Sukhumvit

Sukhumvit Road is less a neighbourhood than a spine. It runs east from the Nana area for mile after mile, and the Skytrain follows it overhead, stopping every few minutes at stations that each define a distinct pocket of the city. We use it as a base because it is easy to navigate, packed with places to eat, and wonderfully convenient for the airport link.

Reading the soi system

Side streets off Sukhumvit are called sois and are numbered outward from the city centre. Odd numbers sit on the north side and even numbers on the south, which helps enormously once you remember it. A taxi driver will want the soi number plus a landmark, usually the nearest Skytrain station, so save both on your phone before you set off.

Nana and Asok, the lower stretch

The western end is the busiest and most mixed. Around Nana you find the Arab quarter, with shisha cafés, Egyptian restaurants and Middle Eastern grocers, and not far away are the neon go-go bars of Soi Cowboy and Nana Plaza. Asok is where the Skytrain meets the MRT underground, and the tall Terminal 21 mall, themed by world city on each floor, sits right on top of the interchange. Our notes on safety and common scams deserve a read before an evening here, since this is the part of the road where overfriendly strangers and inflated bills turn up most.

Phrom Phong and the family end

Moving east, Phrom Phong feels settled and comfortable. EmQuartier and the Emporium sit beside the station, there are Japanese and Western families everywhere, and the leafy Benchasiri Park offers shade for children after a morning indoors. The little lanes off Soi 24 and Soi 26 hide excellent bakeries and neighbourhood restaurants.

Thong Lo and Ekkamai after dark

Thong Lo, or Soi 55, is the trendy centre of gravity. The street is lined with izakayas, craft cocktail rooms, brunch spots and boutique salons, and the neighbourhood has a long Japanese residential history that still shapes the menu. Ekkamai next door feels a touch quieter and favours specialist coffee, which we cover in our piece on Bangkok cafés and coffee.

Rooftops and late nights

Sukhumvit is stacked with high-rise hotels, and several of them put a bar on the roof. Dress codes tend to exclude flip-flops and sleeveless tops for men, and a sunset table is smart to reserve a day ahead. Our guide to rooftop bars and nightlife lists what to look for when you choose.

Eating along the road

Pavement stalls fill the entrances to the sois from early morning, serving grilled pork, rice porridge, papaya salad and iced tea poured into plastic bags. Between Phrom Phong and On Nut you will also pass long food courts inside malls, which are dependable on rainy evenings. Anyone wanting to learn what goes into these dishes can book a session from our list of Thai cooking classes, several of which start with a market walk off Sukhumvit.

Getting through the traffic

The road is one of the most congested in Bangkok, and a taxi ride of a few kilometres can easily take an hour at rush time. We almost always take the elevated train, and then walk or hop on a motorbike taxi to finish the final stretch into the sois. Learn more in our guide to the Skytrain and getting around.

If you want green space, Benjakitti Park near Queen Sirikit Convention Centre has a boardwalk looping over a lake, while the leafy peninsula of Bang Krachao, the Green Lung, is a short ride away from the Phra Khanong end of the road. Cycling its raised concrete paths feels a world apart from the traffic we have just described, and it makes a refreshing change after several days of malls and gridlock.

Sukhumvit rewards a slow evening. After dinner, a rooftop bar or a stroll to the Chatuchak weekend market area by Skytrain suits a weekend, and the road is lined with places that fit our street food guide. The Skytrain runs the length of the road, and the Siam malls lie at the western end.