NightLife
China Town Bangkok
Yaowarat Road, better known as Bangkok’s China Town, is an especially busy district full of hustle and bustle. Originally set up in the 1700s as a trading post for goods from China in the Kingdom of Siam, the feel is quite akin to that of an actual market in China. Which begs the question: why go to China if you can experience it in Bangkok? Many of the Thai-Chinese today are descendents of the traders of yesteryear.
Red and gold signs with Chinese characters line the streets, as the traffic of people, cars, and carts move through the streets. Lining the sidewalks are vendors and restaurants selling the Chinese delicacies such as roast duck, shark fin soup. This is one of the only places where you can see a person yoked up with goods across their shoulders, balancing whimsically; juxtaposed with the whine of a motorcycle courier and a truck unloading its contents. China town is a melding of the past and present. Though, the main streets are just the beginning.
The side streets, look like small alleys, and are home to the shop houses and markets. This is where China Town gets its charm. Inside these crowded yet quaint alleyways, there is an energy from the activity within each of the stalls and shop houses, people cooking, hawking, tinkering, or weaving. Everything you could imagine is at your fingertips in China Town: textiles, handicrafts, food, cheap electronics and jewellery are available for purchase. Furthermore, there are shops that deal exclusively in Chinese traditional medicine. Outside of China, there is no better place to buy a natural or herbal traditional remedy for whatever ails you. Accompanying the commercial element is an olfactory barrage, be it fresh roasting meat, exotic spices, fresh fish, or even the occasional live bird or two. The sights, sounds and pleasant smells of China town’s alleyways will be sensory souvenir of your memorable visit to Bangkok.
