Chipmunk goes to Chinatown

I spoke too soon on the sleeping front – woke up around 2.40 am again – but thankfully, I managed to go back to sleep again quite quickly until around 7.00 am, so we are getting there.

However, I woke up looking like Alvin the chipmunk! I must have some sort of dental or nerve issue, as the left side of my face is a little swollen and slightly tender. I have had this issue on and off since early 2024, and my dentist cannot find anything wrong with my teeth that could be causing it. She did say that it could be the result of stress or perhaps grinding my teeth in my sleep, which I agreed could be a possibility. This is the 3rd time that I have had it since my initial issue in 2024, so when we get home, I will get it checked out again.

I have theorised that I might have been grinding my teeth after seeing the high heels that the girls were wearing going out last night, as I did have visions (or nightmares!) of a high probability of a leg or ankle injury occurring with this footwear. Despite the girls being very sensible and ordering a Grab car to and from the apartment (which I did not know until they returned later), when they returned, one holding her shoes in her hands, and the other quickly discarding them, I think the subconscious damage to my mouth may already have been done. I don’t think these shoes will be walking the streets of Bangkok much in the future – thank goodness!

In the meantime, I am just taking some ibuprofen to get the swelling down, and from experience, it should reduce in a day or so. In the meantime, excuse the photos, which will have me looking worse than usual!

BTS and Ferry to Chinatown

To get to Chinatown, we take the light green Sukhumvit BTS to Siam (also called Central) station, and switch there to the dark green Silom BTS line. This brings us to the Saphan Taskin BTS station, which is where the Ferry is located. We then get a local ferry from there to the Ratchawong Pier (the closest ferry pier to Chinatown).

From here, we part ways with the girls. They are heading to the Song Wat area for breakfast/brunch, and we head along Ratchawong Road, Yaorwarat Road in Chinatown.

China Town Areas

Although it is still early morning, the place is abuzz with people and traffic. It is a place full of sights, smells and slight chaos. Though it is at least a little less hectic than the last time we were here, which was probably later in the month. We enjoyed just wandering around and taking everything in. We were planning on having something to eat, but everywhere was either a little hectic, had queues or they just didn’t grab us.

5.

I’m Chinatown Mall

During our walking, we stumbled across an interesting little area with some cool wall art, and we had to laugh as one of the murals reminded us of our kids when they were little – can you relate to this?

Right next to this area was a mall, which was an unexpected but handy find. It was a small mall, called “I’m Chinatown”, but it had a few floors, air conditioning, restaurants and good toilets – what more could you ask for? The second (top) floor was mainly occupied by a gym, which probably explains the nearby vending machine and the protein drinks it stocked. Chicken breast, orange, strawberry or blueberry shake, anyone? I mean, I like a shake as much as the next one, but none of these appealed to me in the slightest.

As it was around lunchtime and we were starting to get a little hungry, we decided to just have something from the KFC here. I had also read that KFC do the most amazing egg tarts, so this was my opportunity to test this out (note: it was buy three, get one free, so I wasn’t being a greedy git as I knew we could keep two for later). Well, I must confess, the egg tarts were AMAZING! They were so buttery, eggy and warm – yes, probably 1000 calories each, but I loved every morsel. I had also accidentally, without really realising, ordered some extra items which we did not need, but I knew we could eat these later in the evening for our dinner (which is what we did), so it was fine.

After refuelling and a rest, we were off again, walking around the streets and making our way towards the Son Wat area.

Song Wat (or Son Wat) Area

Song Wat Road is a historic road. The road runs for 1,196 m (about 0.6 mi), following the Chao Phraya River for almost its entire length.

The name "Song Wat" translates to "drawing by the king". It was built by King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) in 1892 following a great fire in the Sampheng area. The Siamese government aimed to expand roads and public utilities to a wider area, including Yaowarat. The name comes from the fact that King Chulalongkorn personally drew the road's route on the map with a pencil.

The buildings along the road remain much as they were over 100 years ago, and many still operate traditional businesses, such as trading whole grain seeds.

Most of these buildings are considered the early row buildings in Bangkok along the Chao Phraya River.

In 2023, Song Wat Road was named 39th among 40 coolest neighbourhoods in the world by Time Out, and it is not hard to see why. The area is transforming, but retaining its historic charm too, and it is becoming a tourist hotspot for the ‘cool kids’, the influencers and the Instagram brigade.

Today’s route

Bangkok, Thailand

It is a beautiful morning, so after a quick breakfast and our usual morning routine, we head out with the girls and start making our way to the Chinatown area.

We stopped off at a lovely, quaint little café called “The Bread Shop”, which we had seen in a YouTube recommendation, and it did not disappoint. The place is really lovely, but in a charming old-fashioned way. It has a gorgeous little seating area at the side, and we had the place all to ourselves as we drank a couple of refreshing and cooling drinks.  Another good YouTuber that we follow is Ted Aroi, and a few of his videos covering the Song Wat area are below (if of interest).

After visiting the Son Wat area, we were hot and tired, so we made our way over to the Wat Mangkon MRT and headed home. A quick stop off at the Interchange food court in the Asoke area for some tasty pork wonton balls, and that was pretty much us for another day.

Day 7, 1 December 2025