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Normally, this left column is for the |
The Bangkok Central Region and
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Skytrain stations:
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Sukhumvit residential zones = B, C, and D
Silom-Sathorn zone E
Patumwan-Lumpini zone A
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Note: The designations Zone A, B, C, D, and E are NOT to imply grade or quality of property or location. They are purely geographical designations in alphabetical order with absolutely no origin in any assessment of grade or quality.
Zones E and A are largely shaped by the "old Bangkok" business and traditional property zones, even though they are places which have been mostly razed and replaced with highrise office and residential buildings over time, albeit heavily influenced in their purpose by the original old central business district. Zones B, C, and D started as free "suburban" residential areas just a few decades ago (hard to imagine in view of them now).
Zone A is the relatively small Patumwan-Lumpini region sandwiched between the old zone E CBD and the Sukhumvit residential area, and having a different ambiance than either. It consists mainly of highrise apartments and condominiums with some office buildings scattered within, plus a scattering of fine restaurants, spas, and most notably some of Bangkok's most fashionable central shopping malls along Ploenchit Road going west. All properties in this area are luxurious, and there is practically no land left which hasn't been razed and redeveloped.
There is not much along the river except a few hotels, very old Thai neighborhoods, cottage factories, the shipping industry, and a few mostly older condominium highrises overlooking the shipping lanes and otherwise not the most beautiful waterfront areas. Bangkok is not well known for waterfront properties, though there are a few river tracts with charm. The issue then becomes transportation and traffic getting from these areas to the established expat shopping, socializing and business areas in Bangkok, which are generally not near any waterfront.
Multinational businesses are scattered all around Bangkok, both the CBD and the suburbs, but the oldest and still the main business highrise area is the Silom-Sathorn area, which is the northwestern part of zone E on the map. There is an expat residential area in southeastern zone E mixed in with an old Thai neighborhood, but it is not the main region which expats choose to live in, instead commuting by skytrain, car, or taxi. Expats living in zone E tend to be working expats in the corresponding business half of zone E. On the street, there is also a mix of tourists and visiting businesspeople staying in the many hotels in the business highrise and nightlife area of Silom, Surawong and Sathorn. The nightlife of this area is along Surawong and Silom the first few hundred meters from Rama 4 Road, and includes the world famous old Patpong go-go bar complex.
I've saved the most popular for last:
The primary expat residential zone is "the Sukhumvit area", zones B and C on the map above, with a magnified view on the map below, from Sukhumvit sois 1 to 63 on the even side, and sois 2 to 40 on the south side. Zone B is a primary tourist zone with the residential area around the fringe, whereas zone C is mainly residential and quite different. The higher the soi number, the more expat residential it becomes, as well as the further you go down any soi from the main road. The low number sois are where the hotels, serviced apartments, and tourist venues and ambiance dominate. There are not many hotels or tourist attractions beyond soi 33 or 26, and most of it is squarely in zone B, particularly sois 1 to 23 on the north side (plus soi 33 in zone C), and sois 2 to 8 on the southside (plus sois 18 to 26 in zone C).
Starting around soi 49, the expat area starts to converge more along Sukhumvit Road, down to about the first kilometer away. The further down these sois you go, the more rustic Thai they become, starting with soi 49. The expat highrise condo region ends shortly after Sukhumvit 63, though some decent houses can be found in some places down past soi 63 in zone D.
On the south side of upper Sukhumvit, the expat region pretty much ends at Sukhumvit soi 28 and gives way to a crowded Thai residential area, though there are some scattered houses and condominium properties that conform to expat standards. I expect this area beyond soi 28 to see substantial development in the future, though that seems to be only in its infancy.
Choice of residential location usually depends on school location for any children, work location, means of transport (rail, car, walking), and traffic flow if driving or taking a taxi. These and other issues are best address on a region by region basis as covered on our sister website www.ssbkk.com, which for each station has points of interest, a decription of the ambiance and elements of the region, and a list of properties in that region as shared with our property website, www.kkBkk.com .
You may also want to browse all condos, apartments, and houses near the skytrain and in this central region, courtesy of kkBkk.com
Besides the central business district, you can also click on some of the suburbans areas of interest on the map below, which will send you to the corresponding page.
Would you like to browse another part of the greater Bangkok metropolitan region? Just click on one of the darker green areas on the map below.
> Regions, Condos, Houses, Apts > Bangkok Region Introduction > Central Business District
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