Khaosan Road

Bangkok's most famous backpacker street – 400 metres of street food, bars and world travellers in a historic district.

Khaosan Road is a short but legendary street of about 400 metres in Bangkok's Bang Lamphu district, laid out in 1892 during the reign of King Rama V. Originally a rice market – "khaosan" means "milled rice" in Thai – it transformed from the 1980s into Southeast Asia's most famous backpacker hub. Today budget guesthouses, street food stalls with pad thai and mango sticky rice, bars and souvenir vendors line both sides. First-time visitors to Bangkok almost always end up here – those who know it recognise it as a global traveller phenomenon.