Indian businesses and services in Bangkok, Thailand

Pahurat, on the western edge of Chinatown near the Chao Phraya, is Bangkok's Little India, a dense district of fabric wholesalers, tailors, sari and textile shops, Indian sweet shops and small restaurants. At its heart is the Gurdwara Siri Guru Singh Sabha on Chakphet Road, where the Sikh community has worshipped since 1913 and which serves free meals from its community kitchen, especially on Sundays and festivals. Sikhs began arriving in Thailand in the late nineteenth century, and Pahurat's textile trade grew out of that long-established community.

Across the city, the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple on Silom Road, known in Thai as Wat Khaek, is a South Indian temple that also draws large numbers of Thai worshippers. Its Navaratri festival ends with a procession of the goddess through the surrounding streets. Hindu deities, Ganesha in particular, are widely venerated by Thais, so temple visitors are by no means only Indian.

Lower Sukhumvit, around Nana and the side streets off Soi 3, known as Soi Arab, has Indian, Pakistani and Middle Eastern restaurants and groceries. Diwali and Vaisakhi are celebrated at the temples and the gurdwara. Pahurat is a short walk from Yaowarat and from Sam Yot MRT station, and its narrow lanes are easiest to explore on foot; when the Navaratri procession is on, part of Silom Road is closed, so plan your route around it.