hkskyline's 2012 in BANGKOK

[hkskyline]

I wanted to visit Bangkok again but this trip was delayed over and over again due to political instability and the odd bout of violence in the past few years. With a window of opportunity, I jumped onto a plane and headed south!

Saphan Taksin is the major ferry terminal on the Chaophraya River, hosting commuter, hotel, and even shopping mall ferries. All these different ferries have their own boarding point around the bridge.











I didn't pay too much attention on what route I needed to take, so I was duped to pay 40 baht for the for the express tourist boat. Given it was only a little more than USD 1, I didn't get too upset over paying several times more than the cheapest boat.

















With a bit of searching, I found this map of the various ferry lines. The grey one is the slowest, stopping at all piers.





The piers are a bit hazardous to use when crowded. This one consists of just this floating platform with no safety barriers on the river side. Watch your step!







Bangkok is also a modern city of skyscrapers. Within sight are also some traditional markets that have survived modernization.

















I had very little interest in shopping in an air-conditioned mall. The only reason why I visited the Emporium was to savour the view from its upper floors. I was not disappointed. The food court faced west towards the skyscrapers but if only they had cleaned the windows a bit more often ...





Skytrain station concourses are suspended above the street below the train tracks. Given Bangkok's hot weather and notorious traffic, planners built numerous bridges to keep people off street-level, with various entrances to the malls and hotels that line the street. Shielded from the sun but not from the heat, it was a welcome compromise to navigating the traffic-choked streets below.















Central World even has a shrine outside the mall entrance.



























The full set : http://www.globalphotos.org/bangkok.htm