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 Bangkok’s
Chinatown, a maze of teeming
streets by day, and a blaze of neon signs by night, runs along Yaowarat
Road and Charoen
Krung Road up to the Odeon Circle. A massive, Chinese-style
gate marks the entrance to the district, which has been the main
trading centre for the Chinese since they were moved from their
old site around the Grand Palace in 1792.
Yaowarat Road is lined with
many gold shops, and if you’re looking for a golden opportunity
to pick up necklaces, rings and accessories made from this precious
metal, Chinatown is your best
bet in Bangkok. For instance, the
Tang To Gung gold shop, on the corner of Sampheng Lane and Mangkon
Road is a large historic building dating back a century. Like many
of the shops it has a sign adorned with gold Chinese characters.
For another glimpse and whiff of the past, take a look at the very
old Chinese herbal medicine shop diagonally across the street on
Sampeang Lane.
 Chinatown
is a place best explored on foot. In fact, some of it, like the
narrow Samphaeng Lane, can only be accessed by pedestrians. While
the average tourist may not be interested in purchasing some of
the dried fish or medicinal herbs on sale here, this historic lane
is awash with local colour and opens a window on the past.
Nakhon Kasem, formerly called the Thieves Market, is another photogenic
slice of Sino-Thai life, peopled by the middle and lower classes.
Sandwiched between Boriphat and Chakrawat Roads, this compact square
block  was
once the best source of Thai and Chinese antiques in a flea market
environment. Today, the market is bulked out with a wide variety
of brassware, imitation antiques, Chinese porcelain, musical instruments
and car parts.
For all things electric, head to Khlong Thom on Charoen
Krung Road (across from Thieves Market). Inside are tiny stalls
crammed together selling cheap electronics, parts, VCDss, wires,
gadgets and so on. Outside the market, a large tented strip houses
second-hand cameras and equipment.
Bordering the Chinatown and
Phahurat areas is the Old Siam Plaza; it’s a Bangkok
style shopping centre, redolent of yesteryear, which houses numerous
shops selling gems and modern fashions, traditional Thai instruments
like the bamboo flute, as well as cassettes and CDs of Thai music
(from classical to contemporary pop), as well as Chinese-style silk
pyjamas. All of them make for great gifts with that special Thai
touch.
 Take
a walk all the way down Samphaeng Lane, then along Chakrawat Road
and you’ll find Pahurat, also known as Bangkok’s
Indian quarter. Although not as large as Chinatown
itself, the streets around here are paved with great deals on affordable
clothes and shoes. What’s more, it’s the biggest textile
market in the capital. The smells of Indian spices and curries wafting
out from restaurants, and the shrill sounds of traditional tunes,
give the sensory impressions that you’ve taken a detour and
somehow wound up in Bombay.
The centerpiece of “little India” is the multi-storey
Phahurat Market; it waxes colourful with Indian saris, sandals,
silvery bangles and multi-hued tapestries of Hindu idols. But the
most sought after goods are the lush fabrics that come in all shades
and patterns. Right behind  the
market is reputed to be the second biggest Sikh temple outside of
India, as the majority of the Indians in Bangkok
are Sikhs.
One of the area’s main attractions is that there are not very
many tourists around and down every little lane, or around each
corner, is another gem of a shop, where you can stumble across some
amazing discoveries. Some shops sell the latest Bollywood films
with English subtitles. Mention you’re a fan of the genre and
the English-speaking staff will promptly direct you to the latest
films featuring all the current Indian heartthrobs and leading ladies.
Cassettes and CDs of Indian music, full of mesmerizing tablas and
wailing sitars, are also available for a song.
 To
get a full-flavoured taste of the sub-continent, there are some
great nibbles at various eateries. The unassumingly regal Royal
India restaurant (392/1 Chakraphet Road) serves up some of the best
Northern Indian cuisine in the city.
Right next door are a couple of Indian-style sweets shops.
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