29 March 2014
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Skyline View of Bangkok
A week ago, a couple we know was in town from Chicago. They had a twenty-four hour layover on a cruise making its way from Singapore to Hong Kong. We met them for drinks at the rooftop bar on the Marriott Sukhumvit Hotel.
The hotel opened less than a year ago and is only a few blocks from our house. I had never been there but was amazed at how spectacular the views are – the roof affords a full 360-degree view of the city.
This first view is looking to the east and southeast along Sukhumvit Road. You can see the BTS Skytrain running along the road and Ekkamai station is just blocked by the red condo building, located between the Gateway Mall (also red) and the temple complex. That makes for an interesting contrast, no?
This photo picks up from where the previous one leaves off, looking from the southeast to the west. You can see that we are actually not very far from the Chao Phraya River and the port area – if you look really closely, you can see their cruise ship docked. You will notice that the main part of the city is to the west, where the concentration of high rises is much denser.
This picture continues from the far end of the bar in the previous picture. It looks from the west to the north and covers the entire Thong Lor neighborhood where I live. The BTS Skytrain station is on the left and you can see the line running into town along Sukhumvit Road. This neighborhood is more residential with lots of condominium towers, restaurants, and shops.
One thing that really amazes me about Bangkok, compared with many cities, is that there are high rise buildings all over the place with no real defined “centers” for the city. On one level, I think it makes the skyline a bit bland as there is no focal point. But at the same time, maybe being so spread out saves us from all having to commute to just one area. Who knows?
Comments (8)
Great photos, Chris. The LA area has several outcroppings of high rises that could be considered centers — I wonder if that’s because, as we grow, each new area creates its own center and needs its own high-rises.
Beautiful photos! They make me wanting to catch a flight for Bangkok right now!
Beautiful. Glad there is no riot lately. I am on vacation in Korea, there is a lot of tall buildings here also,
Sao Paulo in Brazil looks somewhat like this. The skyscrapers there, are all over every mile of that city it seems.
Thanks for taking us, amazing view and we loved dinner. So great to meet you both!
You are most welcome!
it seems to be bangkok is really into an outdoor sky bar. i think you guys are getting more of them now than any city in asia.
That’s the trend here.