Insiders’ guide to Bangkok: eat, shop and socialise like a local
Bangkok’s coolest corners, from neon-lit alleys and punk bars to canalside islands, Song Wat vintage finds and Talat Phlu noodles
Chinatown and Song Wat
“Just head from the station towards the Chao Phraya river,” suggests Saran. “Don’t use Google Maps.”
This leads to the labyrinthine Chinatown, originally a Teochew trading settlement, now a neon-lit foodie mecca. The main drag, Yaowarat Road (from which the neighbourhood derives its name), is ever congested, but Saran says it’s down the narrow backstreets winding past dragon-topped temples where Yaowarat’s semi-permanent establishments serving Thai-Chinese culinary delights can be found.
“Always look for the grumpiest-looking auntie cooking,” he says. “The worse the service, the better the food.” Eventually, the lanes lead to river-fronted Song Wat, where Saran works. “Lots of Bangkok’s hipsters are moving to Song Wat,” says a friend of Saran, interior designer Phansa Buaphaichit. “It changes every time I come here.”
For an example of the creatives being attracted to Song Wat, Phansa points to a property near the entrance to the 19th-century Luang Kocha Itsahak Mosque: TARS Unlimited, a private gallery that moved last year from Sukhumvit, with the figurative art of Bangkok-based Warot Jarusirikul currently on display.
Thonburi – the other side
“Bangkok is a city cut into two halves,” says singer Savapatra Euakittaropakorn. “I grew up in Thonburi, on the other side of the river. It’s just somehow more real there.”
Best known for its 17th century Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn), Thonburi was a city distinct from Bangkok until 1971, now populated by Thai-Chinese and Muslim merchants from the south. Unlike Song Wat, Thonburi has yet to be wholly gentrified, according to Savapatra, and remains a district of canals bisecting time-honoured neighbourhoods. Everything is cheaper, and southern-style curries bubbling outside shops such as Tong Leng (highlights include home-made egg noodles, crispy pork and fishballs) and Jae Oie (Thai-Chinese stir-fried noodles with the unique taste of kra ched, or water mimosa) are major attractions.
“One of the best areas to find the most authentic Thai dishes is around Talat Phlu,” says Savapatra, of a Thonburi community and marketplace next to the Bangkok Yai canal. “And it’s easy to get to on the BTS Skytrain.”
After dark
Savapatra, whose single “Tears & Blood” has just dropped on Spotify, has been involved in garage bands since 2007 and knows her way around the city’s music venues. She’s already a regular at the new pop-up bar Doi Dum Punk, situated on the corner of Ari Soi 5, a 20-minute tuk-tuk ride to the north of the old city.