Siam Sky Sub Xchg :: Description

BTS Siam station and Paragon

The Siam Square station serves four main purposes: World class shopping at Siam Paragon and Siam Square, on the northside of the station A hodgepodge of commercial places in the alley-like network on the southside constituting a large rectangle, in interest mainly to Thais, including some nightlife such as the Hard Rock Cafe Access to Chulalongkorn University (Thailand's most prestigous university) just beyond the commercial rectangle The transfer station between the two skytrain rail lines

Siam Paragon escalators and roundabout

There is no housing in this area. It is purely commercial. The only major hotel accessed by this station is the Novotel, though there are several first class hotels just one station away. Siam Paragon stakes a claim to be Bangkok's premier luxury shopping complex, and in fact it does edge out others for those with deep pockets. It is a new structure which opened in 2006. Located adjacent to the Siam station, an elevated entrance directly from the station platform takes you inside. Siam Paragon is a deep, vast mall, with the Siam Paragon department store as its core, but surrounded by countless shops, coffee shops, and restaurants, plus a large movie theater on the top level. The food court underneath is popular. In the basement is also Ocean World, where you can walk thru glass tunnels with large fish swimming over and around.

Siam Paragon, outside at night

Restaurant and bar in Siam Paragon, one of very many nice ones

BTS Siam Square, Paragon entrance

The well known Marbuklong shopping center is within short walking distance, and Central World just a little further away in the opposite direction, but both are better accessed by the two adjacent stations, National Stadium and Chidlom, respectively. In fact, there is a continuous elevated walkway going between these three stations just sheltered under the skytrain rail platform, as well as upper floor entrances to these shopping centers from this elevated walkway.

Siam Paragon closes at 10pm, except for the movie theater. Many couples and small groups lounge around the benches in front for quite some time.

On the opposite (south) side of the Siam station is the Siam Square maze of shops which cater to the Thai budget, mixed together with many franchise fast food outlets plus unique restaurants of medium price range, and various other things which cater to university students. This area is very popular with the young crowd during the day and up to about 8pm.

Besides the movie theatres, there isn't much nightlife in this area, and it pretty much shuts down around 10pm. There are two major exceptions:

The Hard Rock Cafe franchise has its Bangkok branch in Siam Square, a 4 level restaurant and bar. From the top skytrain platform, you can see the top of the building's neon lights saying "Save the Planet". I went there for the first time in 10 years in late 2007, and it seems nothing at all has changed in the place, except the faces. When the band came on, it still has the ear-shattering volume as before, which I could not tolerate so I left soon after I ordered my drink and got a few quick inside photos. My ears rang for 2 days afterwards. I remember the sore throat I got years before just trying to talk with my friends at this place. I think this is one of those places where your ears must "get used to it", i.e., get hearing damage so it doesn't hurt so much and you need the volume. Whichever employee sets the volume level should be replaced with someone with more normal ears. (No cover charge.)

Just about 200 meters away is the CM2 discotheque, located in the basement of the Novotel Hotel, also called "Concept CM2" and other things over the years. "CM2" is a word play of "C M Squared", like "Siam Square", and it was previously sometimes written CM2 like Einstein's E=mc². Anyway, call it C-M-2 or Siam Squared or whatever. In any case, the music volume is normal western discotheque volume and quite comfortable. A DJ mix is alternated with a live band, all at nearly the same volume. Away from the dance floor and main table area, off to the side is a room on the side separated with floor-to-ceiling glass walls keeps a different style of DJ music playing continuously inside. In the back are pool tables. On weeknights, there is no cover charge for ladies but men pay just 250 baht which gets one drink.

These two places are frequented mostly by tourists, small groups of proper middle class Thais, and a scattering of Thai ladies looking to maybe hook up with a foreigner they may go after for some reason.

The rest of the Siam Square clientele are quite different from the nightclub attendees, dominated by university students and ostentatious high society Thais, plus a smattering of mainstream tourists.

Another Siam Paragon outside courtyard at night

Inside the Hard Rock Cafe, Siam Square

Inside the CM2 discotheque, under the Novotel Hotel

Photos of the Siam Square area

Map of the Siam Square area