5 Bangkok streets you have to hit to really get a feel for the city

Phra Athit Road sits right beside the Chao Phraya River. At the end of the street is the historical white Phra Sumen Fort, which looks over a popular riverside park.

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Visitors to Bangkok find it hard to see past the temples, nightlife and shopping. And those that live in the city often get stuck in a rut of another kind -- hopping from mega-mall to posh restaurant, seldom venturing out of their comfort zones.

So whether you’ve just finished touring a score of wats or spent yet another Sunday brunching on Thong Lor, check out the following streets to see Bangkok in a different light.

Trok Issaranuphap

Most visitors to Chinatown hang out on the main streets, such as Yaowarat, Charoen Krung or Sampaeng Lane, but the older generation knows Trok Issaranuphap is where you'll find the most interesting stuff going on.
At the top of this tiny alley is scenic Chinese temple Mangkon Kamalawat. Inside Trok Issaranuphap there's also a wet market -- not for the faint of heart -- and prepared food stalls.
Getting there: from the Hualumpong MRT station grab a taxi to Soi Charoen Krung Soi 16. Trok Issaranuphap is on the other side of the road.

Arab Street

When it comes to ethnic neighborhoods, Chinatown gets all the attention, followed closely by Pahurat, Bangkok's Little India. But the city is more culturally diverse than it seems at first glance.

Sukhumvit Soi 3/1, aka Arab Street, is a tiny city unto itself, with agarwood dealers, shisha pipe sellers, travel agents and Middle Eastern restaurants crammed into a tiny alley between Soi 3 and Soi 5.
To get there, take the BTS to Nana station and head for Soi 3.

Phra Athit Road

Khao San Road’s fairer step-sister has all the good stuff the travelers’ ghetto around the corner does but, so far at least, the backpackers haven’t smoked out the local residents or stomped out the charming Thainess of this quiet street along the Chao Phraya River.
Bangkok-based foodies should visit for the excellent fusion joints such as the tiny Mister Pas. (140 Phra Athit Road. Open daily, except Monday, 10:30a.m.-11p.m. Tel: +66 (0)2 629 3207)

Taxi drivers all know the way to Phra Athit but it's far more fun to take the Chao Phraya ferry from the Saphan Taksin BTS station and hop off at Phra Athit.

Khlong San Saeb

Ok it’s not really a street since you can’t walk on it, but you can take a long boat ride on this canal for a look at life on the water in the middle of the big city, where you’ll still see grannies hanging out clothes to dry and little kids swimming.
Khlong San Saeb runs parallel to Petchaburi Road and is surprisingly convenient to Siam Square, Chidlom, Pratunam and the Golden Mount.

For the full experience, we recommend hopping onboard the small but fast ferry at Panfa Pier, next to the Golden Mount, and ride all the way to Bang Kapi. You'll have to change boats at the Pratunam Pier.

For more on Khlong San Saeb check out our video of the staff who work on these fast-paced ferries and the passengers brave enough to ride them.

Nakhon Chaisi Road

Before Soi 35 was Bangkok’s street food doyenne, this wide, leafy avenue in the Dusit neighborhood was everyone’s favorite destination for excellent Thai dishes of all kinds.

During the day the street markets of Nakhon Chaisi Road bustle with local shoppers and bureaucrats from nearby government offices on their lunch breaks, and in addition to a scenic view and good food you’ll find traditional shops including a cobbler who’s been making shoes for the royal palace for decades.
For some restaurant recommendations, see our recent feature on Bangkok's Ratchawat neighborhood, which includes Nakhon Chai Si Road.

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The Thai Dessert Museum in Samut Songkhram chronicles the history of traditional Thai khanom

Thai Dessert

While wandering around the popular Amphawa Floating market in Samut Songkhram, you are sure to come across a variety of delicious Thai desserts. And if your curiosity goes beyond satisfying your sweet tooth, you need look no further than the Thai Dessert Museum adjacent to the evening weekend market. Museum manager Vichitar Sae-tiaw explained that it was built by the Thai Confection Industry Company (TCIC) in September 2008 with an initial investment of 2.2 million baht from the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion. Ms Vichitar said the purpose of the museum is to exhibit and chronicle the history of traditional Thai desserts.
Replicas of more than 100 types of traditional sweets are on display, and they look so real you can be excused for drooling.
"The replicas are made of resin, created by skilled followers of National Artist Chakrabhand Posayakrit," said Ms Vichitar, noting the great attention to detail in the shapes, colours and textures.
The Thai word for dessert is khanom, believed to have been derived from the words khao (rice) and nom (sweet). Many Thai desserts are still made from rice flour and sugar.
The museum's sweet history lesson goes back to the Sukhothai period, about 700 years ago.
One of the oldest desserts on display, khanom tom, which we still see today, is made by frying shredded coconut with sugar, wrapping it in a starchy batter and then steaming it. After cooking it is sprinkled with salted, shredded coconut.
It is said that the golden era of Thai sweets began during the reign of King Narai the Great of Ayutthaya in the 17th century, when the country began courting relations with European countries. During that time a new way of cooking Thai desserts was initiated by Maria Guyomar de Pinha, a woman of Portuguese ancestry who is better known here by her Thai name of Thao Thong Kib Ma.
She was married to Constantine Phaulkon (his Thai name was Chao Phraya Wichayen) a Greek adventurer who became first counsellor to King Narai.
Maria Guyomar became the chief palace cook for desserts. She mixed egg yolks and granulated sugar into local sweets and created various treats with yellowish colours which resembled gold (thong), such as thong yib, thong yod and foi thong.
For the most part the museum displays desserts according to the way they have been served historically. For example, khanom mo kaeng, a pudding made of palm sugar, eggs, coconut cream and flour, is in the clay pot section, although today it is much more likely to be cooked in a stainless steel tray.
There are khanom in big glass jars, as might have been seen 30 or so years past, such as khanom dok jok, khao tu and thua guan.
One of the highlights of the museum are the samples of desserts which were mentioned in a classic poem composed by King Rama II, who was also born in Amphawa.
"Some of the desserts are hard to find today, such as maskod and latiang," said Ms Vichitar. To round up the tour, the museum has a section where visitors can relax by sitting on a wooden boat, to give them a feeling of the life of a vendor in a floating market.
The Thai Desserts Museum very recently celebrated two years of operation and moved the facility from the first floor to the second floor of the Anake Prasong Building, in Amphawa Municipality Office.
The new space is 280 square metres, and has some new features, such as a boat where noodles are sold and another one offering coffee.
The expansion was supported by the Government Housing Bank.
The museum organises activities such as instruction in the cooking of desserts for group tours if requests are made in advance, and is grateful to accept old items related to traditional Thai desserts such as recipes or cooking tools.
At present the Thai Dessert Museum is open on Fridays from 1pm to 7pm and on weekends and holidays from 10am to 7pm and there is no entrance fee.
In the future, said Ms Vichitar, there are plans to open the museum every day of the week and sell tickets, so that it can stand on its own without the need for donations.

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HOW TO GET THERE

From Bangkok, take Rama II Road (also called Thon Buri-Pak Tho or Highway No35) to Samut Songkhram and turn left onto Highway No325 in Amphawa district. The distance is about 70 kilometres. Parking is available near the entrance of the market or in Wat Amphawa. The Thai Dessert museum is in the office building of Amphawa Municipality, next to the ferry pier. For more details, call 03-475-1359

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