If you’ve been to Bangkok a few times, you probably haven’t made Sathorn a priority on your to do list. This means you most likely haven’t heard of Suan Plu!
There aren’t any of your “traditional” tourist attractions here… Yet, if you have even a half day free, come take a look at what it has to offer. Make sure you come with an empty belly!
On a beautiful sunny day, with glorious bright blue skies, I started my exploration of Suan Phlu Bangkok.
I wandered to Suan Phlu Road at the Sathorn Tai Road intersection. Here, you’ll see this cream colored structure and massive building behind it…
Opposite these structures is a massive sign for a restaurant called Baan Khanitha…
Here, you’ll also see the street sign saying Thanon Suan Phlu. In case you didn’t know, Thanon is the Thai equivalent of Road or Street.
As you wander down the Suan Phlu Road one of the first buildings you’ll see is the Marriott Hotel and Apartments…
There are actually a lot of condos in Sathorn Bangkok. There are even several hostels and hotels of varying star levels around too.
As you walk on past, you may see a brown colored sign like the one below for M.R. Kukrit Historical House…
M.R. Kukrit’s home is a series of five teakwood houses raised on stilts in traditional Thai style. It is surrounded by lush gardens and pretty ponds.
Each house, connected by a wooden corridor contains fine-art treasures, unique furniture, and an interesting library with an array of books.
Whilst it’s not on Suan Phlu Road, it’s off this Road and you simply take a detour down Narathiwat Soi 7.
If you’re interested in taking this side trip to M.R. Kukrit’s Heritage House… the entrance fee is 50 baht (about USD $1.60).
Then as you continue on there is a large massage and spa outlet called Let’s Relax. This is a big chain in Thailand.
I haven’t been to this brand of massage before. If you have, can you let me know what you thought?!
Now, generally the busiest I’ve seen Suan Plu Road is early mornings and from late evenings. This is probably during the rush hours with everyone getting to and from work.
Otherwise, from my experience it’s not a constant crazy madhouse like other streets I’ve been to. When I went for my exploration, it was about 4:30pm.
You’ll notice that Suan Phlu Road is lined with big trees and lush bright green foliage. To me, this makes the street look prettier. It’s a nice contrast to other streets in Bangkok city.
On your wander down Suan Plu Road, you may see random dogs or cats sauntering around. I found this kitty cat looking for a feed. Can you spot her?
As I continued on my journey, I had to stop twice to look at this…
It’s called Holey Bakery, and as the sign claims… “The Best Bread In Bangkok!” WOW – bold statement. I think they’d be competing with several places in Bangkok!
It’s a great teaser so maybe a place to try if you’re belly is craving some carbs :)
There’s lots of little local stalls and shops along the way down Suan Phlu Road. Yet, a name which stood out to me was this…
Being an Aussie, of course seeing “Boomerang Café” stopped me in my tracks. Apparently by day it’s a cafe, then when night sets in, it’s a restaurant!
This foodie place is on the ground floor of My Thai Hostel.
Now here’s a massage place that we’ve seen busy almost all the time! You can see by all the shoes outside the massage parlour. Whether you want a full body massage or foot massage, check this place out.
It wouldn’t be Thailand without lots of massage parlours around… And Suan Phlu Road is NO exception!
Anyone for clothes? You won’t find a lot of your typical tourist type clothes here. It’s more catered for locals. Yet, you never know what you could get… And it’s probably cheaper than in the tourist areas too!
Now there’s HEAPS of local food on the streets at Suan Phlu. This Mama was cooking up a storm as I stopped to take a look… I love the fresh ingredients they use, and the wafts of herbs smell incredible as I took in a big breath!
Not only does Suan Plu have plenty of local street food stalls. You’ll be surprised at the big range of cuisines mixed in with the Thai food.
As I kept walking I found this massive beauty store…
The outside signage is all bright pink. You’ll know what I mean when you walk past it.
The prices are surprisingly pretty good too compared to other places I’ve seen. I guess not being in a touristy area the prices are generally lower.
You’ll find make-up, masks, deodorants, soaps, hair care, nail care, skin care, and HEAPS more.
Down Suan Phlu Road they even have your optical needs covered…
Yet, I’d already got my optical goods sorted for contact lenses at Platinum Fashion Mall. If you want to find out how to get there check out my blog HERE.
Now as you’re coming towards the end of Suan Phlu Road, you’ll see an Immigration Bureau…
I thought Paul and I were in luck as we were going to extend our Thailand Visas. This would’ve been MUCH closer than going out to Chaeng Watthana.
Unfortunately when I asked, they said I couldn’t extend the Visa here. My understanding is that if you are a citizen of Cambodia, Laos or Vietnam you can extend your Visa here. Yet, you should do your research.
There isn’t a great deal on the left side after the Immigration Bureau. So here’s where I took some happy snaps of the street and passers by…
Then I crossed the street…
There are lots of little cafes, restaurants and shops as you walk on. This is why I said to come over with an empty stomach! But make sure you save room for a delectable dessert that I’ll share with you soon.
There are many 7-Elevens and a Family Mart. You can even find household goods and tools here…
It’s like the local mini-me Bunnings Warehouse in Australia! LOL!
There’s also a great local market. There’s no signage in English that I’ve found. So you just need to look out for signs like these…
I really like this market. It’s no frills but has what you need if you want to cook up a storm, or grab some local eats. Check out my blog post on Suan Phlu Market HERE.
Now here’s something that I wasn’t expecting… It’s a pawn shop!
There’s quite a few hair salons and several barber shops too. This one is called Hare!
Now, on Suan Phlu Road there are several places to quench your thirst…
This is a local that we enjoyed…
It has no name at the front of the building that we could see anyway. There is a big Pepsi sign at the front of it though…
Large Leo Beers are about 100 baht each (about USD $3.13). Cheap cheap!
Yet it’s great to sit at the front seats and watch the world go by. That’s how we knew about that little massage place I mentioned earlier that seems chockers full most of the time!
They also make Thai food too.
Next to this place is Junker and Bar. It’s much smaller but has a different feel to it. They have special deals on every day of the week…
On the corner of Suan Phlu Soi 1 is a bar called Smalls…
It’s only open from late afternoons. While it’s not the cheapest place to have a drink, it’s a pretty groovy place. It goes up a few floors. Be wary though, the steps are not that big… So be careful!
If you want a place for wine, steaks or burgers then you can try Arno’s…
Now, I’ve saved the best to last…
It’s called El Mercado’s…
OMG… If you want great cheese at great prices come here. Also, you MUST try their chocolate éclair… Sooooooo tasty!
Check out my blog post of El Mercado HERE.
So there you have it. A little taste of what you can expect down Suan Phlu Road. If you have time, please take time to check it out. Don’t expect it to have the bells and whistles like Silom or Siam.
It’s just an all-round, no frills great street for staples and little surprises!
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