“Dangerous” Places in Bangkok To Avoid

dangerous places bangkok

While Bangkok is completely safe for tourists, there are some areas that you should be more weary of. In this article, I’ll discuss those area and why you should keep your wits about you while travelling there.

This is not to say that you shouldn’t visit them. After having lived in Bangkok for 6 months and travelling to the kingdom for over 12 months now, I genuinely believe everywhere in Bangkok is incredibly safe. Thai people are very friendly and the likelihood of you getting robbed or held up is pretty slim. The thing you need to watch out for is scams, overcharging on prices, and motor accidents.

1. Khlong Toei Slum (Jed Sip Rai)

Khlong Toei is no longer as dangerous as it once was, I’ve personally spent 3 days walking the slums here, to converse with people making a documentary about the troubles they face. I never felt threatened, and most people were extremely happy to see me there, and be allowed to share their stories.

That said, I understand that just because I went, and it seemed safe, doesn’t mean it is entirely safe.

Khlong Toei has a very dark past and was once overrun by gangs, violence and poverty. It is still an area that suffers from extreme poverty, and has gangs that operate in the area. However, since the early 2000s, it has benefitted from many government programs, and non-profit organisations that help residents afford food, move into new houses and improve their living standards.

And, since then, a lot of the crime has cleared up.

Although you might hear horror stories online about how dangerous this place is, when you ask most locals, they’ll tell you it’s not dangerous at all. In the past it was, but now, it’s no longer the same. A lot of the hype around Khlong Toei being a dangerous area comes from it’s dark past. And, although I wouldn’t recommend anyone going as a tourist, if you want to go during the day, it’s highly unlikely anything will happen to you.

There are still shootings that occur here, but they are far less frequent than before, and many shootings and stabbings happen all over Bangkok.

Now, if you want to avoid the slum, that’s understandable, but the rest of the district is completely fine, so don’t ostracise an entire place just because of one small section. Many tourists visit the local Khlong Toei wet market for the experience, and it is often something that popular tour companies run tours to. Khlong Toei in general, is pretty luxurious. business district of Bangkok, with luxury high-rise condos and malls. So, check it out, and if you’re feeling brave, check out the slum too – it’ll open your eyes.

2. Soi Cowboy

You can see examples of Soi Cowboy & Nana Plaza in this video

Soi Cowboy is an area frequented by tourists. While nothing will happen violently (unless you’re getting in drunk fights), you should be careful of pickpocketing, corruption, and robberies here. It’s an extremely busy, bustling area, and many people go to get drunk and indulge in the seedier side of tourism in Thailand. If that’s not something you want to see, or even experience once, then I would avoid going here entirely.

There are a lot of scams down this road, a lot of taxis that will charge you exorbitant prices, and you will get pulled into bars by a lot of bar girls.

Although drinks are pretty expensive here, there are two great bars on the end of Soi Cowboy that have rock bands all night. It’s a fun area to meet people, and there is nothing seedy about these 2 bars. If you want to experience Soi Cowboy and see how it is, I would recommend going, but beware you will see half-naked girls down the strip who will almost definitely try to pull you into bars where you can guess what the deal is.

3. Patpong

Patpong is very similar to Soi Cowboy. It’s another seedy area that is dominated by sex tourists. Here you’ll find markets, bars, half-naked women, and fake brand markets. Often you’ll also be propositioned to watch something called a Ping Pong show. These are often scams where the scammer will show you one price, and then you end up having to pay another at the end of the show.

The fake market is pretty good, and you can get some well-made fake goods here at decent prices if you barter. But, if you want to avoid the sex tourism stuff, I’d recommend going to MBK’s fake market instead.

4. Nana

Nana is another huge complex of adult entertainment and has a terribly seedy name for itself. However, just because parts of it are, does not mean the entirety of it is. There are some pretty decent sports bars (if you’re into watching football), German craft beer places and even salsa lessons. Lots of people will tell you to avoid this area completely, and I’d understand if you had children with you, but this area is a huge hub of great events and not all of it is seedy and sex tourism-based.

That being said, A LOT of it is.

You should watch for scams, pickpocketing, robberies etc. when you are here. Additionally, as you’re walking down, it’s almost guaranteed you’ll get propositioned by sex workers, drug dealers etc.

I personally used to go to a bar in Nana Plaza every night to learn salsa and bachata. There are a lot of events here similar to dance classes, aimed at expats. These are very fun, and not seedy at all.

5. Khao San Road

Khao San road can be fun if you’re an 18-year-old backpacker looking to get drunk, but for anything else, I’d highly recommend avoiding this area. It is full of bars, sex tourism, drugs, and scams. Also, many tourists report losing money, phones and other valuable items here, so be careful.

If you come here, taxis are going to rip you off completely, and markets, and food stands too. While it can be a fun night out if you’re a little younger, it’s not the best place to be.

However, you shouldn’t avoid Khao San entirely. Around the area, there are a lot of tourist hotspots to see such as The Grand Palace, Wat Arun, Chinatown etc. and, if you’re in the area, and have the time, I think it’s always worth seeing a place once.

If it’s really not your thing, don’t go.

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