Song Wat Road
A riverside street the king drew himself — now one of the world's coolest neighbourhoods.
The name means 'drawn by the king'. After a great fire tore through Sampheng in 1892, King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) took a pencil and drew this road's route on the map himself. Built in two phases, finished 1907, it still follows his line along the river for 1,196 metres.
This was the port road where Thailand's Chinese business dynasties began: the Chearavanont family (CP Group) and the Sirivadhanabhakdi family (TCC Group) both trace their first shophouses to these blocks of rice, grain and seafood wholesalers. Many buildings still trade as they did a century ago.
Branching off it is Song Soem Road — at about 20 metres, the shortest road in Thailand, ending at a pier on the Chao Phraya. Time Out named Song Wat the 39th coolest neighbourhood in the world in 2023.
Three faiths share the street: the Lao Pun Tao Kong Chinese joss house, Masjid Luang Kocha Itsahak, and Wat Pathum Khongkha — a Buddhist temple older than Bangkok itself.