First Observation Deck

The first floor observation deck was very well laid out and spacious.  They offered a free cell phone which played information when you punched in numbers.  The observation deck had sections clearly marked with a large number and when you punched that in the phone, it would play information about what you were looking at in Taipei which included buildings, mountains, tunnels and rivers.

There was no rush as everyone was allowed all the photo opportunities that the clouds permitted.  I snapped many pictures and the picture (above) which isn’t great was the best I could do through the glass and clouds.  I’m sure on a clear day photos would be better.  I managed to bring my tripod up to the observation deck which I think was not allowed because I noticed many people get theirs taken from line but I guess they didn’t see mine.  It was no use as I had to put the camera lens against the glass in a corner of the window to avoid any inside reflections.

There is a single exit on the first observation deck which leads to a staircase.  You have the option to go up or down and I chose down which lead to the giant ball which is actually a weight damper.  It is basically a counter balance which helps the building not get blown over by a typhoon or earthquake.  It was pretty cool to look at along with the little characters but I didn’t realize at the time how much it weighed.  I actually thought about pushing it to see if it would move which is pretty stupid in hindsight because it weighs 660 metric tons or 1,452,000 pounds!

To put that in perspective the mass damper weighs as much as either 7,260 people weighing 200 pounds, 907 African elephants, 10 M1A1 Abrams battle tanks or 5 blue whales of the largest animals to ever live on this earth.

1,452,000 pounds of Insurance Taipei 101 won't Fall Over

Outdoor Observation Deck

After viewing the giant ball I walked up to the 91st floor which included the outdoor observation deck.  The ticket counter warned access to the outdoor observation deck was ‘weather permitting’ and once I stepped outside I could see why.  Typhoons are prevalent in Taiwan but the day I went it was just cloudy and misty and the outdoor observation deck was in the midst of the wind blown clouds and one half was completely closed down.

I could hear a high pitched howling as the wind whipping around the corner as two security guards stood watch.  The security guard on the left had a huge jacket as he was in the middle of the wind.  I write about this because every 10 minutes the guards would switch from right to left and exchange the jacket for the guard on the cold side.  I was wearing jeans and a button up shirt and I wasn’t cold as it felt like a day in the summer in San Francisco.  I took the following little video which will give you the feel of what is like on the observation deck.

More Shopping

A recurring theme in and around Taipei 101 was shopping.  I’m not the biggest shopper and didn’t see anything that interested me but it still looked like they were simply trying to make back the close to 2 billion US dollars which the building cost.  Before getting in the elevator to return to the bottom, there is a shopping area with art, jewelery and some fashion.  There is also little cafe which I got a hot milk tea with pearls which was delicious.

Souvenir Shopping on 91st floor of Taipei 101

Overall Impression

Being a fan of skyscrapers and photography Taipei 101 was everything I could ask for.  Getting up the the observation deck was a small headache but once there it was a pleasurable experience.  Once up on the observation deck there was no hurry or time limit which allowed me to go at my own pace taking photographs, listening/reading about the history of the building and the city of Taipei and of course waiting for the clouds to clear so I could get a decent picture.

Besides all the things that you would expect in huge tourist attraction like this skyscraper there are a few surprises which I will let you find out for yourself if you make it to Taipei 101 in the Taiwan capital.   I would recommend Taipei 101 for anyone who spends even a day in Taipei and would probably head back there if there is a next time to take a chance that I’d get better weather to take better photos.

Taipei 101 History Movie (New Years Fireworks) before Going Back Down

Taipei 101

Taipei 101 was designed specifically to be the tallest building in the world.  In a few months from now it will be trumped by almost 1,000 feet by Dubai’s extremely ridiculous 160 floor ‘Burj’ officially in a month (January 2010) but when I went it was still considered officially the “tallest building in the world.”

I didn’t know much about Taipei before I went but I figured it to be similar to the large Asian cities I’ve been to such as Bangkok, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong but it seemed very different.   I don’t know if it was just because Taipei 101 was so tall or ont but it seemed like Taipei only had 2 buildings over 50 stories, one being 101 and the other being on the other side of the city.

I thought it was a cool way to bring tourists into the city but an expat I talked to on the plane likened Taipei 101 to a giant unnecessary phallus of Taipei.  I was just on a weekend trip so the only thing I cared about was to see it, take a few pictures of it and from the top floor with my Nikon D90.

Getting Close: Walking to Cloud Shrouded Taipei 101 on Xinyi Road

Getting Taipei 101

You may be surprised to know that even though Taipei 101 is probably the city and country’s biggest tourist attraction, many taxi drivers still didn’t understand me when I asked them to take me there.  Like I said in the excerpt for this post, Taipei 101 sticks out like a sore thumb from the rest of the Taipei skyline so pointing may be the best way to tell a cab driver to take you there.

Luckily for me, there was no need to bust through the language barrier to find Taipei 101 or even use any form of public transit.  I got lucky because it is on the same street (Xinyi Road) and is comfortable walking distance from the very likable hotel I was staying Dolamanco Hotel.

The straight walk from the hotel to Taipei 101 passed by numerous bakeries and I stopped at a street stand to get a couple random buns.  I tried to order pork buns but of course I was not understood and they just gave me a bunch of various item filled buns.  Needless to say the hot steamy snacks were nice on a misty Taiwan day.  I bought a timer remote for my camera in Taipei’s ‘Camera District’ earlier in the day and I had a chance to take my first time lapse sequence (below) which in hindsight I should have done the math and took more pictures, but I still got a pretty cool 10 seconds nonetheless.

Shopping

Upon entering Taipei 101 from the ground floor all you can do is shop and it’s not cheap.  You will find every high end store you can think of from Emporio Armani to Gucci to Prada.  You will also find Diesel, Calvin Klein, Nike and less expensive options but NOTHING in Taipei 101 would be considered bargain shopping.

On the bottom floor there is a food court which looked pretty good.  I say looked pretty good because I skipped it and went straight to the bakery.  There is a bakery which you will see as soon as you go down the escalator from the Nike store which I found everything I ate and drank to be delicious and fairly priced.  Since I didn’t want to overpay for stuff I didn’t need, after filling up on delicious baked goods and freshly brewed coffee I decided to make my way to the observation deck.

Looking up to Tower from inside Shopping Area

Line Wait and Fastest Elevator in the World

Taipei 101 boasts the fastest elevator in the world which gets all the way from the 5th to the 89th floor observation deck in only 39 seconds.  The elevator was very cool with space graphics and sound effects as well as a graphic readout of the speed which whizzed to the top very quick which was nice as I was stuffed in there like a sardine.

Before I could get up to the fastest elevator in the world I had to get through what maybe was the rudest line in the world.  They told me as I purchased the ticket which cost 400 TWD  ($13 USD) that there was a 30 minute wait which wasn’t bad until I got in line.  As I stood patiently in line at least 2 dozen people rudely pushed past me, or went under the barricade to get in front of me.  I don’t know if they were all together or something but I was getting pretty agitated.  After around 30 minutes of getting pushed around waiting in line, it was finally my turn to get up to the 89th floor observation deck.

Continue… Taipei 101 Part II

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.