Category: Bangkok

The Thai capital is many things all at once. Crowded, beautiful, humid, strange, bustling, colorful, and complex.

As a first-time visitor to Asia (never mind Bangkok), I found myself absolutely fascinated by everything I saw, as it was so very different from any other place I’ve ever traveled. I couldn’t stop staring at my surroundings, wanting to taste the food, talk to people, and learn more about everyday life.

Very much like my home city of Berlin, Bangkok is truly a place where you could wander for days on end and still barely scratch the surface of all there is to experience.

Experience Bangkok Chinatown Through 30 Photos

After exploring the chilled-out and laid-back Thonburi district in Bangkok, our group set off to walk through the chaotic and frenzied Bangkok Chinatown. This very happening one-kilometer strip attracts massive throngs of people each day and is pretty much, always busy. As you walk through the narrow streets and tiny alleyways, you’ll find yourself hard-pressed not to bump into other people. Settled in the 1780s by Chinese merchants (actually predating the founding of the capital), Bangkok Chinatown now retains a large Chinese population who continue to practice their cultural traditions. The area is even said to be shaped like a dragon.

In my opinion, Bangkok Chinatown is best experienced on an empty stomach and a cash-filled wallet! Stuffed with Chinese temples, food stalls, gold merchants, restaurants, wooden shop houses, and streetside beauty ‘salons’ (seriously), Chinatown is a place you can easily spend hours shopping and feasting on all that delicious food.

To give you a better idea of what it’s like to experience this area for yourself, I thought I’d show you versus tell you through these 30 photos of Bangkok Chinatown.

The Big Busy Streets

Bangkok Chinatown’s wide streets are jam-packed with cars, tuk-tuks, motorcycles, and pedestrians. It actually reminded me of Times Square in New York but on a way more intense level. I know that I’d personally never drive through these streets and was even scared at first to walk across them.

The Narrow Alleyways

This is when things started to get more interesting from a “fresh food” perspective. Yes, I am allll about the food, and when in Thailand, how can you not be? There were vendors selling everything you can imagine. I was already hungry and our tour had just begun.

The Markets

As crowded as it can get in the tiny space available, people were still riding their motorcycles through.

The Food Stands

The food in Chinatown is out of this world. From fruits to vegetables, to fish and meat, there isn’t a Thai or Chinese specialty that you can’t find. There are even drinks in bags to go (apparently a thing in Asia in place of takeout cups).

The smells wafting through the air will lead you from one stand to another, and you’ll feel overwhelmed trying to figure out which dish you want to try first. Even if you’re not hungry, it’s fascinating to simply walk through the markets, people-watch, and gaze at all that’s on offer.

These food stalls were by far the highlight of Chinatown for me.

The Streetside Businesses

Yes, you can receive beauty treatments at streetside “salons,” like this man receiving a facial and having some threading done to remove unwanted facial hairs. Also to be found were men, rather cutely, sleeping on the job.

The Chinese Temples

Dotted throughout Bangkok Chinatown are many temples. One of my personal favorite highlights of Chinatown is Wat Traimit, a temple that boasts the largest golden statue in the entire world! Fast facts about this monster-sized Buddha statue – it’s covered in 18-karat gold and is worth about $250 million US. It also weighs 5,500 kilograms and stands 3 meters tall. I liked this quiet area outside of one temple, especially the beverage cart.

The Quiet Back Streets

During the late afternoon, these back streets were serene and beautiful, especially in the late-afternoon light.

Location

Good to Know

1) Chinatown is most easily reached by boat. Check out Bangkok for Visitors for more details.

2) Once there, I’d recommend covering Chinatown on foot as it’s really the only way to get a deep and immersive experience of the area. Better yet, do a self-guided walking tour like the folks over at Y Travel Blog did.

3) Some feel that Chinatown is best experienced at night. Bangkok Chinatown is simply a place that can be enjoyed anytime. 

