ll end up on Khao San Road.

A selection of delicious (and cheap) Thai street food
A selection of delicious (and cheap) Thai street food

Most are lured by the international vibe, cheap accommodations, $10 Thai massages and tasty food. Stalls lining the street sell a rainbow assortment of incredibly cheap and tasty curries available curb-side. The air smells of fresh banana pancakes and peanutty Pad Thai, an immediate reminder that you are, in fact, in Bangkok, one of the most vibrant and fascinating metropolises of the region.

There are also tons of vendors selling every knock-off imaginable: fake Gucci sunglasses, fake Puma shoes, fake Diesel jeans. There are phoney student cards, bootleg DVDs and photocopied Lonely Planet guides for the price of a Starbucks latte. Vendors (dressed as some of Northern Thailand’s indigenous hill tribes) stroll from patio table to table hawking novelty items: massive Zippo lighters, X-rated flasks, wooden frogs that make a “ribbit” noises when you stroke them, and other knick-knacks you don’t need but somehow end up buying.

iPood T-shirt, a popular item sold in kiosks along Khao San Road
The iPood T-shirt, a popular item sold in kiosks along Khao San Road

Today’s popular backpacker purchase is a t-shirt with an ironic saying. A big seller is “Ipood,” with an illustration of a man on a toilet listening to his iPod.  Let’s not forget the classic Thai t-shirt with the words “Same Same But Different” –  the commonly used vernacular in the Thai backpacker lexicon -  scrawled on the front.

The shopping in Bangkok (especially the Chatuchak weekend market) is sick, with silk sarongs, hand-made leather jewelry, flimsy summer dresses, colorful canvas purses, knifes and Nunchucks.

Shopping till you drop is made easy with ever present ATM machines and 7-11’s as common as Buddhist temples.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when bargaining in Bangkok:

Rule #1: when the vendor first tells you the price, balk at it. You’re a tourist, so no doubt it’s inflated. Never accept the first offer.

Rule #2: offer half (sometimes 1/3) the wanted price and negotiate from there. I like to use a calculator to show the price I want to pay. I set a mental limit of how much the item is really worth to me and won’t go over that price.

Rule #3: always negotiate in local currency and bring small bills to pay for it.

Rule #4: don’t squabble over a few bucks. Bargaining isn’t about screwing the other guy. It’s about coming to a price that works for both of you.

Rule #5: the “walk away” sometimes works but if it doesn’t get you your desired price, don’t be ashamed to come back and purchase the item. Don’t let pride get in the way of getting a cool souvenir. After all, it’s likely to be waaay cheaper in Thailand than at home.

Have you been to Bangkok? What are your travel tips for navigating the chaos of Khao San? Have any bargaining tips you’d like to share? Post your comments below….

Save and share!

Facebook Twitter Email | More Options

  • BartonFink42
    Most of the Bangkok Hotels I've ever staid in were close to this street. I love this town - I love this street as well, for it's colorfulness, for its life... You know what I mean. I like it that is always crowded... and you simply... loose yourself in that... sea of people... :)
  • NFLJerseys
    A good website to purchase cheap jerseys is nfljerseys-shopping.com, here football jerseys are sold at discount, most NFL jerseys are having promotion now. Don’t miss such a distinct opportunity.
  • Fabulous article. Thank you so much!
  • NFLjerseys
    One way to buy cheap jerseys is shopping online, NFL jerseys at nfljerseys-shopping.com are sold at a discount, most of football jerseys are having promotion. Why not action now?
  • probably best accommodation ever. this is where david carradine died right?
  • In 1996, Jimmy Choo in London opened its first Jimmy Choo's shoe store, identity Diana taste and therefore attracted people from the passage of time, Jimmy Choo has become a symbol of quality.
    Jimmy Choo
    jimmy choo shoes
    jimmy choo handbags on sale
  • EMU Australia sheepskin boots and sheepskin slippers are sold in over 60 countries worldwide and are fast becoming the worlds No.1 sheepskin footwear brand. EMU boots are worn by a number of international celebrities including Cameron Diaz, Kirsten Dunst and Julia Roberts.
  • Wearing MBT can make the small muscles around the joints to relax, increase muscle strength, walking the benefits of experience and training in the joy of walking, this is a people both fitness and stylish products.
  • johnnathaniel
    My accommodation is invariably in one of the discount hotels Bangkok close to Khao San Road. I just love the atmosphere, bars and the food.
  • I lived in Bangkok for 6 months teaching English. I taught at Wat Saket which is where the Temple on the Golden Mount is only a couple of streets away from Khao San. We would wander down there almost nightly for the frenetic energy on the street. I really miss it. I love returning to Bangkok, spending time with our Thai friends, hanging out on Khao San and returning to our favorite spots that not many tourists know too much about.
  • Dear Julia, I changed upon your blog and I am instantly glued to reading your articles. It must have been really great to be able to travel to so many countries.... I read that you have been to Bang Kwang prison to visit inmates there. That was really brave of you. I would like to make a visit there too in my next visit to Bangkok, to do something for some of the prisoners over there. Could you advice me on how to go about doing it?
  • Reading this post makes me miss Bangkok so much! I was only here for a few nights as part of a side trip and can't wait to get back.

