Khlong San Pier along the Chao Phraya holds some fun and hidden secrets. Two restaurants with good music, cold beer, and great views of the boats passing by on the river flank the riverside on either side of the pier. Be My Guest and Id Beer Bar are both great spots to chill out; office workers and students frequent these bank side boozers on their way home, settling in for some good food (especially from Be My Guest) and some live music. From the pier, facing the bank, Be My Guest is located to the left and ID Beer Bar to the right.

Continuing straight from the pier is Khlong Plaza, a warren of stands selling trendy clothes, jeans, accessories, shoes, and everything you might need to look like a hipster. Prices are good, and you’re bound to find some excellent products made by famous designers like Gocci, or Fandi, and everyone’s favorite Louit Vuitton. Along the back side of the market are stalls selling clothes by small designers, often manning the stalls themselves.

I'll the the Gocci bag. This is real, right?

When all of the fashion has gotten to be too much, the north side of the market offers sustenance to the body with stands of all kinds selling fried and roasted chicken, noodles of every type, and even an open-air bakery selling pizzas and pastries (very Thai-style pastries — hot dog with mayonnaise croissant, anyone? No? Well okay then.)

I'll take extra mayonnaise on my hot dog croissant. Just like Proust used to have.

To get to Khlong San, take the cross-river ferry from Si Phraya Cross River Ferry Pier on the Bangkok side. Si Phraya is a stop on the Chao Phraya Express ferry, serving Saphan Taksin BTS in the south, and Chinatown and Banglamphu/Khao San Road in the north. The cross-river service uses a different pier — follow the signs to the cross river ferry. While not exactly ethical, you can also catch the Millennium Hilton’s river ferry from BTS Saphan Taksin — the Hilton pier is right next to Khlong San Pier — which brings you across the river as well. Just be ready to look like you should be staying at the Hilton.

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Tags: Chao Phraya Express, Chao Phraya river, Khlong San pier