Need the perfect Happy 2015 e-card or Facebook cover image? Want to discover the right spot to get some of the iconic shots for your cityscape photography? For photo adventurers and sightseers alike, here’s a nudge in the right direction with several places to seek out and setup a tripod. These vantage points are as spectacular for the human eye as they are the camera. So if you’re in emptied-out Bangkok for the year-end holiday, here’s a guide to finding them.
1. River View Guest House
The first photo adventure leads to the River View Guest House, and let say, it’s not so easy to find at first.
First get to the Chao Phraya River’s Marine Department Express Boat Pier (Tha Ruea Krom Chao Tha). From there exit the pier until you hit a small street called Wanit 2 and turn left. The alley to the guest house will be the third one down on the left side. It’s called called Duang Tawan alley. This alleyway might look a little shady at night, but it’s quite safe. In fact, many bike tours pass through here. Look to the right for a sign reading
River View Guest House.”
The accommodations may not rank four or five stars, but the view certainly does, with less of the people traffic to contend with at rooftop bars downtown. They’ll let you plant your tripod on both the eighth floor restaurant and ninth floor.
2. Baiyoke Tower II
For our second adventure, let’s visit one of the most popular spots for tourists and locals alike – the famous Baiyoke Tower II. It costs about THB300 to get in and for THB400 they’ll throw in a “free” drink. The glass-enclosed, public observatory on the 77th floor makes for a comfortable walk to see the sights. But head up to the 84th floor’s open-air, revolving platform for the real fun.
Baiyoke will provide great opportunities to capture the veins and arteries of Bangkok traffic, its various sky rises, and with a telephoto lens, various monuments such as Victory Monument. Baiyoke can be found in the Pratunam area of Bangkok, not far from Central World department store. Simply look in the Bangkok skyline and head toward the tallest thing.
3. Odeon building
Our third vantage point is in Chinatown. It’s a popular spot among photo enthusiasts and sits in the parking lot in front of the Gate of Yaowarat. The parking structure is called Odean Parking and simply take the elevator to the top floor. Bear in mind however that on weekends this place becomes crowded around sunset with other photographers. However if you manage to get a good spot it’s totally worth it.
After you get your shot from the vantage point walk up to the roof to see an awesome skyline of Bangkok. It’s most impressive at sunset or in the early evening. The closest public transportation beside buses and taxis is MRT Hua Lamphong or the Marine Department Express Boat Pier. The shorter walk would be from Hua Lamphong.
4. Platforms and bridges
Some of my favorite vantage points are from the BTS or railroad bridges.
Many of these can be seen by simply stepping off at one of the many BTS Skytrain stations, waiting for the crowds to clear and walking to the end of the platform. If you use a DSLR, you can lower the shutter speed to get the blur of the train as it passes. However tripods are not allowed on BTS platforms, so for night shots steady hands are a must.
Specifically I recommend one of the more exciting of such vantage points is the railway bridge next to the Rama VII Bridge. It has a walkway, a riverside view of all the development projects, and trains that roar by at least twice an hour. It’s not easy to find the walkway up to the bridge, but with a little exploration and a GPS-enabled device, it’s a worthwhile hunt.
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