Bangkok is split in two by the Chao Phraya river (the 'River of Kings', as
it is sometimes translated). Almost all the tourists who come to Bangkok stay
on the east side of the river, where the heart of the city is located.
On the eastern side, between the river and the railway line is the where
most of Bangkok's historic and impressive sights are, and if you have only
1 or 2 days in the capital, this the area to see. The Old City area, known
as Ko Rattanakosin,
has the best including the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew, Wat Pho, and the
National Museum. Close to Ko Rattanakosin are the Banglamphu
district, which lies to the east, and Dusit,
to the north.
A little south of Banglamphu is the densely populated, noisy and busy Chinatown,
orientated round Charoen Krung, Yaowarat road and Sampeng Lane. This areas
contains the main train station (Hualamphong), and has consistently bad traffic
jams, even by Bangkok's standards. Little India is adjacent to Chinatown,
in the area around Pahurat and Chakraphet roads. This is perhaps the best
place in the city for tailors, clothes are cheap and the range is huge.
Southeast of Chinatown are Sathorn and Bangrak districts, which
consists of the area around Silom, Surawong, Sathorn and Si Phraya roads.
This is the major financial and commercial district of the city, and also
the original tourist area. Located by the river are some of Bangkok's oldest
and finest hotels, such as The Oriental, Shangri-La, and Royal Orchid Sheraton.
As a business district there are no sights around here as such, and traffic
congestion is almost constant. There are however many middle to high end hotels,
restaurants, shopping arcades and the (in)famous Patpong nightlife area. North
of Silom is the Siam Square area (known as Pathumwan). This contains
Chulalongkorn University, considered Thailand's top university, the National
stadium, the ultra-modern shopping area of Siam Square and the many nearby
shopping malls. The area is orientated mainly around Ploenchit road, which
runs west to become Rama I road, and east to become Sukhumvit road. Like Silom,
it has few sights as such, but many top hotels, such as the Hilton International
Bangkok and Regent Bangkok, are here. The busy and noisy Pratunam district
lies north of Pathumwan.
The 6 - 8 lane Sukhumvit road runs southeast from Ploenchit road.
Once considered as on the outskirts of Bangkok, this has developed into the
leading area for moderate hotels, and much of the lower end is crammed full
of tourist facilities, including restaurants, shopping centers, and the Nana
Plaza adult entertainment center. There are no sights here otherwise, and
it takes a long time to get to the sights of Ko Rattanakosin. The lower end
of Sukhumvit road (between soi 1 and 21) is very touristy, but it becomes
a lot less so further up. The higher numbered sois are a popular residential
area for foreign expats. Further down still, around Sukhumvit soi 71, is the
area known as Phrakhanong which is also a good place for shopping, though
it is not much visited by foreigners. Din Daeng, Bangkapi and
Lat Phrao districts all lie to the north east of Sukhumvit, and are
primarily residential areas. South of Sukhumvit is the port district of Khlong
Toey, one of Bangkok's poorest areas that is generally best avoided.
The very large Thonburi
district encompasses all of the areas west of the Chao Phraya river from Ko
Rattanakosin, Chinatown etc...It's size and history (as the capital before
Bangkok) give it a status of more than just a district of Bangkok. Charan
Sanitwong road is the main aretry in Thonburi, running most of the way from
north to south. Phra Pin Klao district is across the river from Banglamphu
and this is now a good area for cheap shopping, with many markets and malls
and reasonable nightlife. Somewhat confusingly for the foreigner, Bangkok
Noi and Bangkok Yai districts are also in Thonburi, not in Bangkok proper
across the river.
Bangkok is decentralized to a much greater degree than western cities, and
it makes identifying the city center a tricky task. Perhaps the most commonly
accepted area is the Siam Square area, but it could also be thought of as
the Silom road district or the Ratchaprasong area. No area is really dominant,
and you can be confident that wherever you are there will be huge shopping
malls, restaurants and the like nearby.
