Heritage trail · Bangkok
Bangkok: Yaowarat and a chef's family home
Walk Yaowarat, Bangkok's Chinatown, where women have run family shops and kitchens for generations, then eat at a Michelin starred table set in one of those family buildings.
Heritage shops and crafts
Where the old trades live on
Long-running shops, makers and markets worth a visit. Opening days change, so check before you go.
Jim Thompson Thai Silk (Surawong flagship)
Thai silk fabric and homewares
The company was set up by American Jim Thompson to revive Thai silk weaving, and aims to sustain weavers and silk farmers. The Surawong flagship holds the showroom and silk by the metre.
Bang Rak · 9 Surawong Road, Bang Rak, Bangkok
Ban Baat (monks' alms bowl village)
Hand-hammered monks' alms bowls
One of the last communities in Bangkok still making alms bowls by hand, a trade tied to the early Rattanakosin city. Only a few families remain, and visitors can buy bowls during working hours.
Phra Nakhon, near Wat Saket · Soi Ban Baat, Bamrung Mueang Road, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok
Pak Khlong Talat
Wholesale cut flowers, garlands and produce
A market at the mouth of the old canal that began as a floating market under Rama I and shifted from fish and produce to flowers. Stallholders string the garlands used for temple offerings.
Phra Nakhon, by Memorial Bridge · Chak Phet Road, Wang Burapha Phirom, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok
Sampeng Lane (Soi Wanit 1)
Wholesale trimmings, fabrics, bags, accessories and Chinese goods
Chinatown's original trading street, busy long before Yaowarat Road replaced it as the main avenue. Today it is a narrow wholesale lane of specialty shops.
Chinatown, Samphanthawong · Soi Wanit 1, Samphanthawong, Bangkok