Cash, tickets, bargain sleeps, late-night fun -- Bangkok's backpacker district is a place to be.

BY CHRISTINA HOAG

BANGKOK, Thailand - If you're in Bangkok with your worldly goods stuffed in a backpack, Thais know exactly where you're headed. ''Where you staying, Khao San Road?'' they ask. Nod, and they smile knowingly. ``Very cheap!''

For years, Khao San Road has been a backpacker's mecca. Spartan rooms can be had for as little as $2 a night and a meal of perfectly passable pad thai on the street for 50 cents. Breakfast? Try a couple thick slices of toast slathered with butter and jam, 5 cents each.

If you're on a shoestring budget, this is the place. But like increasing numbers of travelers, I didn't make tracks for Khao San just because it's a bargain basement. I had long heard about its hip backpacker scene and of course, I had read about it.

Buy tickets, sell shoes, eat cheap at Khao San Road, continued