4) As I mentioned above, come on an empty stomach and be ready to fill your belly!

5) In need of a hotel in Bangkok? Check your options on booking.com.

6) Experience these guided tours around Bangkok.

7) For more Bangkok travel inspiration, check out my other posts:

• Thailand Hotels: The Continent Hotel in Bangkok – The Continent Hotel in Bangkok is a boutique hotel with luxurious rooms, an award-winning Italian restaurant, a rooftop infinity pool, and even a rooftop bar with expansive city views.
• Getting to Know the Thonburi District in Bangkok – Slower, softer Bangkok. Visit the Thonburi district in Bangkok with Wat Kamphaeng, an ancient Buddhist temple, and Klong Bang Luang, an artist’s village. 

8) Also, consider checking out the weird and offbeat site – this airplane graveyard in Bangkok.

It was about time. Me and my little blog finally made it over to Asia, when I visited Thailand for the first time.

Plagued with a lingering cold-turned-nasty-sinus-infection and battered by wicked jet lag, I landed in Bangkok late on a Saturday night. As I wearily collapsed into my thankfully air-conditioned taxi, I smiled as I took in the city by night.

Traffic was congested, even at 9:00 p.m. Vehicles clogged up the highways and streets. Motorcycles flew by, swerving in and out of traffic, much to the envy of anyone stuck inside an unmoving vehicle. Tourists stuffed themselves into the backs of small tuk tuks. There were lit-up skyscrapers as far as the eye could see. Crowds filled the sidewalks, sharing the tight space with vendors selling tacky souvenirs and delicious street food. T-shirts and shorts were the norm, as it was so hot and humid.

Bangkok was everything I expected it to be, yet it all felt so surreal. Realizing that I wasn’t at home in Berlin anymore, all I could think was “Holy moly, I’m in Bangkok!”

Absolutely exhausted, I checked into the Plaza Athenee Bangkok, which became my home away from home for the weekend. It’s not very often that I get a five-star treatment, so I took advantage by having a long soak in my room’s oversized bathtub, and then I fell asleep rather quickly in my comfortable king-sized bed that could have easily fit a family of four.

I’d get to know the city the next day on a tour that would bring me to my now favourite area of Bangkok, Thonburi.

Getting To Know the Thonburi District in Bangkok

Thonburi offers up a slower, softer side of Bangkok and lies on the western part of the Chao Phraya River. Known for its web of canals, floating markets, friendly locals, and floral-lined streets, this district is an oasis within the busy city. Notable highlights of the area include Wat Kamphaeng, an ancient and understated Buddhist temple, and Khlong Bang Luang, an artist’s village.

As our van dropped us off in Thonburi, we were greeted with a typical street scene that you’d find anywhere in Thailand. There were vendors selling a vast array of brooms and, of course, food, glorious food. It was hard not to stop and grab a bite of what this lady had to offer! However, we were on our way to our first stop of the tour – Wat Kamphaeng.

Wat Kamphaeng

There are plenty of must-see temples in Bangkok, built for royals, appropriately decked out with grand architecture and filled with large, impressive Buddha statues that recline or are solid gold. Then there are the temples or wats (as the Thai call them) that aren’t mass tourist attractions but simple, intimate, ancient places of worship frequented by locals.

Wat Kamphaeng is one such temple. Located along a canal near the Klhong Bang Luang artist’s village, this quiet wat is reminiscent of a time long past, well before Bangkok became the thriving, fast-paced metropolis it is today. The exact age of the temple is not known, but is thought to have been constructed sometime between 1400–1600, during the Ayutthaya period.

Unfortunately, many of the temple’s mosaics have fallen to disrepair, but ongoing restoration efforts from volunteer artists are helping. The faded beauty of Wat Kamphaeng is charming all the same.

This would be my first Buddhist temple experience. As I slipped off my shoes to enter the temple, it was easy to forget the hustle and bustle of surrounding Bangkok and fall into the serenity embraced by worshippers coming to pay their respects.

