Sep 19
2009A lot of Chinese people have settled in Bangkok so the Chinatown here is pretty big. The best way to get there is to catch river boat from the Central Pier, Sapan Taskin stop on the Skyrain, and get a boat going north to the N5 or N6 stop. This trip costs about 15 baht (30p). From the boat stop it is a short walk to the main market of Chinatown which is a long thin pathway that has stalls on either side. Be careful as motorbikes drive down this pathway through the market so keep your wits about you! I’m not sure what I was expecting to be on sale at the market but what was there wasn’t it. The goods on sale in the market were mainly the kind of things you associate with being made in China: cheap plastic goods like the things you would find inside a cracker at Christmas. The market vendors were pretty chilled out and we didn’t get hassled to buy anything or look inside their shops. Once we had passed through the market we walked up to the main road which was lined with lots of places to eat but most of them were selling Sharks Fin soups so we didn’t go in them. We finally found a place that did not do Sharks fin soup and went inside. Unsurprisingly we were the only customers in there! The place was the restaurant of the Chinatown Hotel but the food was rank and it was pretty expensive coming in at about 600 baht (£12) for two people. As we left it was around 6.30pm and the food street stalls were out in force. Lots of creative ways of exhibiting dead ducks were on display but none of them looked that appetising. We walked back to the river and got a boat back to Sapan Taskin and then a taxi home.
It was worth taking a trip to Chinatown and I will probably head back for a bit more exploring but it’s not that special. Food-wise it was a bit disappointing too and I am still looking for some great food in Thailand to match the Thai food I have eaten back in London.