The best restaurants tend to be Egyptian, Lebanese, and Iranian; and just about everything out of a Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cookbook can be found on the various menus, whether it be shawarma, dolma, or falafel.

Even more prevalent are the large hookah – or shisha – water pipes that most visitors end up smoking, and the aromatic smell of apple tobacco permeates the air. A sharing of the water pipe is said to cement a friendship forever, and the tobacco used is so fruity and mild even a nonsmoker can indulge and not feel much in their lungs other than a very pleasant post-dinner warmth.

Outside in the streets, young Persian women frequent the designer boutique shops, while older ladies clad in head-to-toe black robes and burqas try to bargain down fruit sellers hawking their produce from open bed trucks. Moslem roti sellers with long wispy beards ply their trade next to stalls selling doner kebab, fresh meat roasted on a spit and then thinly sliced. Old men hang out in corner cafés playing backgammon, sipping cups of tea, and making lots of hand gestures as they discuss all the latest. I was reminded that I was only in Bangkok and not Istanbul or Amman when a tuk-tuk driver appeared to ask if I needed a ride somewhere.

Agar wood shops also have a prominent spot in Soi Arab. Coming from the endangered Aquilaria tree, the resinous agar wood is used for incense and perfume in the Middle East and sells for well over US$10,000 a kilo. Several shops have various woodchips well-protected under glass, with a fellow looking straight out of WWF wrestling standing nearby, in case you linger near the wares a bit too long.

The calls to prayer from the mosque are loud and long, the signs all in Arabic, and there are far higher chances of finding couscous instead of tom yum on the menus. Egyptian pop divas wail from inside most of the eateries, and people-watching opportunities abound. The soi never seems to sleep, and there is a hubbub of activity and energy that makes for constant entertainment and usually necessitates a repeat visit. For both visitors and expats alike, Little Arabia has something for everyone and is, yet, another side of this multifaceted city.

Little Arabia can be found on Sukhumvit Soi 3/1, a tiny lane near the Nana BTS Station.