East meets West (Khao San Road)

Member Name: Pablo_Sevilla

Product:	Khao San Road
Date:	28/05/09 (7 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great place to get over culture shcok and shop for counterfeit goods, serves it's purpose

Disadvantages: Very tacky, zero culture

Bangkok is certainly no city of angels...that's if Khao San Road is anything to go by!

Some find the place grotesque, others like how it serves as a kind of decompression chamber between Asia and the West. I used to agree with the former but after having passed through Bangkok and inevitably finding my way to Khao San Road dozens of times transiting through the country I have warmed up to the latter!

Khao San Road is fun and not to be taken at all seriously. Everyone knows what it's all about, everyone knows it has zero 'culture' value and that most Thai's loath the place.

The street is packed with bars, clubs, stores selling counterfiet goods, extremely cheap pad thai vendors and guesthouses...Westerners outnumber Thai's by at least 8 to 1 and this is why it serves it's purpose as the gateway between east and west and a place to get over your culture shock and jet lag before heading into the 'real' south-east Asia, however you define that.

Summary: Decompression chamber between east and west!