Get off the BTS at Nana Station and choose your exit. Possibly most familiarly to our readership, exit three takes you to the pounding nightclubs and rooftop pool parties of Soi 11. From exit four, follow the waft of grilling pork and the clink of soju glasses to Koreatown, while exit two will take you to the dancing girls and dancing beer guts of Nana Plaza. But perhaps the first exit is the most interesting of all, taking the curious explorer to one of Bangkok’s most fascinating neighbourhoods – Sukhumvit Soi 3/1, a.k.a. ‘Soi Arab,’ as well as the main artery ofSoi 3 and the warren of tiny alleyways that connect them: a crowded souq transplanted to downtown Bangkok.
Here, the clothing shops bear sun-faded posters of hijabi models with serious eyeliner game, and perfumiers specialise in wholesale oud – the heartwood of certain tropical trees laced with fragrant resin, and a major component in the ‘oriental’ scents popular in what was once called the Near East. Grocery stores are as likely to sell dates and spice blends as they are to sell instant noodles, and barbers specialise in tight fades and sharp beards. The African and South Asian touts call out in the street, hawking kebabs and wristwatches (as well as certain other products – wait for the familiar call of ‘hey man, you looking for something?’). Long-term Gulf States expats, visiting merchants and wholesalers, groups of young men on holiday ready to cut loose and take a breather from the strictures of Islamic law, big families on decidedly more wholesome vacations… all of them find a bit of home on these streets, even if it has a decidedly Thai twist – the teenage Egyptian girl in all black is more than happy to snap a selfie with the transgender streetwalker in a red cocktail dress.
A bit of history. Many trace the neighbourhood’s unique character back to the opening of Bumrungrad Hospital in 1980, now the largest private hospital in Southeast Asia. Long a hub for medical tourism, the area has seen a disproportionate number of visitors from South Asia and the Middle East – no surprise, given the convenient travel routes and the appealing cost difference, especially for elective procedures. The noses of Muscat and the lifted butts of Manama, for example, owe much to Soi 3. Alongside this influx, services catering to these visitors grew steadily, particularly restaurants. Shahrazad, reportedly the area’s first Middle Eastern eatery, opened its doors in 1983, paving the way for the dining scene that followed.
As for what to do, as to be expected, it’s not a spot for barhopping, despite the abundance of other seemingly haram offerings being barely concealed. And we regret to inform you that the Thai government formally banned the smoking of shisha in 2014, although rumours of its use continue (please ignore the burbling sound coming from over at our table). Regardless, the elderly men smoking hookahs and taking in the evening sights that so accentuated the bazaar atmosphere are sadly gone.
What remains? A quite excellent stock of restaurants from a large swath of the world, stretching from North and East Africa in the West to Bangladesh in the East. We’d like to highlight five restaurants that do five cuisines right, although we have to admit our choice doesn’t feel authoritative. Opinions run strong, and we’d love to hear yours. Keep in mind that not all of them serve alcohol, so while we love a cold beer with our shawarma, that might not always be possible.
