The State Tower, Bangkok - You Can't Win Them All!

My wife and I decided we would treat my mother-in-law to a rooftop view for her birthday. So we decided to take her to Lebua State Tower, which has a fantastic viewpoint of Bangkok at 64 storeys up. They are quite strict and have a dress code, no shorts, no flip-flops, no revealing clothes for the ladies! The State Tower is situated on the Silom Road in Bangkok and is 68 storeys, but as I mentioned the rooftop bar and restaurant is on the 64th!

As we waited for the lift I saw several people turned away for not wearing the correct attire for the Snobiety restaurant and bar. Children had to be 7 years or older, so we had already fabricated a new birthday for our Junior Explorer to make him 7 years old. One of the staff downstairs asked how old he was and fired off his birth date like a speeding bullet. She told me that he looked too short for a 7 year old and I pretended to be outraged by her accusation! She new asked if I had his passport with me. I said we live here and there are no borders to pass through, so why would I need a passport? She disappeared off and I continued the facade of being outraged, hoping in my head that I could pull it off. She returned a moment later and confirmed that junior Explorer could go up to the snobzone! By this point the woman's displeased face could turn a whole dairy farm sour. I was wondering if she didn't approve of my drainpipe skinny jeans that I bought around the corner five minutes earlier, I forgot to wear trousers so had to go shopping and ended up buying some teenager styled skinny jeans!

The view at the top of the state tower is fantastic, but everything is super expensive, dinner for four people would probably total to well over $300 dollars and possibly double that amount! Our plan was to just get a few drinks for the four of us, we had already been out for Japanese food for Grandma's birthday and this was to put the icing on the cake for Grandma and hopefully for us to capture some top snaps at the top! The best areas were super squashed around the bar, with people that wouldn't move or let you past, so I found alternative places to take some different snaps.

I went to the bar, thinking I could get just some drinks for all of us, I looked at the menu and my jaw-dropped, I have been to a few rooftop bars and paid double the norm, including service and tax it cost 700 Baht for a mocktail, no alcohol! I think that is about $20 dollars! I bought one for Grandma and the waitress kept on saying 'Just one sir?' She asked me about 4 times and I told her I was on my own! She watched me like a hawk as I walked off! We went up the top end where they couldn't see us,as they obviously needed to squeeze an extra $60 bucks off me for some ice and fruit juice! Anyhow I did my James Bond work and slipped away with no one bothering us again!

The problem with this place is that it doesn't open until six o'clock and they don't allow tripods to be taken on to the rooftop area. It was already getting dark and although I was using my phone, I had a mini tripod which I planned on using, so I could create a long exposure due to the 6 pm opening time! Unfortunately this wasn't allowed, so it looks a bit fuzzy, but you still get full vantage of the skyscrapers and the meandering Chaophraya river through the centre of the shot!

There are many rooftop bars and restaurants in the city and this one is probably one to avoid! It is super cramped at the best photographic vantage points, full of High-So ass holes and supremely rude staff! At least my family got to enjoy a nice view, even if everything else was on the downside! I think the view outweighed the negativity! Plenty more rooftops to explore and all the better when I can finally afford a DSLR! Most importantly Grandma loved the view up top, so the mission was a success!

Thank you so much for checking out my blog, if you enjoyed this and would like to see more of Thailand feel free to swing by my page when you have a moment free.

Peace Out Steemians

Never stop exploring!