Bangkok flooding in pictures

Bangkok flooding in pictures route Suttthisan - Lad Phrao - Central Lad Phrao - Chatuchak Park - Saphan Kwai

In the last weeks I heard and read a lot of news, sometimes I was looking at TV in the evening and the news were announcing that the place I live is flooded "water reached to intersection of ..." and the thing is that there was no flooding and still there is none.

Boat out in flooded Bangkok

What I did was to decide that I have to check by myself where there is and where there is no water and flooded areas. Said and done, took out the camera and started the journey. First things was to travel up on Rachada road until I reach water: Fortune city is dry, so is Thailand Cultural Center area, Robinson and BigC and further on Hway Kwang. Going further I reach to Sutthisan intersection - still no flooding water around here and I went further up. About 400-500 meters away from Sutthisan-Rachada intersection there is the Khlong Bang Sue and North of this canal is where the flooding starts.

Pictures in this article illustrates the journey from Chaophraya Park hotel on Ratchada road towards the North, reaching Lad Phrao intersection and then turn left on LadPhrao road.

Truck taxi carrying people - most of them are free of charge

Foreigners playing in the water on Rachada road

Truck ride in the flooded areas of Bangkok

Shell petrol station flooded and closed - Rachada road

Lad Phrao intersection on Rachadapisek road

Perfect blue sky in Bangkok - not much pollution during floodings

Lad Phrao road flooded

All here is flooded. The water is just enough deep for not allowing the small cars to pass but not high enough to produce any damage to houses or big cars - this looks like a scenario written already. Water is just there, not to much, not to less - just perfect to create an inconvenience and from my point of view, to spend more money on booths and water protection.

So from Lad Phrao road towards Central Lad Phrao and Union Mall everything is under water. Further on the truck went left towards Chathuchak Park which got some water as well. Mostly is the roads that resemble to a sea of water. The sky is a perfect blue in Bangkok which, believe me, is not easy to find - I do assume this is a result of less and less pollution. Probably only 10-15% of the cars are running in Bangkok these days.

Heading towards Saphan Kwai

Waiting for the bus in Bangkok

Pahon Yohin road near Chatuchak Park - flooded

Sea of Bangkok - water as far as you can see

Pickup truck playing in the floods

All the parkings are full with cars and so are the bridges and express-ways where the people parked their cars for escaping the flood to come.

They say Bangkok has been voted as the No.1 place for travel - I guess it was before the flooding :)

Royal Thai Army trucks for passengers in flooded areas it free of charge

Chatuchak weekend market intersection

Just before reaching BigC at Saphan Kway the flooding stopped and everything is dry again - now we are back South of Khlong Bang Sue.

Conclusion: Inner Bangkok is flooded in a lot of places but it is just a matter of inconvenience for the citizen as the water did not reach dangerous levels and it starts to recede as well. By middle of December should be all gone, this would be my forecast on the Thai flooding of 2011.

Drop me a line if you are flooded or you want to post your pics or comments or ideas, I may help you with this.

Bangkok Rachadapisek road flooded

Rachadapisek is quite an important road in Bangkok, it is also quite long stretching from South of city all the way up to North. Some of the MRT line is following Rachada road as well.

Below are some flooding pictures as of 06 November 2011. These pictures are taken in front of Chaophraya Park hotel on Rachada road which is 500 meters North of Sutthisan intersection. Starting this place and further up towards Lad Phrao both sides of the Rachadapisek road are flooded and water is increasing with every minute.

We could see water rising about 5 cm is approx. 10 minutes which is quite much.

Klong Bang Sue on Ratchada road - high water level flooding houses along

Here the Rachada flooding starts

Bus on Rachada road - small cars are not allowed further than Suthisan

Royal Thai Army transporting passengers to the other side of LadPhrao intersection

Sea of Bangkok directly on Rachada road

Bangkokians gathering to see the flood (most of them)

Khlong Bang Sue - on Rachada road, high water level 06 Nov 2011

Water rising out from the underground channels on Rachadapisek road

The road from Suthisan intersection further on Rachada road is closed for small cars.

Ratchadaphisek (Thai: รัชดาภิเษก) is the district that follows the northeastern portion of Ratchadaphisek Road. It is located north of Sukhumvit, east of Phahonyothin and west of Ramkhamhaeng districts. Since the completion of the metro (MRT) line, Ratchadaphisek has developed into an entertainment mecca for the locals with dozens of clubs, theatres, karaoke bars, bowling alleys and even an ice skating rink and more. Foreign visitors are drawn to its seafood restaurants, cultural performances and "massage parlours" (brothels). The part of Ratchadaphisek Road that runs along the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre is dealt with under Sukhumvit.


The northern runoff is now flowing towards Bangkok's Saphan Khwai intersection, in an inner district of Bang Sue, about 500 metres away, reports said.

The mass volume go water on Monday morning inundated the Kampaengphet intersection near Chatuchak Sunday market. The floodwater was 30 to 40 centimetres deep, impassable for small vehicles.

Traffic police at Bang Sue police station expected the floodwater to arrive at Saphan Khwai intersection about noon today, according to the reports.

