Public Transportation in Bangkok: How to Use BTS, MRT, and Tuk Tuks 🇹🇭
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 เม.ย. 2023
- A Guide to Using Public Transportation in Bangkok: How to Use BTS, MRT, and Tuk Tuks 🇹🇭
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I agree with you regarding the subway/rail transit system in the US compared to Asia. I’ve ridden in NY, DC, Chicago, LA, San Fran and San Diego and they are filthy and unsafe compared to Thailand, Seoul, and Japan. I like the safety screen that prevents people from falling or being pushed onto the tracks unlike NYC where the psychos are always pushing people on the tracks. It’s sad that the US transit system isn’t as nice, clean and SAFE like the Asian transit system.
The Hong Kong subway transit system is top notch as well
@@erichchan3 Taipei as well
Dc transit system is fine
DC transit system is filthy and unsafe
Can't speak for any of the other transit systems you mentioned but I was pretty surprised that the culturally legendary NY subway was honestly worse than the Delhi metro. Then again, given America's over-reliance on private automobiles, I think the sorry state of the public transport there is more of a self-fulfilling prophecy born out of short-sighted prosperity.
Just remember, during rush hour, the interchange between Asok BTS to MRT, the escalators going up from MRT are one-way only. You can descend from BTS on the right before the escalators. I see so many tourists trying to push their way through only to realize it's one way during Rush Hour.
Quite a contrast from BTS to BART (SF Regional equivalent) > upon returning to SFO 2 weeks ago from a month in Thailand I took BART from SFO to the closest station to my home > 1 way fare = $13+ US & was surrounded by odors of human waste w/a few homeless sleeping on the train > this was a Mon am at 6 > the train was disgustingly dirty ...whereas all my BTS experiences for 3+ weeks were impressive for public transit > for a system that's heavily used, it's incredibly clean & quiet > very obvious the Thais take great pride in keeping things clean & orderly.
It's become embarrassing to admit I'm from the SF Bay Area
Seattle same. Sad
i burned all my t-shirts that have california on them
@@gregh7457 > Calpocylpse
I live in the San Francisco Bay Area as well. The new BART trains are really nice but the surroundings area's around BART are horrible. So much crime and filth now. Not like when i was growing up in the 1970's. But the inside the BART terminals are getting better.
dame just feel the same, just came back to Thailand and also took BART from SF airport to SF dowtown - there were lots of homeless people in train.
Happy Birthday! I appreciate you putting out videos for us on your day. Enjoy.
This is exactly what I needed to see. Thanks for the simplistic vid format. Happy belated birthday bro
Your videos are really high quality, Forrest. Well done.
Happy wonderful Birthday 🎉and thanks for the great content!
You deserve so much more subs man you have an amazing chanel 😊
This was very good and informative video! Good job and thx! 😎🇫🇮🇹🇭
Happy birthday, man. Love your videos. Cheers from Serbia
Thanks for the video ! I’m here now and needed to learn the system. Happy birthday !
Great travel vlog. To the point and just the tips I was looking for. Thank u
Awesome vlog Forest. Went to Bangkok’s China Town for the first time when I visited Thailand in late January. Compared to the China Town in London, Bangkok’s is just wild! Stayed at the Hotel Royal Chinatown too which has great views of Bangkok from the rooftop bar. Happy Birthday as well Forest. Another year closer to uncle status. 🤣
omg this is so helpful! my family will be visiting Bangkok next year for the Coldplay concert and its our first international travel. thank you so much!
