Tuesday sunrise drive around Bangkok as I look for great views of the skyline from the elevated toll expressways. Bangkok has 89 skyscrapers over 40 stories tall, ranking #12 worldwide for skyscrapers. My favorite part is the skyline around 21:30 as I drive towards the famous State Tower building in the Bang Rak business district of Bangkok. The building (hotel primarily) has almost 70 stories with balconies all the way up with incredible views. Enjoy!
Bangkok is the capital and most populous city of Thailand and is among the world's top tourist destinations, and has been named the world's most visited city consistently in several international rankings. The Asian investment boom in the 1980s and 1990s led many multinational corporations to locate their regional headquarters in Bangkok. The city is now a regional force in finance and business. It is an international hub for transport and health care, and has emerged as a centre for the arts, fashion, and entertainment. The city is known for its street life and cultural landmarks. The Grand Palace and Buddhist temples including Wat Arun and Wat Pho stand in contrast with other tourist attractions such as the nightlife scenes of Khaosan Road and Patpong.
Bangkok's rapid growth coupled with little urban planning has resulted in a haphazard cityscape and inadequate infrastructure. An inadequate road network, despite an extensive expressway network, together with substantial private car usage, have led to chronic and crippling traffic congestion, which caused severe air pollution in the 1990s. The city has since turned to public transport in an attempt to solve the problem. Five rapid transit lines are now in operation, with more systems under construction or planned by the national government and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.
Bangkok is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep. The city occupies 1,568.7 square kilometres (605.7 sq mi) in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand, and has a population of over eight million, or 12.6 percent of the country's population. Over fourteen million people (22.2 percent) lived within the surrounding Bangkok Metropolitan Region at the 2010 census, making Bangkok the nation's primate city, significantly dwarfing Thailand's other urban centres in importance.
Bangkok traces its roots to a small trading post during the Ayutthaya Kingdom in the 15th century, which eventually grew and became the site of two capital cities: Thonburi in 1768 and Rattanakosin in 1782. Bangkok was at the heart of the modernization of Siam, later renamed Thailand, during the late-19th century, as the country faced pressures from the West. The city was at the centre of Thailand's political struggles throughout the 20th century, as the country abolished absolute monarchy, adopted constitutional rule, and underwent numerous coups and several uprisings. The city grew rapidly during the 1960s through the 1980s and now exerts a significant impact on Thailand's politics, economy, education, media and modern society.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangkok
State Tower is a skyscraper located on Silom Road, Bang Rak business district, Bangkok, Thailand, adjacent to Charoen Krung Road. Built in 2001, it is the largest building in Southeast Asia, with 300,000 m2 (3,200,000 sq ft) floor area. State Tower has 68 floors and is 247 m (810 ft) tall, making it the third tallest building in Thailand as in 2011 and 139th in the world. It is also the tallest mixed-use building in Thailand.
Conceived by Thai architect Professor Rangsan Torsuwan in the early 1990s and designed by Rangsan Architecture, the massive building is characterised by its thirty-meter tall golden rooftop dome and neo-classical balconies. It was originally named "Silom Precious Tower", later "Royal Charoen Krung Tower" (RCK Tower) and then "State Tower".
State Tower contains condominiums, serviced apartments, offices and retail units. It is also home to two five-star hotels, lebua at State Tower and Tower Club at lebua. There is a forty-story high atrium inside, and on the 64th floor is Sirocco, the world's highest open-air restaurant with a panoramic view of Bangkok.
State Tower is owned by Challenge Group.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_T...
The Expressway Authority of Thailand (Thai: การทางพิเศษแห่งประเทศไทย) (EXAT) is a state enterprise under the Ministry of Transport. It was founded in 1972, and operates Thailand's expressway (ทางพิเศษ thang phiset) system, which refers to (usually elevated) high-capacity controlled-access highways serving the Greater Bangkok area and some nearby provinces.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Express...