Thailand’s Tallest Building

I lived in my apartment for around 7 months how and I can fully see Thailand’s tallest building from my window.  Usually when you think of the tallest building in any country you think of something impressive looking such as the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur.  Thailand’s tallest building is not the coolest looking building I’ve ever seen it’s actually pretty ugly during the day with a uber tacky BMW 7 Series advertisement dominating it.  The Baiyoke tower doesn’t really dominate the skyline like many featured skyscrapers.

One day a couple weeks ago it dawned on me that I had no idea what the building even was.  Only after I bought my new Nikon D90 digital SLR and started taking pictures did I find it was a hotel.   On the top there is a brightly lit multi-colored rotating  pattern message changer.   At night it causes a most photos to come out overexposed with the top of the tower looking like a big bright light.  One night I was actually reading the messages which are displayed in Chinese and English and it said, “Baiyoke Sky Hotel” so mystery solved.

Lightning strike Near Baiyoke Tower II

Baiyoke Sky Hotel

Even though Baiyoke Sky Hotel appears rather close to my apartment, like most tall buildings it is a pretty far walk away.  Baiyoke Sky Hotel is actually Baiyoke Tower II as there is a Baiyoke Tower I which is close by the sky hotel.

Baiyoke Sky Hotel is located in Pratunam District which can be reached from Bangkok’s main road Sukhumvit Road by walking north on Ratchadumri Road (which becomes Ratchaparop Road) which is in between Bangkok’s largest shopping center Central World and Big C.

If you decide to go to Baiyoke Sky Hotel from Sukhumvit Road  it’s important you know how to walk there because many taxi drivers will refuse to take you there because of the horrendous traffic.

The Surrounding Area

The area surrounding Baiyoke Sky Hotel is rich with shopping.  There is outdoor vendor stands lining almost all the sidewalks from Central World all the way to Baiyoke Sky Hotel.

There are also a few shopping centers which kind of reminded me of MBK but I could tell they were old.  I would guess that before MBK was built, these shopping areas in Pratunam were some of Bangkok’s finest.

The area in front of the hotel and the hotel itself is absolutely loaded with tourists from all over the world so the shopping and food is probably more expensive than less touristy areas.

BEWARE:  Tuk tuk drivers near Baiyoke Sky Hotel will prey on the naive tourist, taking them on unwanted trips to tailors, jewelery stores and other places to try to get a commission.

Shopping: Just stepping out of Baiyoke Sky Hotel

Daytime Visit

I took advantage of a rare cloudless weekday afternoon to visit Baiyoke Sky Hotel and the rotating deck.   I walked down Petchburi Road from my apartment after walking along the rail road tracks from Sukhumvit Road.  Seeing a tall building in the distance I had no idea how far it was so I just walked in the general direction.  I had a chance to explore the area which is full of shopping and food stands.  I got lucky and even found a massage place which offered fish foot massage.

Once I finally made my way to the tower it was easy and obvious where to buy the ticket to get to the observation deck.  They charged me 200 baht ($6) which I paid without thinking about negotiating which I will talk about in the night visit section.  I was in the elevator with a few people and it took a couple minutes to go up.  Once the elevator reaches the 77th floor I believe you get out and there is a giant room with binoculars, information and souvenirs.  I took some time taking pictures through the smudged up glass when I realized that I should be on the rotational deck.

To get to the carousel you have to take another elevator up a few floors and after that, walk up one more.  The deck wasn’t very crowded during the day and I had a chance to take a bunch of photographs as well as a vide0 (bottom of post) with my Nikon D90.   I had to get to Thai class so I didn’t take as many pictures as I would have liked to but I knew I would come back to get my fish massage as well as see Bangkok from above during the night.

View from Baiyoke's Rotating Observation Deck during Day

Night Time Visit

After seeing the view from the revolving deck during the day I wanted to see it at night time as I really enjoy taking night photographs.  As I mentioned I walked from Central World after buying a new tripod and got to the hotel around 8 at night. When I got to the hotel they tried to charge me 250 baht ($7.50) which I said I wouldn’t pay and they accepted the same 200 baht as I paid the day before.  I definitely think you can get up there for even less if you remember to bargain with the ladies at the ticket counter.

It was a Wednesday night (October 28, 2009)  and the hotel was jam packed with tourists most of them I assume staying at the hotel.  Everything was a lot more inconvenient at night.  The elevators were constantly full and would beep when there was too much weight on them and people had to get off.  There was no dedicated elevator for the observation areas at the top so the elevators would stop every few floors for the hotel guests.

Everything was the same at night except the top of the tower was lit up (as in pictures at top) and it was windy.  Taking pictures during night time on the rotating deck was very difficult as I’ll explain as you read on.  There were many people who I assumed to be hotel guests either going to eat or drink at the many restaurant bars and restaurants.  In hindsight I wish I tried out a restaurant in Baiyoke Sky Tower but I went to a very close restaurant called Rave instead.

Night View from Inside Observation Deck Room (behind glass)

Photography

I was not the only one trying to get some great pictures from the Baiyoke Sky Tower.  I counted at least 4 guys with tripods and SLRs who were just as frustrated as me trying to get the perfect shot.  During the daytime the rotating observation deck was a perfect place to take pictures.  There was no glass just a thick wire mesh in which a camera easily fit through to take some good pictures.  Even though the deck is rotating the shutter speeds are fast enough that you can get clear pictures and don’t have to worry about reflection of the glass.

At night the photography situation was the opposite.  Taking photographs of the city sites on the rotating deck was virtually impossible at night as the constant movement would cause blur with the prolonged shutter speeds.  I tried to open the aperture and have a faster shutter speed but the pictures almost all turned out blurry.  I also tried to pan the camera very slowly the opposite way of the carousel but I didn’t expect my movement speed to match the carousel’s speed which is not impossible I suppose but I couldn’t do it.

I had better luck taking night photographs by taking the pictures through the glass at slow shutter speeds.  I had to experiment with different locations to avoid any reflections.  I found it best to put the camera’s lens flush against a clean section of the glass as close to the ground as possible.  After I set the camera settings I positioned my body to block as much light and reflections as I could and as you can see in the above and below pictures, they came out pretty good for being behind glass.

View from Baiyoke Observation Room (Behind Glass)

Overall Impression

If you are a tourist in Bangkok and you like the very touristy atmosphere Baiyoke Sky Hotel is the perfect place to stay in Bangkok.  I looked at the prices and pictures of rooms on Baiyoke’s website and it looks to be a bargain when you consider that you’re in an inner city luxurious tower compared to your average $15 a nigh guesthouse.  If you are looking for a place to stay in Bangkok definitely check out the Baiyoke Hotel website

There are a bunch of restaurants, bars and a whole lot more going on at Baiyoke Sky Hotel so if you’re one of those types who likes to have all the conveniences of home at your travel destination and maybe you want to meet with some fellow travelers, Baiyoke Sky Hotel has got to be on top of your list.  If you are living in Bangkok, it is definitely worth it to head to the top of Baiyoke once but you probably won’t want to go back unless you want to meet some travelers.  If you are a backpacker, you also want to pay the 200 baht or whatever you can get away with paying and get some good photos looking down on Bangkok.

Last 5 posts by Mike Behnken

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