Bangkok is one of the world’s most-visited cities. It has amazing street food, world-class shopping, stunning temples, historical monuments, and warm and friendly people to welcome you. Unfortunately, it’s also known for its horrendous traffic. Fortunately, you can avoid all the traffic by simply booking your Bangkok stay at a hotel on Ratchada Avenue.
Bangkok is a vast city with lots of areas to explore and sights to see. The last thing you want to deal with is being stuck in traffic while your precious vacation time slowly ticks away. Seasoned travelers who visit the city regularly know the traffic can be avoided almost entirely by simply taking advantage of the city’s modern rail systems.
Rail Travel is Quick and Easy in Bangkok
There are currently three major rail systems in Bangkok – The BTS Skytrain, the MRT, and the Airport Express, and the MRT is almost set to open another two lines within the next year. You can actually travel from the airport to your hotel on Ratchada by rail without having to bother with the city’s traffic at all.
The three rail systems are all interconnected, with several stops serving at least two of the systems. If you’re visiting Bangkok for the first time, you’ll also want to visit the landmarks down along the Chao Phraya River. The BTS Skytrain has a convenient stop right next to Sathorn Pier at the bottom of Sathorn Road. This is your gateway to the water taxis that ferry people up and down the river and let you off at all the most famous landmarks of Bangkok along the river.
The water taxis even have a unique water taxi service designed just for tourists. You pay a single fare, and you’re given a one-day ticket that enables you to hop on and off the boats to explore the waterfront at your leisure. Be sure you buy a ticket for the blue-colored tourist water taxi line.
If you take the MRT along Ratchada Avenue a few stops south of your Ratchada hotel, you’ll arrive at the Asok station. This station is interconnected with the BTS Skytrain’s Sukhumvit Line. Sukhumvit Road is a shopper’s heaven. You can travel up and down the road aboard the BTS and visit several huge and iconic shopping malls, try out some of the city’s best restaurants, and explore some of the shops in the upscale neighborhoods along the line.
Explore the Ratchada Neighborhood
Don’t forget to explore the Ratchada neighborhood before you leave, particularly if you love to see the latest in electronics. Ratchada is the home of a shopping mall called Fortune Town, and the mall has dozens of shops selling the latest phones, cameras, computer equipment, software, and peripherals.
Booking your Bangkok hotel along Ratchada Avenue and taking advantage of the city’s rail transport systems is the smart way to get the most out of your available vacation time in Bangkok.