    We ended up paying about $50 a night for sleeping quarters, but got our moneys worth as we were in complete luxury. We had a huge room on the 52nd floor with a large balcony overlooking the entire city, it kind of felt like we were on top of the world.

    To save money definitely hit up the street food, 30-50 baht you can get a really good and filling meal. As far as the haggling goes it could be a little intimidating for a novice traveler. I used rule #5 for a pair of sweet sunglasses that I ended up paying 90 baht for.

    The grand palace is one tourist spot worth visiting. The complexity and detail of the architecture is simply amazing.

    Taking a ferry ride up and down the Chao Phraya river is a very cheap and great way to see different parts of the city, especially during the sunset!

    Hope these help! :)
  • maitravelsite
    Hi Julia


    I am one of those people who love Bangkok as it has so much to do and offer at such a cheap price. The people are nice, the food is excellent, and it is all so different from home!
    Perhaps oddly, I have never slept in Khao San Road.. I always stay in Sukhumvit, where theres plenty of food as well, there's new hotels popping up all the time for around 14 dollars (all ameneties included) plus the Baiyoke Buffet restaruant is neraby- this is one of my best secrets and a must in Bangkok. It might be a small splurgeon the backpacker pocket (I always backpack) but vey well worth it. A HUGE choice of foods (including lobster, fish and good meat) with the vest view of Bangkok( you are in the tallest building of the country).

    Good post as always and very informative!
    Federico
    www.maitravelsite.com
  • i gained my bargaining savvy in the khan el-khalily market in Cairo, but they should be pretty universal.

    one of my key tips is to only buy one thing per vendor, because after that they know your breaking point and can exploit it. Also, if you plan to buy multiples the price will go down, but keep that info to yourself until you think you've lowered the price as much as possible. Finally, I find that shopping with a partner helps, because they'll tell you if you're paying too much, the two of you can buy items together to make it cheaper, and you can play good cop/bad cop.

    Hope that helps somebody! Your descriptions of Khao San are so vivid, I hope to go to Thailand some day!
  • ShannonOD
    I was only on Khao San Rd for a couple of days but it is an intense experience!! I loved the veggie food booth right outside my guesthouse and the fact that you can truly find just about anything on KS or at the market - good times and this post makes me miss the place just a bit ;-)
  • Iain
    Great story. I'm off to Thailand in a couple of weeks. Does anyone there have any info about the protests going on at the moment? It sounds pretty safe to travellers from what I've read so far but I'dbe interested if anyone's over there.
  • Jay M.
    Bargaining isn't limited to shopping. Keep it in mind when grabbing a Tuk Tuk from Khao San to just about anywhere. First, the price they offer you is way inflated. Secondly, they will often offer you a cheaper price if you are willing to stop along the way at their friend's suit shop, or at a travel agency. We also had a number of driver tell us that whatever tourist attraction we wanted to go to was closed for a religious holiday, but that they could take us to the 'Big Buddha'.

    If you make the trip to Pat Pong, be prepared to have waitresses outright steal from you. I went there just to say I had gone, and the bars post a price outside for beer, but once you order your beer inside, they let you know that you then have to pay another charge to be able to drink the beer there, or you have to leave. Also, bring small bills. You may not get your change, ever, at these bars.

    Now for something good, sort of. Almost all of the backpacker-type areas in Thailand have restaurants or bars which play bootleg dvd movies on big screens. Sometimes the location is loud, and the movies are nearly always subtitled in English, even if the movie itself is in English, but keep in mind that the person doing the suntitles may or may not speak English much at all. It can be quite amusing.
  • moncler
blog comments powered by Disqus