A Mother’s Day Outing
In Chinatown!

A Mother’s Day Outing in Chinatown!

For a change we took a step out of the ordinary, this past Monday, which was Mother’s Day here in Thailand. Most Thais will spend the day with family, especially around the table for a big meal together to celebrate mom. Instead of heading to a restaurant with the family as usual, we ventured on a mini tour of Chinatown, to get out and be tourists in our own city!

Walking past Hua Lamphong Station, Bangkok’s main railway station, we headed straight for Sri Morakot, our favorite spot for Khao Moo Daeng, or Red Pork over Rice.  The dish is a favorite with pork, chinese sausage, crispy pork and egg, all covered in a thick sauce over rice.  It’s quite a popular dish (and restaurant) and clearly we weren’t the only ones craving this – the place was packed!

Next we took a stroll down the back streets, past chinese grocers and tea shops out onto Yaowarat Road, the main thoroughfare.  Despite Chinatown being most alive at night, the street was buzzing with activity, as all Thais were out celebrating a day off with their moms!

A quick break was needed, as it was quite hot in the sun, so we settled into a nice spot at the lobby bar of the Shanghai Mansion Hotel.  There we sipped drinks while cooling off, still with a great view of the activity out on the street. Inside as well, you could see many couples coming to have their photos taken at this stylish, boutique hotel reminiscent of 1930’s Shanghai.

After the break, we headed a few blocks over to check out the recently opened MRT Wat Mangkon station.  One of a handful of new stations recently opened along the MRT Blue line, it has been thoroughly decorated in wall murals with a Chinese flair.  As with any new, shiny opening in this city, Thais have been flocking to check out the new site and take photos and today was no exception! The station was packed with families, dressed in their Mother’s Day blue attire, admiring and photographing the new station.

This quick trip through Chinatown was only a hint of the treasures to be found there!  If you are interested in checking out the 4 new train stations for yourself (Wat Mangkon, Sam Yot, Sanam Chai and Itsaraphap), they are now open to the public for free rides until September 28, 2019.