Khaosan Road or Khao Sarn Road (Thai: ถนนข้าวสาร) is a short street in central Bangkok, Thailand. It is located in the Banglamphu area of (Phra Nakhon district) about 1 km north of the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew.
"Khaosan" translates as "milled rice", a reminder that in former times the street was a major Bangkok rice market. In the last 20 years, however, Khaosan Road has developed into a world famous "backpacker ghetto". It offers cheap accommodation, ranging from 'mattress in a box' style hotels to reasonably priced 3-star hotels. In an essay on the backpacker culture of Khaosan Road, Susan Orlean called it "The Place to Disappear." It is also a base of travel: coaches leave daily for all major tourist destinations in Thailand, from Chiang Mai in the North to Ko Pha Ngan in the South, and there are many relatively inexpensive travel agents who can arrange visas and transportion to the neighbouing countries of Cambodia, Laos and Malaysia, as well as Vietnam.
Khaosan shops sell handcrafts, paintings, clothes, pirated CDs, DVDs and second-hand books, plus many useful backpacker items.
Phra Nakhon (Thai: พระนคร; IPA: [pʰráʔ náʔkʰɔ̄ːn]) is one of the 50 districts (Khet) of Bangkok, Thailand. It is the central district of Bangkok, including the Rattanakosin Island. Neighboring districts are (from north clockwise) Dusit, Pom Prap Sattru Phai, Samphanthawong, and across the Chao Phraya River Thon Buri, Bangkok Yai, Bangkok Noi and Bang Phlat.
Phra Nakhon was also the name of the Bangkok province, until it was merged in 1972 with Thonburi to form the present day Bangkok metropolis.