Bangkok’s Chinatown is your alley for some atmosphere absorption. The streets are filled with ethnic Chinese people and large neon signs, reminiscent of a town in China. It is also an interesting area of Bangkok, where you can get a good bite to eat, shop for bargains and view some sites and sounds as well.

Most who experience the Grand Palace and Wat Pho will have time to spare for the rest of the day.  Many of those folks will end up going to Chinatown. Its location near these Bangkok monuments makes it a perfect destination to revel in more of Bangkok, Chinese style.

Chinatown covers most of Yaowarat Road. And it is fitting that Chinatown is where it is at now because the winding roads are said to look like an Oriental dragon’s curvy and slender body. Dragons are important mythical creatures in China, it being a good luck omen to the people.  So, why not set up business at a place people considered lucky?

So, how did Chinatwon end up where it’s at? Originally, the Chinese merchants came and settled at the area where the Grand Palace currently is at around the 1700’s. King Rama 1 wanted that land to build the palace. So, he made an agreement with the merchants for them to move two kilometers down river into where Chinatown currently is.

There are a couple of ways to get to Chinatown. First is obviously by road. If you can brave through two kilometers in the Bangkok heat, then walking is also an option from The grand Palace Complex. Thirdly, you can get there by boat via the Chao Phraya River. Chinatown is also easily accessible by Bangkok’s MRT subway system.  Just ride the train to the end of the line at Hua lumphong Station. From there, you can then either walk (approximately 20 minutes) or take one of Bangkok’s iconic vehicles, the tuk-tuk to Yaowarat Road.

So, if you like to be amongst the frantic, smell some nice street side cooking, shopping or absorb some atmosphere, then you should definitely be in this part of Bangkok. If cycling is your thing, then you should definitely be biking Chinatown. After it’s all said and done, how does a relaxing foot massage sound to you?

See our Thailand tours for more options in the country.

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