Krung Thep · Bangkok Explorer
District guide

Thonburi side

ธนบุรี

The west bank: an older, slower Bangkok of canals, boatyards and temples the tour buses miss.

Jing ler? — no way

Thonburi was Thailand's capital for 15 years before Bangkok. Its founder King Taksin was deposed and — by royal custom that royal blood must never touch the ground — executed inside a velvet sack, struck with a sandalwood club.

What to see

Wat Arun — Temple of Dawn
An 80-metre spire wearing a skin of broken porcelain, guarding the river's west bank.
Kudi Chin & Santa Cruz
A 250-year-old Portuguese-Thai Catholic village hidden behind the temples of the west bank.
Wang Lang Market
A food-market labyrinth feeding Thailand's oldest hospital — with a dark museum upstairs.
The Khlongs of Thonburi
Longtail boats, stilt houses and floating kitchens — the last working canals of the 'Venice of the East'.
Iconsiam
A ฿54-billion riverside city-within-a-mall

Where to eat — verified street food

Every Google-sourced spot below holds a rating of 4.0+ with 500+ reviews (checked July 2026). See our methodology.

Wang Lang Market — The west bank's cheap-eats labyrinth: boat noodles, southern curries, student prices. ★4.5 · 4,400+ Google reviews
Somsak Pu Ob — Claypot glass noodles buried under crab, steamed street-side by Wongwian Yai; order taken, pot fired, twenty minutes of theatre. ★4.4 · 2,100+ Google reviews
Thanusingha Bakery — The 200-year Portuguese-Thai kudi chin cake, baked in charcoal ovens. ★4.5 · ~160 (below our 500 bar — Wongnai heritage pick, kept for the story) Google reviews

Source & further reading: Wikipedia

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