BTS,MRT: Thailand is a developing country that dared to implement an electric metro system decades ago, not by government initially but by a private enterprise under build-operate-transfer concession basis. When a housing developer Tanayong group proposed to Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BKK city government) to build an electric skytrain linking the major nothern/eastern provincial bus terminal (Mor Chit) into the city center (CBD) itself about 30 years ago, local Thais and expatriates were skeptical because previously HK Hopewell and Canadian Lavalin had proposed such project in Bangkok to the national government but failed hopelessly to complete the project. In the case of Lavalin, only about 1% was completed while Hopewell did a little better upto 5% before both concessionaires abandoned the project due to financial difficulties. However, elected Bangkok governor at the time Gen Chamlong Srimuang did not listen to experts' advices and granted Tanayong concession to carry out the project. Tanayong managed to borrow enough funds from local and overseas banks to build the civil structure running above the main roads, thus did not have to pay any land expropriation fee. When the civil structure was completed, Tanayong bought train and signal system from German Siemens as well as contracting Siemens to help run the system for 10 years. The first year official opening was about 23 years ago in 1999. Even then, some Thai and expatriates still voiced doubts whether the skytrain could earn enough revenue to cover the running costs as well as earning enough profits to pay off principals and interests as the first year's ridership was not great barely covering the operating costs. However, within 10 years the skytrain (Bangkok Transit System or BTS) turned profitable and after 23 years, the BTS is earning huge profit and has long paid off all debts. When the national government saw BTS success, it planned its own MRT (Metro Rapid Transit) systems, covering more lines. However, since some lines are run underground and some above ground, no private companies dared to do the same as Tanayong (now renamed BTS Group) as the civil construction is very expensive. So the national government established MRT state enterprise to design the lines and tender civil constructions using government budget. Once civil construction is completed, MRT tenders bids for private operators to secure the train system as well as running them under concessions. Bangkok is now covered by BTS/MRT/SRT (State Railway of Thailand which runs the Red Line to the suburbs and Airport Link from Suvarnabhumi airport to City center) systems more than 250 kilometers altogether.
Note: Currently
Light Green Line (Sukhumvit Line)
Dark Green Line + Gold Line (Silom Line)
Blue Line (Circle Line)
Purple Line
Airport Link Line (Suvarnabhumi Airport)
Dark Red Line (Grand Station - Don Muang AirPort)
Light Red Line (Grand Station - TalingChan)
Yellow Line (Scheduled Open Last Quarter 2023)
Pink Line (Scheduled Open Last Quarter 2023)
Orange Line(Scheduled Open 2025)
Also sees Metro systems history and planned expansion th-cam.com/video/i3sFfqq3N4Q/w-d-xo.html
Thanks. Very informative. Appreciate your time.❤
Awesome! Thanks for the detailed info
Thanks for the history of these public transportation in BKK. I am Thai and happy to see Thailand has developed a lot.
Thanks for the detailed information. People like yourself help others so much.
Great video - great tips thank you 🙏🏾 happy birthday 🥳
For those of us expats that live outside of Bangkok but have to drive into the city for embassy appointments and to take the family shopping. The first thing I do is get a hotel close to a sky train station and park my car. To get to the embassy I use a taxi, but for the shopping and getting around Bangkok I use the sky train or subway. Only leaving to go home (then early in the morning) do I use my car in Bangkok.
Cheers Forrest, great video. I'm about to hit the Bangkok trains today for the first time! SH, Australia
Fantastic video. While I love the food, expats retiring to Thailand, and condo tours, this daily life video is awesome. Just to see how advanced Bangkok is, but contrast the similarities and differences with the US. Exactly what someone would need to know when visiting!
Keep up the great work, I love your stuff.
Thank you for the useful information. I just got back from Bangkok and your video really helped me attempt the Thai train system. You are one of the few (or only) that actually talk about the contactless Visa card that can be used at the train turn-styles. I couldn't even find any (Visa) info on the BTS site. It is so much easier than having to buy tokens or refill cards. I don't know why the Sky train doesn't use the same Visa system as MRT, although buying a ticket is not a big deal. My wife and I Stayed right next to the ASOK (across the street from Terminal 21) station and got a day pass for the BTS Skytrain and it allowed us to see so much more in an efficient amount of time. Very crowded but not dangerous at all (unlike the mentioned US cities), and air conditioned. The train system is like an attraction in itself! It's like a treasure map, and you need to find the gold, your destination . It worked out so well, we took the Airport Link back to BKK at the end of our trip. So much easier than a Taxi!! WE (US) can learn a lot from this Mass transit system and how it is supposed to work.
Happy Birthday! Thanks for sharing your tips!
Extremely well explained…thanks!
So . . . how young are we today Forrest ? ;) Loved this video as it is super-helpful and informative. It really serves to take the intimidation out of having to figure out public transportation. Well done !
