Silom
Bangkok's business district by day, Patpong night market and rooftop bars by night — with the city's best Indian food tucked into the side sois.
Silom Road at night with the Patpong market stalls lit up
Why people stay in Silom
Silom is the road that runs from Rama IV down to the Chao Phraya river, and functionally it's the financial district — Bangkok Bank headquarters, Chartered Standard, a wall of towers around Sala Daeng. On a Tuesday morning at 8am it's suits and iced coffee. On a Friday at 11pm the same pavement is the Patpong night market, the go-go bars behind it, and drunk expats spilling out of Tapas Cafe. Very few streets in the world flip that hard between business hours and after hours.
The vertical slice matters more than the horizontal. Silom Soi 1 is corporate; Soi 2 and Soi 4 are the small, dense gay bar area; Soi 3 up to Soi 6 is Indian and Nepalese restaurants; the far end past Surasak BTS gets residential and Portuguese-Catholic (the old Bang Rak parish). Convent Road, one block off Silom, is where the Bangkok Christian College sits and the pavement is walkable — rare for this city. Pan Road, running parallel, has the tiny Sri Mariamman Hindu temple, a genuine functioning South Indian temple with pujas every morning at 6.30.
Who this suits: business travellers (obviously), people who want central without the Sukhumvit sleaze, and anyone who wants to be able to walk to the river piers for the Grand Palace ferry. It's also the best base for solo female travellers who want central + safe + not-Nana. Who should skip: families with kids — the pavements are jammed and the night market is aggressive — and anyone chasing a quiet trip.
The Patpong market is a tourist trap by any honest measure — the goods are counterfeit, the prices start at 5x reality, and the ping-pong show touts will lie about the cover charge. But the market itself, walked through as spectacle, is worth 20 minutes. Buy nothing, take no leaflet, and leave.
The best stretch is between Sala Daeng BTS and Chong Nonsi BTS — one stop apart on the Silom Line, walkable in 15 minutes, and dense with hotels at every price. Mid-range $80-140: Pullman G, Novotel Fenix Silom, Silom Serene. Higher-end $180+: the SO/ Bangkok on North Sathorn (technically Sathorn but adjacent), Le Meridien on Surawong. Budget $30-55: guesthouses on Soi Ngam Duphli and around the Silom-Suriwongse block, though those are aging. Avoid: hotels on Patpong itself (Soi 2/4) unless you specifically want to walk out into go-go bars. Avoid anything that says 'near Silom' but is actually across Rama IV in the Klong Toey side — that's a different world and getting a taxi at rush hour will destroy your patience.
Things to do in Silom
29th floor of the SO/ Bangkok on North Sathorn Road, overlooking Lumpini Park. Cocktails 400-550 baht, dress code enforced (no shorts, no flip-flops). Arrive at 6pm for a table on the terrace before the sun drops behind the towers. The view over Lumpini is better than any of the higher rooftops because you actually see green, not just other buildings.
Pan Road, one block off Silom near the Hindu temple. Try Saras (24-hour vegetarian) or Chennai Kitchen — thali sets 180-280 baht, dosas 90-150 baht. The neighbourhood has been Indian since the 1960s and these are the real thing, not the Silom Village tourist Indian. Come hungry, come with hands to eat with (or ask for a spoon).
Corner of Silom and Pan Road. Free entry, remove shoes at the gate. Built by Tamil migrants in the 1870s; the gopuram is genuinely beautiful. Puja times 6.30am, 11.30am, 6.30pm. Silent, cool inside, and a two-minute reset from the Silom noise. Small donation appreciated at the door.
Main entrance opposite Sala Daeng BTS. Free. At 6am it's tai chi, Chinese aerobics, and monitor lizards the size of small dogs sliding into the lake — genuinely, they’re everywhere and harmless. At 6pm the running loop fills up. Free public aerobics class at the north end 5.30-6.30pm. Skip midday.
233 South Sathorn Road, in a beautifully restored 100-year-old mansion opposite Surasak BTS. Half-day class with market visit 3,300 baht, four dishes plus lunch. Much better than the guesthouse-tier schools and the building alone is worth the ticket. Book two days ahead.
Between Silom Soi 2 and Suriwong, opens around 6pm. Walk through, buy nothing (the 'silk' isn’t silk, the 'Rolex' costs the seller 200 baht wholesale). Ignore anyone offering a ping-pong show — the '100 baht cover' becomes a 3,000 baht bill and security won’t let you leave. Fun to see, then leave for a real bar.
What to see
Hotels near Silom
No hotels are listed in Silom yet. The nearest ones are on the region page.
Getting around Silom
From Suvarnabhumi, take the Airport Rail Link to Phaya Thai (45 baht, 30 min), then BTS to Sala Daeng (three stops, change at Siam, 30 baht). Taxi from the airport is 350-450 baht, 45-75 min depending on traffic — the toll is the driver's responsibility only if you agree upfront. Inside Silom the BTS Silom Line has three stations within the district: Sala Daeng, Chong Nonsi, Surasak, plus Saphan Taksin at the river. The MRT Blue Line adds Silom station and Sam Yan. For the Grand Palace, walk to Saphan Taksin (or ride two BTS stops), take the orange-flag Chao Phraya Express Boat to Tha Chang pier — 15 baht, 20 minutes, beats any taxi.
Questions about Silom
Silom is more compact, has the river close, and connects to the palaces more directly. Sukhumvit has more hotels, more restaurants, and better shopping. For a 4-5 day first visit I’d base in Silom; for anything longer or with a business element, Sukhumvit. Both are equally central to the BTS network.
The market itself is safe — crowded and touristy, not dangerous. The go-go bars on Soi 2 and Soi 4 (the smaller side sois off Patpong) run drink-price scams, not violence — check every price before ordering, count your change, and never accept the free upstairs show. Solo women are approached by touts but nothing more.
Technically yes, about 4.5km, but you don’t want to. The route crosses Sathorn traffic and there's no shade. Instead walk 10 minutes to Saphan Taksin BTS, take the orange-flag Chao Phraya Express Boat to Tha Chang pier (15 baht, 20 minutes), then five minutes on foot to the palace gate. Total 45 minutes and pleasant.
Lumpini Park is the main one — pedal boats on the lake (100 baht/30 min), open space, monitor lizards to point at. Beyond that Silom is more adult-oriented. For kids I’d base in Sukhumvit near Emporium or in Siam near Siam Paragon's aquarium.
