Silom, Bangkok: neighborhood guide

Silom is Bangkok's financial district: bank towers, insurance and law offices along Silom Road and Sathorn Road, condominiums behind them, and a lunchtime crowd of office workers that empties the pavements by 2pm. The name means "windmills" in Thai, a leftover from the rice fields and orchards that stood here in the 19th century.

The area changes after dark. The small sois between Silom Road and Surawong Road fill with bars, and Patpong — the district Bangkok is stereotyped for — is really just two short sois. South of Lumphini, around Chong Nonsi, newer towers, hotels and creative spaces have grown up; the area is sometimes called SOLU, short for South of Lumphini.

Bang Rak, the old trading quarter down by the river, is part of the same stretch. Charoen Krung Road, Bangkok's first paved road, was built in 1861 at the request of foreign consuls, and the colonial-era hotels and warehouses from that trading past still line the riverside. Indian and Muslim communities settled around the Charoen Krung intersection, which shows in the food.

Days here are for transit, malls, Lumphini Park and people-watching; nights are for eating and going out. Traffic on Silom and Sathorn is heavy in the evening peak, so use the BTS or MRT rather than a taxi.

Yes, if your trip is built around the Skytrain and metro. Sala Daeng BTS and Si Lom MRT meet in the middle of the district, so you can reach Siam Square in about five minutes and Yaowarat or Sukhumvit in about the same by metro. Riverside hotels near Saphan Taksin put you next to the Chao Phraya boat pier, which is the fastest way to Rattanakosin's temples.

No, if you want to walk out of your hotel into sightseeing. Silom has almost no temples or historic sights of its own; the Grand Palace and Wat Pho are a boat or a long ride away. Families and light sleepers should also look elsewhere — Patpong's bars run late and the noise carries into nearby sois.

Sukhumvit suits shoppers and long-stay travellers better, Rattanakosin suits first-timers who want temples on foot, and Khao San Road suits backpackers. Silom's own strength is the mix: a business hotel, a rooftop bar, a bowl of noodles and a night market, all within a few blocks.

Silom is a strong food district, mostly because of the office crowd. Lunch stalls and small shophouse restaurants along Silom Road and the sois serve rice and noodle plates cheaply and fast; Convent Road and the lanes off Sathorn have a denser cluster of sit-down places. Soi Phiphat and the side streets near Sala Daeng fill up in the evening with grill and Isaan spots.

Bang Rak, down towards the river, is where the district's Indian and Muslim communities show up on the plate: roti and curry shops around Charoen Krung, plus old-school Thai-Chinese restaurants. Street food is at its best in the evening, when carts set up along Silom and Surawong.

For a view with the meal, the rooftop restaurants and bars on Sathorn's towers are the splurge option; book ahead and check the dress code. Cheap eats are everywhere, so a day of eating here rarely costs much.

The BTS Silom Line runs along Silom Road and Sathorn Road. Sala Daeng is the central stop, right by the nightlife; Chong Nonsi, Surasak and Saphan Taksin cover the rest, with Saphan Taksin serving the riverside hotels and the boat pier. From Siam Square the ride to Sala Daeng takes about five minutes; from Sukhumvit or Phahonyothin you change at Siam onto the Silom Line.

The MRT Blue Line crosses the district at Si Lom station, at the edge of Lumphini Park, and connects with Sala Daeng BTS. Lumphini, Sam Yan and Hua Lamphong are the other stops. The metro is the quick way in from Yaowarat and Phahurat, Sukhumvit and Ratchadaphisek — around five minutes from Sukhumvit or Hua Lamphong train station.

Once here, walking works between Silom Road, Surawong Road and the sois, but the blocks are long and the heat is real. Use the BTS or MRT for anything beyond the district, and expect taxis to crawl along Silom and Sathorn in the evening peak.