Bangkok's busiest BTS stations ranked worst to best
You really don't want some of these places to be part of your commute.
8 years ago
9. BTS Sala Daeng
Views: 1/5 - Nothing but gray concrete and billboards for massage parlors.
Venues: 3/5 - Vesper, Eat Me, Ramentei; there are plenty of BK-approved restaurants amid the miasma of massage parlors and street stalls.
Access: 2/5 - You can disembark straight into the cool embrace of Silom Complex (shame there’s not much there) or Thaniya Plaza (great for discount golfing gear and middling Japanese food!). Convent Road is just around the corner.
Crowds: 2/5 - Sure, peak hour’s horrific. But there are tricks to beating the crowds (avoid the Silom Complex entrance). It’s too bad walking at street-level slows to a snail’s pace thanks to the over-abundance of vendors.
TOTAL: 8/20
8. BTS Thonglor
Views: 1/5 - Unless you like staring at the Bangkok Prep logo, there’s really nothing happening here.
Venues: 2/5 - Everyone knows Thonglor doesn’t start getting properly good till Soi 11, and that’s a long walk from the station. Until then, content yourself with a massive bowl of noodles at one of the very many ramen joints.
Access: 3/5 - The Exit 2 stairs downwards will drop you underneath the station—vital information when it’s raining and you need to hail a cab heading down Thonglor—along with the 20 other people in front of you with their arms out.
Crowds: 3/5 - On the platform never that bad. But since the BTS expanded past On Nut, your chances of getting a seat on the train are zero.
TOTAL: 9/20
By Mark Fischer - Flickr: Siam Paragon, CC BY-SA 3.0
7. BTS Siam
Views: 2/5 - On one side you’ve got a whole lot of Siam Paragon and all its luxury goodies. On the other, the rooftops of Siam Square.
Venues: 5/5 - Malls, Siam Square, more malls, BACC and a couple more malls.
Access: 2/5 - No matter where you’re traveling, you will never be able to hop from one train and onto another without changing platforms. Fact.
Crowds: 1/5 - Unbearable when there are no delays; a human rights violation when there are.
TOTAL: 9/20
6. Asoke
Views: 2/5 - The people training outside Aspire Fitness do a great job of making the rest of us feel bad at 8am—as do the owners of all those rooftop penthouses you can peer into.
Venues: 4/5 - You have a shitty time on your hands if you need to find a 7-Eleven anywhere even remotely close to Asoke BTS, but for everything else, this one’s an out-and-out win. Why? Because Pala makes everything better. As does the super-tasty lemon iced tea on the way to the MRT connection. Oh, and then there’s Terminal 21.
Access: 3/5 - Not even that lemonade can make up for when they make both escalators travel in the up direction. (Really, really not cool, guys.) We’d love to tell you what it’s like on the other side of the station as well, only none of us have ever been there.
Crowds: 1/5 - Horrific.
TOTAL: 10/20
5. BTS Ratchadamri
Views: 5/5 - The lush greenery of the Royal Bangkok Sports Club never gets boring.
Venues: 1/5 - The St. Regis and, um, we’ve heard there’s a Villa supermarket tucked somewhere around there.
Access: 2/5 - Again, it’s great if you want to visit St. Regis’ Zuma or Jojo, but that’s about it. Or if you’re a member at the RBSC, which we’re not.
Crowds: 2/5 - Though the station’s practically always empty you can expect a very tight squeeze if you’re heading to Siam.
TOTAL: 10/20
4. BTS Mo Chit
Views:3/5: Chatuchak Park sure looks a treat in the early morning sun. A million people’s sweaty backs, not so much.
Venues: 4/5 - JJ Market, ‘nuff said.
Access: 2/5 - Just like JJ, the station’s good for those who like mindless dawdling. The MRT and taxi drivers in waiting mean there are ways out. Just don’t try to cross Phahon Yothin Road on foot.
Crowds: 1/5 - There are times on weekends when it feels like half of Bangkok has converged on Chatuchak. The result: We’ve never been so happy to take the MRT.
TOTAL: 10/20
3. BTS Saphan Taksin
Views: 4/5 - Ghost Tower to one side, LeBua to the other. Old shop-houses as far as the eye can see. A little more river would be nice, though.
Venues: 2/5 - Some of Bangkok’s best street food is mere steps away, but most of the cool stuff is at least one stop back.
Access: 2/5 - Alight on the Charoenkrung side and you’re greeted by a heady mix of fried chicken and klong water. Alight on the Chao Phraya side and it’s klong water, bad busker music and queues for the tourist boat. But they need to sort that one-sided platform situation.
Crowds: 2/5 - The notorious one-way service will have you all but dangling over the platform at peak hour. Confused looking tourists keep the platform guards (and their whistles) busy.
TOTAL: 10/20
By Ilya Plekhanov - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0
2. BTS Chong Nonsi
Views: 5/5 - If only for Mahanakhon coming to life before our eyes.
Venues: 3/5 - Unless you’re not that rich, in which case that number drops to like 1.5. L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Dean and Deluca, Virgin Active and about a million offices dominate the scene here. Sathorn soi 10-12 (Supanniga, Rocket, Marcel etc) are just about within walking distance.
Access: 2/5 - Staircases that descend to traffic islands in the middle of jam-packed Naradiwhas Road (serously, who's idea was that?) and, well, the BRT.
Crowds: 1/5 - Peak hour is a no-go with queues that stretch for hundreds of meters. You’ll even have to line up for a motocy.
TOTAL: 11/20
By Joseph - originally posted to Flickr as [1], CC BY 2.0
1. BTS Phrom Phong
Views: 3/5 - Emquartier and Emporium are fine if you like that sort of thing. Elsewhere, some of the Japanese signage is vaguely entertaining.
Venues: 5/5 - You’ve won this round, EM District.
Access: 3/5 - We’re flattered by the red carpet treatment at Emquartier. But could someone do something about the sound levels?
Crowds: 2/5 - Bad. Made worse by the fact you can’t get a cab.
TOTAL: 13/20
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