Review: Chinatown

What makes this neighborhood so special?
Market lanes, glittery gold shops, phenomenal street food, temples with golden Buddhas, Daoist temples clouded with incense smoke, street art, history, and a neighborhood setting that feels untouched by time and modernization: Welcome to Bangkok’s enchanting Chinatown. You don’t need tickets or reservations, just an appetite for Thai-Chinese street food and a penchant for getting a little lost in the name of exploration.

What’s it like being there?
Hunger-inducing, a photographer’s dream, something new to discover.

Will we need a guide to help navigate?
While self-exploration is often best, hungry explorers will find the docent-led tours by the team at Bangkok Food Tours truly engaging, and they’ll discover some delicious, cheap eats. For deep dive on the history of the neighborhood, link up with Smiling Albino.

Who else can you expect to see here?
Fellow visitors are mostly locals there to shop for produce and household goods, visit a traditional Chinese medicine doctor, refill their supply of fragrant teas and goji berries, or hawk cash for gold chains. As for other foreigners, some have committed themselves to a full afternoon or evening in this atmospheric part of town; others pop in quickly before going to the trendy bars on Soi Nana, like Teens of Thailand and Tep Bar.

Will it live up to our expectations?
This is one of the largest Chinatowns in the world, so it’s hard to imagine someone leaving here disappointed or feeling like they’ve covered the neighborhood in full. Even longtime residents are always finding something new. The old haunts, however, like Eiah-Sae, an old-school Thai coffee shop, are still what gives Chinatown its charm.

So when should we plan to make an outing here?
Foodies will be in heaven and photographers will fill up a memory card shooting the market lanes, temples, and local portraits. When major Chinese holidays come around, though, like Chinese New Year, this neighborhood teems with humanity—and the crowds, in turn, are unbearable.