Bangkok by skytrain: Chong Nonsi

First published 7th October, 2005

Chong Nonsi, station S3 on the Silom line, lies right on the edge of Bangkok's financial and business district of Sathorn. This street is lined with huge office towers, corporate art sculptures and people scurrying about in power suits on their way to power lunches, and doesn't offer too much in terms of interesting attractions. Chong Nonsi station lies on Narathiwat Ratcha Nakarin (easy once you say it a few times), in between Silom and Sathorn.

This station is handy for access to the Thai Immigration Bureau on soi Suan Phlu (Sathorn soi 3). This is where you come for a variety of tasks including extending your visa, paying fees and other such responsibilities foreigners staying in Thailand have to deal with. If you leave the station at exit #2 and ask the motorcycle taxis at the bottom of the stairs to take you there ('Bai gong truat kon kao muang'), they'll charge you 40 - 50B. Most will understand you if you just say 'immigration.'

Another option is to jump on a motorcycle taxi for the 10B ride south to Narathiwat Soi 15 where there is a host of cheap Thai-orientated bars and restaurants-- Sensual Suanphlu is a good starting point, though there are around a dozen spots in this area.

The intersection between Narathiwat Ratcha Nakarin and Sathorn is massive - four eight-lane roads converge here, and a large pedestrian bridge offers some good photo opportunities, especially during rush hour, so you can show your friends back home what a real traffic jam looks like. The rest of this area is pretty sterile, with the usual fast food restaurants and coffee shops lining the ground floors of the tall glass buildings that populate the area; nothing too exciting.

If you leave the station via exit #2, you'll come down to the Sathorn Thani building, which is only of note because of the presence of two restaurants - McDonalds and Au Bon Pain. No prize for guessing which one has better sandwiches. If you walk further north along Nara Thiwat Ratcha Nakarin (towards Silom), you'll pass several small Chinese restaurants serving duck and noodle dishes and knickknacks. There's nothing here that will really excite anyone, but it's worth a look if you happen to be passing by.

Right on the corner of Narathiwat Ratcha Nakarin and Silom is the semi-popular Hostel Thailand, which has no curfew, luggage storage and dorms from 200B a night or private rooms from 300B per night. It's very small but the proximity to the nightlife on Silom is a big plus.

If you're in the market for a more upscale place to stay, the Sofitel Silom is just around the corner, further down Silom, and offers more expensive but very decent rooms in a building with great views of the surrounding area.

Story by Greg Jorgensen