ASIA BANGKOK DESTINATIONS


thinking Blue-sky


Tamara Hinson meets the entrepreneurs blazing a new trail in Bangkok


T


he tiny long-tail boat chugs along Bangkok’s Chao


Phraya river, its slow speed and colourful keel making it the ideal subject for the camera- wielding tourists knocking back cheap towers of Chang beer at Asiatique, the riverfront market famous for its maze of souvenir stalls and open-air bars. Soon, it’s overtaken by a neon-lit party boat, whose wake bashes the smaller one from side to side. It’s a fitting metaphor for a city in the midst of a huge transformation, much of which is centred on the riverside.


 DESIGN DISTRICT The Saphan Taksin BTS skytrain station, just metres from the Chao Phraya’s banks, might


well be the closest to Asiatique, but it’s also the ideal station for explorations of historic Charoen Krung Road, which runs parallel to the river and was Bangkok’s first paved street. In 2017, when the Thailand


Creative and Design Centre opened its new headquarters here, the founders said they hoped the opening would transform the area into Bangkok’s first creative district. Today, the shophouse-filled


side streets (known as sois) are home to the city’s coolest galleries and restaurants, founded by creative types keen to inject this once-neglected neighbourhood with new life while paying homage to its past. Soi 30 is home to Warehouse 30,


“It’s so eclectic, as well as old,”


You’ll walk past an ancient shophouse selling som tum and the next place will sell alternators


which opened last year. Here, Bangkok’s best independent boutiques and bars are tucked inside Second World War-era warehouses. Wander along Soi 28 and you’ll find Chet Adkins’ legendary burger joint, Little Market, as well as the achingly cool Tropic City cocktail bar.


says Chet, when asked about the neighbourhood’s appeal. “You’ll walk past an ancient shophouse selling som tum and the next place will sell alternators. And there’s so much cool stuff nearby – the Grand Palace is only 15 minutes away, but it’s quieter than other areas and you’ve still got the river breeze.”


 THAI MINDED In 2019, the best views of this historic neighbourhood – and Bangkok in general – will be from the Bangkok Observation Tower, which is set to tower over the district. When it’s completed, this riverside monolith will be southeast Asia’s tallest observation tower.


13 December 2018travelweekly.co.uk59


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