Has Khaosan Changed?
When was your last time visiting Khaosan street? For me, it was around 12 years ago. I went there with my friend on a trip to Koh Tao. It was not exactly planned to take a night at Khaosan. First we thought about taking a train to Suratthani to arrive in the morning and later hire some locals to ride us to Koh Tao. Things didn’t go well because the train was fully booked and we were left at Hua Lamphong station in the middle of the night around 21:00. One of my friends suggested we go to Khaosan street where there are many private buses offering us a trip to Koh Tao instead. Without a thought, we went to Khaosan road and found a bus only leaving in the early morning which meant we had to stay a night there.
It was my first time and I was a bit surprised by the vibe of Khaosan. The streets were crowded with people. The ‘temporary’ shop and food stalls were packed and occupied most of the street area, leaving only a narrow walkway where everyone was forced to move ahead non-stop. The road and pavement surface were coated by the grease from these ‘temporary’ food stall, where rats and cockroaches were everywhere. Naive tourists from the West sat on the pavement and ate Pad Thai without even thinking if they should sit there or not. Many shops in the building sent a ‘sales person’ standing on the street and aggressively offered a ‘wild’ experience starting from food and beverages to a companionship at night. Inside the hotel, it was like a normal townhouse where the owner divided the space into small rooms and put the old furniture inside, not so clean, no air conditioning and anyone can walk in and out 24/7. I couldn’t do anything at that point except I had to endure the night until I left for Koh Tao in the early morning.
Many questions came into my mind. Is this really a famous place for tourists? How can a tourist stay in a place like this? Is this what the tourists really enjoy? I never want to talk about Khaosan to any foreigner I know or recommend anyone to be here from that day.
Until I started my JourneyBliss project recently, I thought it would be nice to at least give the readers some information about how it looks and how to commute here as it is still a famous place, so I had a chance to be here again.
This time I noticed a HUGE improvement.
The street has been renovated during the covid time with wider, clean and no more grease. At night, when the ‘temporary’ shops and food stalls came, the vibe was so much more relaxed, even the shops were packed as usual. There is more space on the street to slowly walk and enjoy the moment. The shops inside the building are also renovated and upscale. Less ultra-cheap restaurants or bars with half naked ladies aggressively cheering the guests. Many shops are now well-designed with themes, giving guests a unique dining experience. The price went up of course but from my observation if you compare the similar style of bars and restaurants between Khaosan area and the inner city of Bangkok, the price here is still considerably reasonable.
I decided to spend a night there as well. This time I noticed not many super-cheap rooms, like under 300 Baht (around 8.5 USD) a night, were found on a popular hotel booking platform. New hotels were open, especially along the Phra Arthit street where it is more quiet with the view of the Chao Phraya river. Some well known hotel chains invested in this area as well, driving higher quality of the services to the hotel nearby.
There were also a few attractions I visited the next morning which I never thought there would be such interesting places in this area. Baan Chao Phraya Art Gallery, masterpieces of arts from many young artists are displayed in a cozy art gallery, free to access with coffee shop at front. Coin Museum, showcasing coins collections from around the world. I am very sure this was newly opened some time in the past decade. The National Gallery, showcasing Thai fine art from the old time but unfortunately, it was still under renovation and expected to be done in November 2025.
At the end of the trip, I learned that Khaosan has changed a lot from my first visit. The image and experience of a cheap stay for young backpackers, street food and cheap stuffs along the street as well as places for wild parties until morning are still there as its signature, but now it is mixed with the new vibe of nice bars and upscale restaurants. The streets are new, wide and clean. Better standard of hotels in the area, offering safer, cleaner and more comfortable places to stay at a reasonable price which is still relatively cheap when compared to another location of Bangkok. More choice of activities nearby during the day for anyone who prefers to live in the day light. I am grateful to see that the area has changed and improved towards a better quality destination and more friendly to everyone.
How was your last experience in Khaosan? Did you notice any change in this area? Let us know in the comment below.
