Soi Arab in Bangkok (26 images)

Soi Arab used to be an alley in Bangkok (Soi is the Thai word for alley or small street) near the Nana area that first became popular with Saudi labor brokers who came to Thailand looking for cheap workers in the early 1980's.

What started as an alley has now grown into a neighborhood that encompasses several blocks of restaurants, hotels and money exchanges that cater to Middle Eastern visitors to Thailand. The official name of the street is Sukhumvit Soi 3/1, located in North...
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Soi Arab used to be an alley in Bangkok (Soi is the Thai word for alley or small street) near the Nana area that first became popular with Saudi labor brokers who came to Thailand looking for cheap workers in the early 1980's.

What started as an alley has now grown into a neighborhood that encompasses several blocks of restaurants, hotels and money exchanges that cater to Middle Eastern visitors to Thailand. The official name of the street is Sukhumvit Soi 3/1, located in North Nana between Sukhumvit Soi 3 and Sukhumvit Soi 5, not far from the Nana Plaza night-life area. It's a fascinating place where Arabic is more widely spoken than English, signs are in Arabic, Thai and, to a lesser degree English. Uniquely for this part of Bangkok, there's a real family atmosphere - with none of the tawdriness that marks the Nana Entertainment Complex just two blocks away.
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