From Anantara Bangkok Riverside Resort & Spa, one of the 5 Star hotels in Bangkok, it is simply a matter of half an hour to reach Saphan Taksin, a BTS skytrain station. This station is the only swift transition station in Bangkok. Run by Bangkok Mass Transit System Public Company Limited (BTSC), this station enables transferring to a river pier in order to cross river. The station thus has been popular among tourists as it is convenient to get into a river boat and sightsee.
The Bangkok Transit System, also known as elevated metro system, was at first known as Lavalin Skytrain as it was to be built according to SNC-Lavalin model. It was first tried in Bangkok in 1992, but was halted in 1998 due to political intervention. As Bangkok faced continuous traffic congestion, the government made many efforts to counter this issue. However solving the issue was quite difficult as the number of private vehicles rocketed with the traffic congestion was still an issue. The skytrain project took off as a countermeasure to face the issue.
Saphan Taksin station is located by Sathon pier where Chao Phraya Express Boat services are available. The station is named after Taksin bridge. Under the bridge is Sathon Pier.
Get off at Saphan Taksin, and you would find many interesting things Charoen Krung road, Bangkok’s most ancient street. Along this road, many unfinished buildings are found to be seen. One such building is Sathorn Unique. Its building construction was later terminated because of fund shortage. The building was supposed to be a luxury condo buiding, which never materialized, and now holds large advertisements.
Head further down, passing this building and you will come across Wat Yannawa, a historic temple. This temple is worth a visit. It is believed to be built during the Ayutthaya period.
Uditha Dharmawardhane is a travel writer who writes under the pen name Roland Lefevre. He specializes in creating features on leisure as well as business travel destinations across the globe.