The Visa option is a GREAT travel tip; Sooooo helpful on this one
For Master Card can use ????
@@kingcantona1923 you can use mastercard too.
Thanks Forrest. Enjoyed that.
Came to this video from the "ultimate guide to airport rail link" video. Both are really helpful, informative and... makes me long to hurry up and get over there. Thumbs-up, and thanks.
Have you ever been? I’m on my first trip outside 🇺🇸 at 41 and in BKK to finish my last week. Phuket is paradise omg words can’t explain. Rent a motor bike there and just go! So many things to see and do
Wow thank you! this was very helpful!
Very helpful video. Happy Belated Birthday 🎉
Didn't know I could tap my Visa to pay for MRT! This is a huge time-saver! Thanks so much!
do you get a foreign exchange fee added????
Not on my card.@@Primevals33
@@Primevals33 you may be charged about 1-3% which is very minimal in Thai Baht. To trade with versatility it's very convenient esp. on rush hours.
@@noi747 It's not the Thai baht I am worried about but the American dollar? I will check with my bank. Thanks so much :)
@@Primevals33 that will depends on your credit card whether they have a foreign transaction fee of not.
Happy Birthday!! Thank you!
Happy Birthday, Forrest!! Seems like you've never aged a day!!!
great info Forrest, Thx,
As a general rule: Don't walk on escalators in Bangkok. It is even written in MRT. Difficult to understand for Europeans and US-Americans, but that is more efficient than the "Stand right, walk left".
Thanks for the Chase tip, excellent!
Nice video brother. Very useful .. next to include are the canal boats
Happy Birthday Forrest 🍻🎂🍾
Chinese doing a Thai Accent like a dude strung out in a Mankini during April and no sun screen😉🤣
Happy Birthday! We reached the dirty 30 yet? Once I get out of the military I am thinking of moving to Asia as well from the States. Love the content, keep it up bro!
Happy birthday Forrest.
You make me miss Bangkok soo much! 🙏 I'll be there in 2 weeks! 😍
HAPPY (heavily belated) BIRTHDAY LEE
Hey Forrest, I'm happy I came across your videos, subscribed and still going through your videos 😅 I'm relocating to Bangkok for work and would love to hear about your opinion on the best neighborhood/district.
@@ShadyD365 works going to be at Phra Ram 9. Colleagues told me it's a great area but since we have a little dog, they reccomended Thong Lo. What do you? Thank you in advance!
Awesome video it’s going to really help me when I come to Bangkok for November 2023. I’m excited to look at your other videos.
How was it?
Happy 🎉Birthday 🎉 young man!
Thank you for your video. It's Great. Happy Birthday
So helpful! I last visited bkk in 2000 with a friend but will return this year 2023 alone so im very nervous😢 glad i checked out your vids.
How was it?
Great informative video! 👍
Very helpfull! Thanx Lee
I'm glad to know about the visa tap thing, I have a United card so I get flight miles and no currency exchange charge
Thanks for showing public transportation 😊
hi Lee ! ...i am interesting what kind of gear you had for taking these informative video ! thanks for your kindness
For the bts get a prepaid rabbit card and a metrocard for the mrt if you are staying longer then a couple of days , saves you the hasle to hunt for coins.
what line do you use the METROCARD for??
thank you sir very helpful.
hey HBD Forrest !
Thanks for the video!
Happy birthday. All the best to you.
Happy Birthday. Have fun and enjoy live.
Its really useful. I am gonna go to Thailand next month. Its my first solo trip and i thought its better to use public transportation for person travel alone and interesting experience. Its not complicated as i thought. Thanks for guiding
Hi. So what part of Bangkok did you go to and what type of transportation? Did you take a taxi to your hotel/ AIrbnd OR DID YOU USE THE SKYTRAIN??
@@Primevals33 i visited some places in Bangkok. Skytrain is convinient and cheap. i live it. u can take airport link to ur hotel from airport. its useful and easy
Very well explained thanks
your vlog helpfull, MRT more practicable for tourist with visa holder easy option payment. thank you
HEY FORREST ,happy brithday
You didn’t explain which side of the tracks you need to go to for the direction you want to go. The train goes both ways.
