Arabian Nights & Days on Sukhumvit

TO sample the exotic sounds, smells and tastes of a Middle East bazaar, there’s no need to jet off to Cairo, Baghdad or Manama. It’s all right here at the heart of Bangkok, in an area known as Little Arabia, centered on Soi Nana, Sukhumvit 3.

The street is a hive of activity around the clock, attracting hordes of visitors - mostly from the Persian Gulf but increasingly by other nationalities - all curious to witness this somewhat surprising spectacle and enjoy its rare pleasures.

These include a staggering array of restaurants specializing in Arabic cuisine, along with travel offices, money changers, foot massage parlors, pharmacies and other shops selling local and imported products. Signs in Arabic script are everywhere. Small hotels occupying shophouses, some which have constructed extra floors to boost room count, proliferate.

In addition to the usual tourist souvenirs, visitors can buy shisha tobacco pipes in a variety of styles. Groups of men regularly gather outside restaurants to a water-cooled puff of tobacco smoke drawn through the pipe’s long flexible tube.

The distinctive tones and rhythms of music from the Middle East can be heard all around. Arabic newspapers are displayed on stands, while the satellite TV channels viewed in many hotels and restaurants are clearly beamed in from the Middle East. 

Skilful Thai artists sit on the footpaths and paint portraits of tourists from photographs amid samples of their work to show to potential customers. The artists labour throughout the night and are always busy.

Middle Eastern families with children stroll slowly along this constantly crowded network of streets. Women generally walk behind their husbands and almost always wearing the hijab head covering and dress. But there is a surprising amount of variety in the feminine attire. The styles range from full black loose-fitting burqa with niqab face veil to bright scarves over colourful, form-fitting robes, which are eye-catching. 

The majority of visitors are from Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar and other Arab countries; few are from Saudi Arabia. This has nothing to do with politics. Saudis generally have more money and prefer to take their holidays in London or New York.  Typical Arab tourists in Bangkok are not so wealthy and are on the hunt for bargains.

Tourists from countries like India or Iran visit the area mainly for the food. West African Muslims also visit in large numbers, and Western tourists occasionally wander through out of curiosity or because they enjoy the exotic cuisine.  

While other parts of Bangkok were badly affected by the recent floods, this Arab enclave was spared and it was mostly a case of business as usual. The only reminders of the disaster are the sandbags stacked in front of some businesses.

The Nana area was originally populated by South Asians, and the word Nana in Hindi stands for ‘mother’ and ‘father.’ About 15 years ago the area was called ‘Little Baghdad’ but the name didn’t catch on. 

In the earlier times, the nightspots here consisted of a handful of go-go bars, a few small restaurants and the ‘legendary’ Grace Hotel whose famous coffee shop and its female ‘regulars’ even made the pages of Playboy magazine, which taunted certain male customers with the immortal words: “If you can’t find it here, you can’t find it anywhere.”

However, following the Arab invasion in the mid-1980s, Westerners gradually moved out to other parts of the capital for their entertainment. One of the motels is still doing good business there; the other was recently demolished. 

A lane just off Soi 3 known as “Soi Africa” is a favourite meeting point for West Africans, some of whom were recently arrested for illicit drug dealing and other illegal activities. Nearby Soi 4, home of Nana Entertainment Plaza is still popular with Westerners. So in a relatively small area of Bangkok, three distinctly segregated enclaves exist side by side.

“Many holiday here in July and August because it is too hot back home. This is high season for us.      
 
“Arab men who have a lot of money like to buy expensive sandals and often order special designs. They like to be comfortable. They also wear T-shirts and shorts during their stay, but revert to their national dress as soon as they return home. 

“Wealthy Arabs, especially those with families, like to stay in the first-class hotels along Sukhumvit Road, while singles prefer cheaper places on Soi 3, which are well-known throughout the Arab world.”
 
“Some ladies shop for counterfeit bags of famous brands, but most still prefer to buy the genuine ones, which are more expensive back home.”

Mr. Maqboon said all the restaurants in the area do good business. “Many make deliveries to hotel rooms. Women often prefer to eat in the private because they feel free and relaxed and don’t have to worry about their dress.”

He said that Arab women are normally conservative and don’t talk to strangers, but they “will talk to me after they know I am from Pakistan. They feel free to talk because millions of Pakistanis work in Arab countries.”

He said Arab visitors rarely complain, though they do not like the growing number of beggars in the area. “They’re mainly from Myanmar and Cambodia, and they wear hijabs, even though they are not Muslim. They learn a few words in Arabic and impersonate Muslims. Some beggars make good money because Arabs are usually very generous.”

Beggars photographed by The BigChilli who were eating and chatting mostly in Burmese and Cambodian all seemed to know each other. Two women who spoke fluent Thai claimed to come from the South. 

Mr. Maqboon said Arabs are very friendly and peaceful people who don’t like trouble and don’t go looking for it. They like to socialize, smoke and drink tea or coffee, but not alcohol. They will always fight for the bill as they consider it a privilege to pay for others.
 
“However, they sometimes get upset and offended when shopkeepers try to cheat them, like when one sells an item for 100 baht and another sells the same item for 600 baht. Sometimes they will even call the police.”  

He also mentioned the three mosques located on Sukhumvit Soi 3/1. “They aren’t very noticeable from the street, but you can hear them at prayer times, which are five times per day.