Khao San Road Walk: Beyond the Neon and Into Old Bangkok

Table of Contents

Introduction

Highlights

Directions

Map

Detailed Guide

Wrapping Up

FAQ

Introduction

Want to miss out the introduction? Then please go straight to the map.

Bang Lamphu sits right where the Chao Phraya River meets Khlong Bang Lamphu, just beside Phra Arthit Pier. This walk around the Khao San Road area takes you through two contrasting districts. On one side you’ve got Khao San Road itself, loud, neon lit and endlessly busy. The kind of place that’s become shorthand for backpacker Bangkok since the 1970s, although nowadays some say it has lost its original appeal. Walk a short distance in another direction, though, and you’ll find a quiet canal-side path lined with inviting guest houses, small cafés and old street level shophouses where daily life carries on much as it always has.

The name Bang Lamphu itself tells part of the history. Bang was an old term for land bordering water, and lamphu refers to the mangrove apple trees that once grew thickly along these banks. The trees are long gone now, but the name has stuck, and the area itself is one of the oldest in the city. Look closely as you walk and you’ll still spot traces of that older Bangkok: the whitewashed walls of Phra Sumen Fort by the river, one of only four surviving forts from the original fourteen built to protect the capital, and the kind of narrow lanes and old shophouses that reward anyone willing to wander off the main roads.

Between Khao San Road and Khlong Bang Lamphu, you’ll find pleasant alleys and streets with large but comfortable restaurants and bars catering for a range of tastes. A kind of ‘laid back Khao San Road’. This route takes in all sides of Bang Lamphu, the well trodden and the quietly local, with a fair bit of history along the way.

Photographic spots are indicated by the camera emoji 📷 in the post. If you are interested in long exposure photography, as used in the featured image above, then take a look at my Fine Art gallery.

Highlights

Superscript links indicate waypoints on the map below. 

• Rama VIII Bridge
• Ram Buttri Alley⁵
• Khlong Bang Lamphu footpath⁶
• Phra Sumen Fort⁹
• Santi Chai Prakan Park

Directions

From Phra Arthit Pier you’ll get a clear view of the spectacular Rama VIII Bridge 📷, a structure I’ve written about in full in another post. Follow the waterfront path for a few metres and you’ll catch your first glimpse of Phra Sumen Fort (8:00 AM to 9:00 PM) through the trees in Santi Chai Prakan Park (5:00 AM to 9:00 PM), though we’ll save a proper look at these for the end of the walk. For now, turn away from the river and head into the streets and alleys around Khao San Road.

After this you’ll pass along a short stretch of main road, where some construction is currently underway, before a narrow alley leads you over a bridge 📷 crossing Khlong Bang Lamphu and onto the canal side path. This is where the walk slows down a little: take your time along here, soaking up the local life 📷, and enjoy the small restaurants and the cafés that line the water. When you’re ready, retrace your steps and follow the canal back to Phra Sumen Fort 📷, Santi Chai Prakan Park 📷 and Phra Arthit Pier to finish where you started. Total distance 3.4 km.

This route assumes you’re joining from the river, but there’s no need to start there. Pick it up wherever suits you, particularly if you’re already staying in the area. If you are using the river to travel to Phra Arthit Pier then checkout my Guide to Chao Phraya River Boats for river transport options.

Map

Detailed Guide

If you would like more information, click the Detailed Guide button below.

Wrapping Up

Timing makes a real difference here, since Bang Lamphu offers two quite different experiences depending on when you go. The bars and restaurants around Khao San Road really come into their own from late afternoon into the night, once the crowds arrive and the energy picks up. The canal side, on the other hand, is often at its best in the morning, when local people are out shopping and the pace is unhurried. There’s no wrong choice, just two different sides of the same neighbourhood.

FAQ