Khao San Road
Khao San Road is the most active and ethnically diverse street that I have ever seen. The place is open 24/7 – attracting backpackers and tourists from all corners of the Earth. During the day, it’s lined with absurd amounts of merchandise, travel agents, and blaring stereos. At night when the market closes, all the restaurants and bars open, allowing travelers to meet, greet and share traveling stories with each other.
The first thing I noticed about Khao San Road was the openness of everything. Since almost everyone there was traveling and had no time constraints, they were more than willing to chat for hours at a time. People were just “hanging out” without a care in the world about where they were going or what would happen next. It didn’t take long for this care-free attitude to rub off on me.
Stray Dog
The second thing I noticed was all the stray dogs and cats just roaming or laying around. Buddhists believe that animals shouldn’t be caged, but rather allowed to roam free. Therefore, the animals adapt pretty well to street life – avoiding oncoming cars and mingling with people. The heat keeps them pretty tame as well. Most looked friendly but I didn’t touch any of them because they were rather mangy.
My friend and I were planning on purchasing a plane ticket to Phuket at an Internet cafe. At first, I was skeptical of the travel agencies, but for the hell of it we compared prices at a few of them. If I remember correctly, we paid 1700 baht ($45 CAD) each for a plane ticket to Phuket with OneToGo airlines. We later checked online to see how much it would have cost if we bypassed the travel agent and bought directly from the airline. We discovered, with surprise, that it was the exact same price online! Unfortunately, I don’t remember the name of this particular travel agency…
The Internet is Cheap and Slow
You have to prepare yourself for hawkers when you arrive at Khao San Road. If you take a walk down the entire street you can expect to be approached by a few people trying to sell you suits, a couple tuk tuk drivers, beggars, store owners, etc. But don’t get the impression that this is Thailand. It’s only that way in the tourist spots. If you manage to escape the tourist traps and meet normal Thai people, you’ll notice they treat you quite well – not just as another (relatively) rich tourist.
The Tuk Tuk drivers were hungry for business and very persistent. At first I felt guilty for rejecting so many offers, but after a day or two I was just annoyed by them. Even if you avoid eye contact, they won’t leave you alone! Many offered cheap tours around the area for 10 baht – promising exciting trips to local temples, monuments, and palaces. I never accepted the offer because I heard it was just a scam. A friend of mine who has lived in Bangkok for six years explained that they actually take you to places where you’re expected to buy merchandise. When they discover you’re not a buyer, they will leave you stranded.
Food stall selling Pad Thai
There’s plenty of restaurants to choose from on Khao San Road, but I recommend you eat from the street stalls. It’s a lot funner and cheaper too! You could get a small carton of delicious Pad Thai for 20 baht (less than 75 cents!). If you want to add egg or chicken, it’ll be another five or ten baht. A lot of people worry about hygiene at the food stalls, but they fry the food right before your eyes. You may need to give your body a few weeks to fully “adjust” to certain foods. I had an upset stomach a few times, but nothing bad enough to ruin my fun. I also ate fruit shakes and fresh fruit from street stalls (against the advice of Health Canada) and never got sick. I should mention that I did get vaccinated for Hepatitis A and Typhoid fever before I left Canada.
atHOME - located behind the Burger King
When my friend and I arrived at Khao San Road, we did not have any accommodation booked. Luckily, during our first five minutes there, we met a friendly traveler from America who recommended a place called “atHOME Guest House” (located just behind the Burger King). It was located on a street adjacent to Khao San Road so it was less crowded and quieter. My room was clean and came with a fan and hot shower. I paid 350 baht/night ($10 CAD) to stay there. It was here that I met new friends from Austrailia, the U.K, and America.
Prepare yourself for a bit of culture shock if Khao San Road is your first experience away from home. You’ll be amazed to discover that there’s a completely different world out there from what you’re accustomed to. But don’t be afraid of it – you’ll get along just fine if you do your research. I highly recommend you check it out on your journey through Thailand.
Here’s some footage of Khao San Road. You’ll hear me say “My Ow Cup” a few times. It means “no thank you” in Thai 
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