Bangkok on a shoestring: a street-food budget guide

Bangkok has a reputation for being a budget destination, but it's easy to accidentally spend restaurant prices if you stick to the streets with English menus and photos of the food. The good stuff is one street over, has a queue of locals, and costs a third as much.

The ₹800-a-day math

Where to actually go

• Chinatown (Yaowarat) after dark — this is the real deal, and it gets busy for a reason.
• Or Tor Kor Market for the best fruit you'll eat all trip, and a quieter, more local alternative to Chatuchak.
• Any cart with a queue of Thai office workers at lunchtime — this single rule rarely fails.

A few things that save real money

Skip bottled water from convenience stores near tourist streets — refill stations are common and a fraction of the price. The BTS Skytrain day pass is worth it if you're moving between neighbourhoods more than three times in a day; otherwise single tickets are fine.

Street food in Bangkok is genuinely some of the best in the world, and the budget version isn't a compromise — it's usually the better meal anyway.