My time at Wat Kamphaeng was all too quick, but a moving and even humbling experience that I’ll never forget.

Khlong Bang Luang – the Artist’s Village

Next up, was Khlong Bang Luang, an artist’s village filled with stilted homes, art studios, antique shops, family-run cafes, galleries, and guesthouses. This eclectic and creative community is welcoming to tourists and full of some of the friendliest people I encountered during my stay in Bangkok.

It’s the perfect place to relax and sample some of the local food and drink. It was here that I tried my very first Thai ice tea, a sweet, milky concoction that’s the perfect antidote to the sun and heat. With smiling old ladies and adorable little girls, I pretty much fell in love with this community right away.

As we continued to make our way toward Baan Silapin, the main artist’s house, we glimpsed life along the neighbourhood’s canals. Flowers, Thai flags, longboats, those stilted homes and little shops were all to be seen.

 Baan Silapin

The artist’s house in Bangkok is a century old, two story, wooden teak house that was bought and restored by Chumphon Akhpantanond, a Bangkok-based artist and conservationist. Now a cafe, shop, gallery, performance venue and collaboration space for artists, Baan Silapin harmoniously brings together creative types, artists, students, and tourists.

Popular are the Thai shadow puppet shows and displays of traditional Thai dancing. While the puppets scared me, I could have watched these adorable and talented young girls dance for hours on end.

The Thonburi District In Bangkok

What I liked about the Thornburi District was the lack of tourists, friendly locals, and overall relaxing vibe. The next time I return to Bangkok, I’d love to spend a few days in a guesthouse just hanging out in this area.

What do you think about the Thonburi district in Bangkok? Would you visit? Have you been? Drop us a message in the comments below.

Location Of The Thonburi District In Bangkok

Good to Know

1) Bangkok be crazy! It’s a busy, chaotic, fun city that deserves to be enjoyed but sometimes, it’s nice to escape it, even if just for a few hours. The Thonburi district is the perfect place to do so.

2) These Thonburi district highlights are notoriously tough to find. According to Travelfish.org, Wat Kamphaeng and the Khlong Bang Luang artist’s village can be found at Charan Sanitwong Soi 3, Thonburi. View each of the articles to get the specifics.

3) Opening hours for the temple are 08:00–17:00, while opening hours for the artist’s village are 09:00–17:00.

4) You can watch the puppet shows and dancing performances for free, but a donation is strongly encouraged. Don’t be that person – hand over some money so they can invest more in their community. You’ll be helping to support Chumphon’s causes of sustainable tourism and historical preservation.

5) Wi-Fi is available at the artist’s house. But SERIOUSLY, why would you need it when you can just sit back and enjoy your time there?

6) Find a place to stay in Bangkok with booking.com.

Booking.com

7) Make your time in Bangkok even better by doing a guided tour experience.

8) If you like travel and need further inspiration, you’re in the right place. Give some of my popular blog posts a read:

• Art And Rumba Music At Callejón De Hamel In Havana – Experience Afro Cuban culture by browsing art installations and taking in a rumba performance in Callejón de Hamel in Havana, Cuba.
• New York City Street Art On The Lower East Side – Check out this collection of photos highlighting some of the most iconic pieces of New York City street art right now.
• What To Do in Helsinki If You Have Just One Day – What to do in Helsinki in a day? Eat tasty Finnish food, laugh at a peeing boy statue, spend a lot of time in church, & hang out in a stunning library.

And before we sign-off, if you’re a first timer in Thailand like I was on this trip, check out this Thailand backpacking itinerary guide.

*Disclosure – My stay at the Plaza Athenee Bangkok and city tour of Bangkok was complimentary, courtesy of TBEX and Tourism Authority of Thailand. Any opinions expressed are entirely my own. This post also contains some affiliate links. If you book a tour or hotel through any of these links, I’ll earn a tiny commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support!