The building is 309 meters tall, or about the height of 182 people standing one on top of the other. The area inside the building is 179,400 square meters or about 30 football fields. There are 1,740 windowpanes in the building. About the same number of windowpanes which can be used for over 200 townhomes. There are altogether 2,060 steps from the bottom to the top. It takes more than one hour to reach the top. The piling runs 65 meters deep underground, about the height of a 22 storey building.
These interesting facts were taken from a colorful info sheet we grabbed at the counter of “the tallest tower in the Kingdom of Thailand”, the Baiyoke Sky Hotel which boasts of 85 storeys in height. It is currently the 30th in the list of the world’s tallest buildings.
I was with my parents, my sis and her hubby, and my sis-in-law. After spending daytime at the ruins in Ayuthaya, and a brief yet unforgettable visit to the Grand Palace that afternoon, we proceeded to the country’s famous tall building which is just within the city of Bangkok.
It was nearing dusk when we reached the Observation Deck at the 77th floor. Going up was like riding an airplane, my ears felt the pressure. The elevator shot up and we were there in just a few minutes. The view of the city was awesome, imagine yourself like a big giant looking at those little buildings below and the zigzag of the expressway with those tiny dots of cars. We can’t help but take lots of photos; of course, it’s my first time to be feeling like I’m on top of the world. 🙂
Sawasdee! A ‘wai’ pose at the 77th floor.
Through the looking glass (yep, I was like Alice in Wonderland that time)
Afterwards, we rode again another elevator to the Revolving Roof Deck at the 84th floor. I was so excited like a kid as soon as I stepped on the moving floor. The view below was simply breathtaking as we were turning around the building, and the sky slowly dimmed from grey to dark.
We were only snapped back to reality when my bro, who didn’t join us for our trip that day, called up and asked about dinner. After arrangements were made, the group decided to leave, though I wished we could stay longer. We went down to the 83rd floor to avail of their complimentary drinks and stayed a while in their lounge. We were told that there would be some live band later, but our tummies were already grumbling, and we had to travel to meet my bro and the kids for dinner, so it was time to go.
We joined some tourists in the elevator going down to a lower level. As the doors closed, I could feel the elevator falling down speedily, I watched the floor numbers on top of the door rapidly decreasing – 82, 81, 80, 79… It was then that I sensed a feeling of being here before… like it happened before… and it suddenly dawned on me, it really did. This took place in a dream before which I realized was actually a premonition of my holidays in Thailand. I could just relate some parts of it, though some were not even logical – the big jump to the rocky cliff on the other side was actually a trip to another country, and the feeling of falling down, being inside an elevator… I was still pondering on this as the doors slowly opened and we stepped out… it was just like coming out of a dream.
11 replies on “Stepping out of a dream”
sawasdee kah! somebody’s missing in the pic o! 😛 “i want to go turning, turning” too bwehhehe
Daisy: yup, too bad you weren’t there. but there’s always a next time, i won’t mind going up there again w/ u… who knows, makasuroy na pud ka didto.
When the CN Tower was opened to the Public in the late 70s, people was so curious to see the city from the highest “free standing structure of the world” and until today they still are. But it is not a building like the the Taipei 102 or the Petronas 1 & 2 of Kuala Lumpor or not even like the Baiyoke Sky Hotel, but just a tower with a Revolving restaraunts at the top with a glass floor and you can see the view of the city and the lakes from under your feet.
Well, the wonder of engineering..
malay mo your dreams are a window into the future. Is Barack going to be the first black US president? 😀 anyway, i’m afraid of heights so I don’t know if I’ll go to that tower. although I did go to the top of the empire state building. I guess the secret is to not look down. 🙂
Wow! Those are some really nice, err… spectacular day and night shots of the city, thanks for sharing, carey.
Man, the last time I was there that tower wasn’t even built yet, nasa plano pa lang I think. It’ll sure be one the places I’d visit if I get the chance to go again… 🙂
wowness!great views!
having some deja vu? 🙂 yep dreams are really premonition of what’s to come..most of the time we just forget about it…lucky you were able to figure it out.when i have dreams i immediately look it up at dreammoods.com and try to jot it down for guidance.charing!
Amazing views! I really have no prior idea how Bangkok looks like. I missed a chance of going there 6 yrs ago.
when i’m in an airplane and see the small cars and houses, parang sarap maglaro.
galing naman ng dream mo. ganyan prayr ko kay God,to talk to me in a way na marerecognize ko 🙂
Vic: hehe, you made me research on the CN Tower, and it’s interesting to note the glass floor you mentioned – some people actually experience acrophobia just by looking down. yikes…
Wil: ok, i’ll see if some political stuff happens in my dreams, hehe… you’re afraid of heights??? too bad… so many views look grand from a higher level. wow, good for you to have gone up the famous empire state, but you didn’t look down?
Snglguy: thanks for the appreciation, at least di sayang ang paghanap ko ng best views, he he… 😀
yup, make sure to include baiyoke the next time you visit bangkok. btw, the city is a lot different now and flights are cheaper.
Raine: deja vu gyud…. it was weird.
in my case, there are really some dreams that seem to tell me something and they are usually so vivid, i try to ask myself and ponder on what is the message behind. sometimes, the explanation comes after it happens. sometimes, they just remain a mystery.
Lazarus: sayang, was it work-related opportunity that you missed? thanks for the visit!
Tin-tin: God talks to us in many ways naman… not only in dreams. 🙂 i’ve heard that when you dream of a person na matagal mo nang hindi nakita raw, it could mean that he/she is asking for prayers.
nice shots! u gave me the idea to stop over bangkok the next time i go back to pinas. enjoy your stay there!
Curacha: yes, do drop by bangkok, it’s a great city – lots of interesting tourist spots, yummy spicy food and it’s a shopper’s paradise. LOL, do I sound like a travel agent? by the way, I’m already here in the Phils.