A short narrow street in the Banglamphu district of the historic Phra Nakhon area of central Bangkok, Khaosan Road has been the principal international backpacker destination in central Thailand continuously since the early 1980s. The street covers approximately four hundred metres between the Chakrabongse and Tanao Roads and contains around two hundred individual restaurants, bars, guesthouses, travel agencies, market stalls and small budget tour operators. The street takes its Thai name from the traditional rice trade that historically operated through the surrounding district, with khaosan meaning literally polished rice. The original residential development of the surrounding area dates from the early nineteenth century, with the principal historic temples of Wat Chana Songkhram and Wat Bowonniwet Vihara providing the principal anchor institutions of the wider district through the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The transformation into the principal international backpacker district of central Thailand began during the early 1980s following the establishment of the first dedicated backpacker guesthouses along the principal street. The original guesthouses, including the famous Vieng Tai Hotel of 1962 and the various smaller Khao San Palace guesthouses of the early 1980s, provided the principal initial accommodation infrastructure that allowed the rapid growth of the wider international backpacker tourism category through the 1980s and 1990s. The cultural prominence of the street was substantially extended by the 1996 Alex Garland novel The Beach and the subsequent 2000 Danny Boyle film adaptation, both of which opened with extended sequences set in the various guesthouses, bars and small travel agencies of the Khao San district. The international cultural reference established the street as the principal symbolic centre of the wider international backpacker tradition and has continued to shape the perception of the area among international travellers continuously since the late 1990s. The current Khao San district contains around two hundred individual hospitality establishments spread along the principal street and the immediately adjacent side sois. The principal restaurants and bars cover the standard Thai street food repertoire alongside a substantial selection of international cuisines aimed at the diverse international backpacker clientele. The various small travel agencies sell budget transport tickets, organised tours and the various standard backpacker services. The principal night market along the street operates from around eighteen hundred until midnight every day of the week.

Type: Street

Address: Khao San Road, Bangkok, Thailand