DestinationsFood & DrinkNewsStayVideo
Menu
How Bangkok s Khao San Road evolved from a rice market into the world s most famous travel hub
Joe Cummings, CNN • Published 29th January 2021
FacebookTwitterEmail
13 Pictures
Bangkok (CNN) Once upon a time, the locals peddled rice on Bangkok s Khao San Road. Lots of it.
Barge after barge paddled, and later motored, down the vast Chao Phraya River and into the mouth of Banglamphu Canal, where they dropped off thousands of tons in jute sacks to wholesalers in the neighborhood.
By the end of the 19th century, Banglamphu district was by far the largest rice market not only in Bangkok, but anywhere in Siam, the world s largest rice growing nation.