On Vibhavadi Rangsit road, the runoff from Lat Phrao intersection arrived at headquarter of the country’s largest local daily, Thai Rath, flooding all lanes of the main road.

The floodwater was reported at 50 centimetre and impassable for small cars.


Water enters Bangkok: my-asia-travels.blogspot.com/2011/11/flood-water-enters-bangkok-city.html

Day and night in Bangkok, Thailand

Bangkok city - กรุงเทพฯ

There are many articles that I have posted on various destination in Thailand and other Asian countries but seems that I forgot one of the main attractions, Bangkok, the city that I am living in now. 

The name of the city means "city of angels" and it was originally a small trading post on the west bank of the  Chao Phraya River during the Ayutthaya Kingdom. It became the capital in 1768 after the destruction of Ayutthaya. Bangkok is the political, social and economic centre of Thailand, and one of the leading cities in Southeast Asia and a perfect place for a vacation I would add.

By the way, did you knew that the complete name of Thailand's capital is quite long? Here is the full version both in English and Thai languages:

English: Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Phiman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit.
(Thai: กรุงเทพมหานคร อมรรัตนโกสินทร์ มหินทรายุทธยา มหาดิลกภพ นพรัตนราชธานีบุรีรมย์ อุดมราชนิเวศน์มหาสถาน อมรพิมานอวตารสถิต สักกะทัตติยะวิษณุกรรมประสิทธิ์)

Well the purpose of this article is not to talk to much about the history or the geographical facts of Bangkok but to give the readers a good start-up on things to do in Bangkok. This city has everything including dazzling temples, hotels of every breed and size, various markets, gleaming palaces, ritzy shopping malls, a famous nightlife and the many things in between.

There were full books written on how is Bangkok and what to do here even with restaurant and bar details so what I will describe here is some of the "to not miss" places in Krung-thep. Besides shopping, dining and nightlife, you might wonder what else is there to do in Bangkok? It is easy to get absorbed into all the things that Bangkok is famous (or infamous) for, but there’s actually much more to the city than meets the eye. You could take a cycling tour of the riverside and discover a historic neighborhood across the Chao-Phraya River, test your swing at one of the top-class golf courses surrounding the city, or even better indulge in a soothing spa experience.

 The best part about Bangkok is that it’s one of the cities that you can enjoy as much or as little as you want and if you haven’t got a clue as to where to start or what are the most popular places, check out the below for ideas.

1. A few must-do activities in Bangkok

Chatuchak Weekend Market - This place is so perfect for your last minute shopping, souvenirs and about everything you need: clothes, shoes, hats, leather and plastic, food and drinks, spa products, electronics and so on. It is quite impossible to not find your thing there. It also has ATMs and a post office in the premises.

Dinner cruise - Take the boat on Chao phraya river and enjoy the beautiful view while dining.

Rooftop sunset - Recommended from the Bayoke Sky Tower which is the tallest building in Thailand. Also the price is not that high, quite affordable.

Temples and Wat Prakeaw (The Grand Palace) - For everyone who comes to Bangkok this is a must. If you are not visiting at least a temple it means you didn't come to Bangkok. For most of temples the entrance is free however there are old temples classified as monuments as well as very popular temples where the entrance is based on a fee.

Before moving forward to the night-life let me tell you that it is official that Bangkok is the hottest city on Earth with averages of 32 degrees Celsius.

2. Night life in Thailand

From Go-Go to Go-Go : For pole-swinging temptresses, exotic boy-meets-girl creations and notorious take-home pleasures, head for one of Bangkok’s lust-driven dens of sin. Locations like Nana, Soi Cowboy, Pat-tong are the highlights, just take a peak or try it all.

Bangkok's pubs and discos : Asia’s finest clubs unite with the world’s best DJs are here at Bangkok’s many hip, happening club nights. Find dance floors for your own style here. I would say RCA is a starting point.

Evening-night shopping experience : If you’re not ready to hit the bars and clubs, scratch your shopping itch with some after-dark shopping. Malls do a storming trade until late - 9-10 PM. But its Khao San Road, with its carefree traveler attire, and the bootleg heaven that is Patpong Market, that really wows you.

In case you need any information or advise on this hot city you can let me know by using the contact page and I will just reply to you sometimes :)

There are a few things to not forget when you are here and I think the first most important is to not forget to drink water. This is a very hot city and your body would need a lot of water. Other thing would be to take care of scammers especially taxis - better don't go if they don't want to start the meter. If you can get a map, it would be very useful and also travel with sky train and metro (BTS and MRT) a lot since it is cheap and it is possible to save you hours. A downtown map you may find in the Sky Train stations I guess.

Almost forgot, do enjoy some SPA and massage as well. There are various massage places ranging for a couple of hundred Baht to a few thousand, depending of the type of service you would like to receive. Thai massage you can find near the road in massage shops and for the soapy massage you may want to try Sukhumvit road.

A few pictures of Bangkok are below for your viewing pleasure and yes, I admit to have inspiration from around the internet but I tried it all from the above recommendations.