As tourists slowly come back to devour the best that Bangkok has to offer, a visit to Charoenkrung Road is a must for food, coffee, street life and art, architecture, hip gallery, and old town charm lovers.
Chareongkrung, home of the first commercial road built in Bangkok, is a district to see and be seen, and Central: The Original Store – a revamped version of the first shop opened by the Chirathivat family in 1950 – offers five floors of style and good times.
The uber cool Siwilai Café and a Concept shop are located on the ground floor.
Move up a floor and welcome to The Kolophon Retail Library, home to more than 1,000 books covering design and retail trends.
The third and fourth floors meanwhile, house art spaces, including the Central Space featuring an exhibition showcasing the history of Central’s rise in the retail sector.
A “1973” exhibition will also run throughout November with a “Re-live 70s – 80s Pop Culture Talk” hosted by celebrated artist, Tawan Wattuya on November 19 from 2-3pm. He’ll share his pop culture adventures in the 70s and 80s, along with Khun Jiraphat Angsumali, the renowned author of the ‘Khrab’ (Stain) novel and ‘Wiparit’ (Abnormal) short story collection. Khun Methee Noijinda, Modern Dog’s lead guitarist will also speak.And up on the 5th floor is Aksorn, the new restaurant run by acclaimed chef, David Thompson. Aksorn pays respect to, and revitalizes Thai dishes and recipes from the recent past.The building also houses a swish cocktail bar for jazz and vinyl junkies – however, it was closed during our recent visit but will probably welcome back cocktail and music lovers when clubs, pubs, and bars reopen.