Happy birthday!! Best wishes
Great Video. Been a while since I have been to Bangkok. Do they still have a daily all you can travel option?
Thank you for the information
Great video !
So, for the BTS I need to buy a ticket and for the MRT I can use a Visa Debit Card. Is that correct ?
Thank you !!!
Love the video 👍💪
Happy Birthday! One Q is when using the credit card does it automatically know what to charge you without knowing where your going? That was a great vid Thanks!
Transit systems in the US suck. I got pretty good with the MRT and BTS while in Bangkok. By the end of the first day it's pretty easy. I will recommend your video to friends coming to Bangkok to explain the transit system. Good to know about Visa tap to pay for the MRT, but beware minimum foreign exchange fees from your US bank. I also overpaid for the taxi from the airport like a typical tourist, but still cheap compared to the US. Sometimes you are tired and don't feel like haggling. I did a Tuk Tuk in Chiang Mai. Went on the highway. I'm sure my life would have flashed before my eyes if I could have seen where we were going (I'm so tall the canopy prevented me from seeing straight ahead.)
Wishing you a very happy birthday 🎂 Forrest Lee from Bob Expat living in Thailand soon.
Nice one. Happy birthday(lately) Bro.
This year , New monorails is MRT Yellow and Pink line
Nice video.
Looking to coming to Bangkok.
Is there a way to combine travel on BTS & MRT without buying separate ticket ? Say, a stored value card etc ??
Is a foreign conversion fee added to the use of a visa card on the MRT???
thank you for information
Welcome to Thailand. The pink line is preparing to open this August. We give you a try and review there. There's a lot of new things in Thailand for you to discover.🎉
Thanks really useful content! On the MRT we both ( couple) have the same Chase Sapphire card. Can we each use that card traveling together?
Also, the rabbit card for BTS. Handy, as you don't need to continue to line up for tickets each and every time
Happy b day bro! I’ll be there in 14 days. Lets link up!
Its an incredible system .. the overlapping BTS skytrain and MRT underground metro .. only glitch is you need a top-up card for each system - MRT and rabbit cards.
Thank 🐦 you for your everyday practical video.
The sound is a little tinny.... so hard for me to hear but otherwise it's awesome!
The sky train looked easy enough. Can you get it from airport to central Bangkok? Cheers
Great content- definitely need to know stuff. HBD 🥳
Very informative video. Btw do they have top up style cards where you load an amount and it is reduced as you use the system. Once the balance is low you reload again.
Yes, they have. You need to show your passport though for registration and 30 baht fee.
@@Neednoy2 thank you bro…
Greetings from Norway to Mr Lee
Most Asian people live in the state probably get mug in the subway while talking on the cellphone. You’re lucky dude Thailand is really safe. 🤣🤣
What’s the conversion rates like using Visa card? Thanks
Thanks 😊
@ForrestLee: Could you please make a video on how to use both, non-airconditioned and air-conditioned busses in BK, and what are the ticket prices? That would be very helpful. I have a feeling that 99% of tourists do not use busses in BK at all. There is no clear map of bus lines, their routes, their schedule or cost per ride. Very confusing.
Hey Forrest! I enjoy your channel and i notice similarities between your way of approaching life and my. Would be great to hear your views on marriage and especially in the context of yourself in East,
Happy belated 🎉birthday 🎉🎉
Goooooood video!!!!!!!!!
Thankyou! Is that tap to pay common among businesses there in Bangkok?
I m your big fan
go go go
What was the name of the restaurant? Great video!
Great video. I'm in Bangkok right now and I am lost af
HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY 😊
But here is another tip, in non rush hour, If you have 3 or more people going to 2-3 station away, such as from Silom to Chinatown, it is cheaper to use the taxis, the cost of 3 tickets is almost equivalent or more than the taxi fare, and the taxi will take you to the front door of your destination. 😄
Happy Birthday 🍰🎉
Does Visa charge ant kind of exchange fee or service fee for using it on transit? Happy Birthday
Happy birthday 🎉🎉🎉