Bangkok’s coolest corners, from neon-lit alleys and punk bars to canalside islands, Song Wat vintage finds and Talat Phlu noodles
“Just head from the station towards the Chao Phraya river,” suggests Saran. “Don’t use Google Maps.”
This leads to the labyrinthine Chinatown, originally a Teochew trading settlement, now a neon-lit foodie mecca. The main drag, Yaowarat Road (from which the neighbourhood derives its name), is ever congested, but Saran says it’s down the narrow backstreets winding past dragon-topped temples where Yaowarat’s semi-permanent establishments serving Thai-Chinese culinary delights can be found.
“Always look for the grumpiest-looking auntie cooking,” he says. “The worse the service, the better the food.” Eventually, the lanes lead to river-fronted Song Wat, where Saran works. “Lots of Bangkok’s hipsters are moving to Song Wat,” says a friend of Saran, interior designer Phansa Buaphaichit. “It changes every time I come here.”
For an example of the creatives being attracted to Song Wat, Phansa points to a property near the entrance to the 19th-century Luang Kocha Itsahak Mosque: TARS Unlimited, a private gallery that moved last year from Sukhumvit, with the figurative art of Bangkok-based Warot Jarusirikul currently on display.
