Bangkok is known for its old temples and palaces, but it also has a beautiful contemporary architecture scene. With over 110 buildings higher than 150 meters, Bangkok is one of the top 20 cities in the world for skyscrapers. A great (if not the greatest) spot to see the city's modern skyline is IconSiam. It's for free, and without time limitation, and nobody will ask you to buy a cocktail you don't want as it often happens on rooftops occupied by bars or restaurants.
IconSiam (check the location on Google Maps) is a place of the great interest and a must-visit by itself. It is the biggest shopping mall in Bangkok and #10 in the world. It's more than a place for shopping but rather a huge air-conditioned city under the dome with amazing architecture, interiors, art, events.
A trip to IconSiam usually starts with crossing the Chao Phraya (free from Sathorn pier), the largest river in Bangkok and the whole Thailand, the mother of the Thai civilization. A century ago, the city had no roads, and all transportation and communication used to go by all sorts of boats along the river and canals. But today there are no floating houses there but the modern city with the country's top skyscrapers.
This is IconSiam although hard to understand the scale looking from far:
We will go to the large balcony right below the triangle construction on the top of the building in the image above. The best views are there.
By coincidence, there was an event there, Miss Universe Thailand popular among Thais. These are some of the contestants from different Thai provinces going to the stage:
I will tell about that event in the next post.
But this is what I mean. IconSiam isn't just a place to buy clothes and leave. It's a place to have a stroll, to see things and chill out in the coolness.
We, of course, took the opportunity to enjoy shops and their products including such pleasures as touching every T-shirt without buying anything
and applying expensive perfume from testers without buying anything 😀
But let's focus on architecture and interiors. This is the top floor:
The interior is a little lurid and flashy, but the picture is still very impressive. The columns are of probably 25-30-meter-high. There is an "eye" in the ceiling from where water flows beautifully. You can't see it clearly in the image but there is a waterfall in the center of the scene. On the right, there are huge glass rectangles - this is a front window opening to the balcony space we are heading to.
There are restaurants at the space but, happily, it's mostly free of commercial activities.
Consider it an elevated city square to stroll, breathe the air and enjoy views.
The Chao Phraya River and River City Bangkok where we started our way to IconSiam:
But the main attraction are skyscrapers of Bang Rak district:
The tallest buildings in Thailand is actually Magnolias Waterfront Residences Iconsiam (318 meters) that stand right next to IconSiam shopping mall. Despite the record height, it doesn't look special. But the second tallest building, King Power MahaNakhon (314 meters), looks cool.
It's in the center of the image, a blue buildings consisted of "pixels".
This one:
Yes, IconSiam is a palace of glasses and mirrors so people can't help taking creative images for social media there. That's, for sure, a hot spot for fans of Instagram.
These mirror pillars give much space for creativity. It's a great place for selfies and posed images but street photographers will enjoy this opportunity too.
At night, the place becomes even more beautiful when they light garlands and the downtown gets illumination.
Taking a night self-portrait in a mirror at IconSiam
I have been to such places on a balcony or rooftop with a beautiful view. There, often everything is occupied by a restaurant or a bar that does not want people to come without spending money for food or drinks, or there is an entry fee for visitors. It always creates negative vibes of rush, lost profits, suspicion, and hidden resentment. IconSiam has avoided these scenarios, and that's why there is so great festive atmosphere there.
You can nicely eat at IconSiam for 60 baht (less than 2$) on the ground floor, there are many bathrooms with great interiors there, clean and spacious without crowds in them, with soap and endless rows of taps. There are always empty benches on the top floor balcony so you can chill out there or even sleep... For a tired traveler, the place can be home for the whole day.
I took the images on July 16, 2023 with a Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G on a full frame Nikon D750 in Bangkok, Thailand.
