Bangkok trip report (extra construction update notes)

Dispatch from Bangkok: Notes and observations on a fast-changing city.

The annual Bangkok construction update for 2022 is now available. This report gives an overview of some of the most prominent construction projects in Bangkok. I made some other notes and observations which didn’t fit in the post, so I will add them here.

There are some big projects going on which I don’t know the name of yet. I got off at Chit Lom BTS to find an entire block was being demolished in preparation for something big.

I’ve seen a few blocks that look like this, which reminded me of being in Shanghai in the 2000s (and Beijing too). Whole city blocks were demolished, with all the little interesting alleys wiped off the map in the process.

I can’t remember what was here beforehand, which is why I try and take photos of the most boring-looking buildings. Those boring photos eventually become historical archives.

The problem is that these buildings look so unremarkable that they don’t seem photo-worthy at the time. For example, I’m not sure if I took any photos of the Pratunam Market, which has now been demolished.

This area was a jumble of shops that housed a large clothing market. There was no indication of what will be built here next. There will be a metro station on the future Orange Line at Pratunam, which will be somewhere around here.

While Pratunam Market was culturally historic, the buildings were not. The same can’t be said for the Scala Theatre, which was demolished as part of a redevelopment project. Here is what the Scala site looks like now.

And here is the mall that will be built in its place.