Youthapong Charoenpan

In Thai, Khao Sarn actually means uncooked rice, and this is how the area around Khao Sarn Road got its name since it's a spot where the Asian staple was once traded in the Thai capital. These days the area is probably better known as a haven for budget travelers, as well as offering a host of nightlife options.

Nowadays, the rice you buy in Khao Sarn is far more likely to have been cooked. Indeed, the area is a great spot to enjoy a number of tasty yet affordable Thai dishes, such as Pad Thai (stir-fried rice noodles) or Kai Jiew (omelet) with rice.

A Thai 'staple'

Pad Thai continues to be a very affordable dish. Strolling around Khao Sarn, we chose to buy a portion from one of numerous vendors selling the dish from virtually-identical carts. The average price for a portion of Pad Thai is now 15 baht (US$0.44), while if you want your dish to be cooked with an egg, you'll pay 20 baht. With few expectations, I handed over a crisp, green 20-baht note.

  To my great surprise, the dish wasn't too bad at all. Although recipes for Pad Thai do vary, the dishes sold by vendors around Khao Sarn Road can sometimes be a little spartan. This particular dish certainly tasted like it had been 'mass produced' rather than carefully prepared using fresh ingredients.

The trademark stir-fried rice noodles, arguably the dish's core ingredient, were served up with beansprouts, spring onion, and hint of ground peanut. But unlike the fare served up at swankier eateries, this dish neither featured a tamarind-based sauce nor came with a typical garnish, such as chili, lime, ground peanuts, and sugar. If you typically enjoy your Pad Thai with bean curd (tofu) and shrimp, again, you might want to lower your expectations – after all, each portion costs just a few baht more than a regular cup of instant coffee (12 baht) at a 7-11 convenience store.

If you head towards the river near the Thammasat University campus, you'll discover numerous carts, stores, and restaurants there catering to the local student population, serving up a greater variety of dishes. Since lots of foreign travelers like to stroll up and down Khao Sarn Road, vendors tend to provide them with dishes they are likely to be already familiar with. Pad Thai and Kai Jiew with rice clearly fall into this category and I spotted at least 10 during my visit to the area.

For the budget traveler, Kai Jiew is an ideal solution when seeking an affordable meal. Many Thais like to add chili sauce to this dish, while some foreigners prefer plain-old tomato ketchup with it. It's also a great nighttime dining solution since the carts around Khao Sarn tend to operate from about 5 pm till late.

If you're looking for something a little more exotic, you could always sample some deep-fried grasshoppers since several vendors in the area specialize in serving up this insect-based protein!

Overall, the nightlife in Khao Sarn is very lively and varied, and for food you can choose anything from a hawker stall to a fancy restaurant depending on your needs and budget. The ambiance is also pretty impressive since you're bound to see a mix of trendy young locals and foreign tourists enjoying the setting with a very international musical soundtrack.

Since the area boasts plenty of diversity, not just in terms of food, entertainment, and nightlife, but also in terms of the people that pass through, it's also a great place for 'people watching'. You might want to play a game of 'guess the nationality' or simply opt to kick back and relax – the choice is your's.

Transport connections
Bus: Khao Sarn Road is located near Sanam Luang and Ratchadamnoen Klang Road. Air-conditioned bus numbers 6, 12, 32, 33, 39, 44, 59, 60, 68, 70, 79, 82, 157, 159, 170, 171, 174, 183, 203, 509, 511, 512, 516, and 556, all service this part of town.