Khaosan Road

Khaosan Road or Khao San Road is a short (410 m long) street constructed in 1892 during the reign of Rama V. It is in the Bang Lamphu area of Phra Nakhon District about 1 kilometre north of the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew. "Khaosan" translates as 'milled rice', a hint that in former times the street was a major Bangkok rice market. In the last 40 years, however, Khaosan Road has developed into a world-famous "backpacker ghetto". It offers cheap accommodation, ranging from "mattress in a box"-style hotels to reasonably priced three-star hotels. In an essay on the backpacker culture of Khaosan Road, Susan Orlean called it "the place to disappear." According to the Khao San Business Association, the road sees 40,000-50,000 tourists per day in the high season, and 20,000 per day in the low season. Khaosan shops sell handicrafts, paintings, clothes, local fruits, unlicensed CDs, DVDs, a wide range of fake IDs, used books, and other useful backpacker items. After dark, bars open, music is played, food hawkers sell barbecued insects and other exotic snacks for tourists, and touts promote ping pong shows. The area is internationally known as a center of dancing, partying, and just prior to the traditional Thai New Year (Songkran festival) of 13 - 15 April, water splashing that usually turns into a huge water fight.[10] One Thai writer has described Khaosan as "...a short road that has the longest dream in the world".