Bangkok Local Life 1 - Saochingcha (Giant Swing)

Shopping, dining and entertainments.  After a few trips to Bangkok, tourists may feel bored of the “usual” Bangkok city lifestyle; Excitement can’t last forever.  There is another aspect of Bangkok lifestyle that most tourists tend to missed - experience the local life.   One can escape from the downtown skyscrapers  and finds a simple Bangkok  life that is both charming and captivating off the beaten tourist track.

This charming simple life can be found in most of the Bangkok local communities; and there are hundreds of it within the Bangkok city itself.   In the local community, you can find vendors running their businesses from a converted house front. People earning a living in the local community seems  a lot happier here as they tends to smile more.  

Just by people watching, street strolling, idling in cafe, and immersing in local community spirit can be the most satisfying experience of Bangkok.

One of such colorful communities can be found in the Old City of Bangkok, near the Giant Swing; known to the local as Saochingcha for its delicious street food; and most of the hawkers have been doing the same cooking for decades. For years, Thai medias have done many coverage of  the cuisine that the neighborhood has to offer.  

As for most South East Asia cities, to taste the local finest food, you must try the Thai street food at its absolute finest.

For food lover, one can visit the website :
http://importfood.com/saochingcha_guide.html  ; http://tasteadventuretravel.com/2011/02/09/saochingcha-food-expedition/  to learn more about the street food that Saochingcha has to offer. As Saochingcha is still unknown to most tourists, there is limited English signage.  So, you have to do your homework if you want to try out the recommended stalls. Do take note that every nationality has a different taste preference, do explore with an open mind.  

I am not crazy about food, my key objective of visiting saochingcha is to experience its simple local life by wandering around the neighborhood. By using the Wat Suthat and Giant Swing as landmarks, I explore the local life 
a) located along Dinso road ( road is known as Thanon in Thai ) by walking towards the democracy monument ; . 
b) in the numerous side lanes ( lane known as Soi in Thai ) by walking toward  the Chao Phraya river direction 

My personal favorite is Soi Sukha  that come in between Wat Suthat and Wat Rachabopit. As usual, the best time to experience the local life is in the morning.  

From Saochingcha, you may continue with you tour in the old city by visiting the grand palace, museums or galleries in the afternoon.