Getting around and into town
Public Transport can be a little intimidating in Bangkok. There are many different systems and they serve different areas.
Basically though:
TO GET TO BANGKOK: The easiest thing to do is take a songteaw to the Airport link (see below).
For a cheaper, longer ride use the 1013 bus to On Nut (white, with a red stripe)
TO GET AROUND LAT KRABANG: Use the songteaw that go up and down the road (7-10 baht per trip). The 1013 is also useful. Be careful to keep an eye on where your songteaw is going, in case you have picked the wrong one.
TO GET TO SEACON SQUARE MALL: Wait for the SMALL 1013 bus, that goes to Seacon; it is only a 20 seater and it comes approximately every 30-40 minutes. Time to get to Seacon: 30-50 minutes depending on traffic.
Public Buses - Numbered buses serve a variety of routes. They are cheap but are prone to traffic conditions so do not bank on them if you are pressed for time. The fare typically ranges from 5-30 baht (Fan buses are cheaper than Air Conditioned). The buses do not all have a fixed colour scheme although those on the same route usually do.
Song-teaw - Literally "2 rows". These are small vans with partially open backs acting as more local transport on shorter routes. Fare is 7 baht regardless of distance (or 10 baht after 10pm). Press the bell when you want to get off and they will stop... sometime soon!
Taxi - Of course many of Bangkok's multicoloured taxi army are around at any time. Fare is 35 baht + distance rate.
ARL (Airport Rail Link) - This elevated metro line runs from central Bangkok to the airport and has a station at Lat Krabang. The fare from Lat Krabang to Phaya Thai is 40 baht. The ARL is accessible by taxi or song-teaw (or by foot - approximately 300m form the main road).
You can find motorcycle taxis (wearing orange vests) at around 20 baht per kilometer. These are useful for getting FROM the ARL back to Lat Krabang.
There are also minivans that go to various places nearby but they drive fast and have small signs that are only in Thai so they are extremely hard to use.
Basically though:
TO GET TO BANGKOK: The easiest thing to do is take a songteaw to the Airport link (see below).
For a cheaper, longer ride use the 1013 bus to On Nut (white, with a red stripe)
TO GET AROUND LAT KRABANG: Use the songteaw that go up and down the road (7-10 baht per trip). The 1013 is also useful. Be careful to keep an eye on where your songteaw is going, in case you have picked the wrong one.
TO GET TO SEACON SQUARE MALL: Wait for the SMALL 1013 bus, that goes to Seacon; it is only a 20 seater and it comes approximately every 30-40 minutes. Time to get to Seacon: 30-50 minutes depending on traffic.
Public Buses - Numbered buses serve a variety of routes. They are cheap but are prone to traffic conditions so do not bank on them if you are pressed for time. The fare typically ranges from 5-30 baht (Fan buses are cheaper than Air Conditioned). The buses do not all have a fixed colour scheme although those on the same route usually do.
Song-teaw - Literally "2 rows". These are small vans with partially open backs acting as more local transport on shorter routes. Fare is 7 baht regardless of distance (or 10 baht after 10pm). Press the bell when you want to get off and they will stop... sometime soon!
Taxi - Of course many of Bangkok's multicoloured taxi army are around at any time. Fare is 35 baht + distance rate.
ARL (Airport Rail Link) - This elevated metro line runs from central Bangkok to the airport and has a station at Lat Krabang. The fare from Lat Krabang to Phaya Thai is 40 baht. The ARL is accessible by taxi or song-teaw (or by foot - approximately 300m form the main road).
You can find motorcycle taxis (wearing orange vests) at around 20 baht per kilometer. These are useful for getting FROM the ARL back to Lat Krabang.
There are also minivans that go to various places nearby but they drive fast and have small signs that are only in Thai so they are extremely hard to use.
Public Buses (information courtesy of transitbangkok.com)
IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT 1013 BUS: There are two routes with this number, one goes to central Bangkok, the other goes to Seacon Square mall. The one going to Seacon is less frequent and a smaller bus (approx. 20 seater)
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Route details are kept deliberately simple but more information regarding all bus routes can be found at transitbangkok.com.
Different buses and songteaw on the same route may be a subtly different design or model than pictured. Buses usually stop anywhere but prefer designated bus stops. |
Route 1013 (to On Nut)
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Route 1013 (to Seacon Sq.)
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Route 517 (to Khampaen Phet)
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Song-teaw (lit. "2 rows")
These are the songteaw that operate in this area. Not every line runs the length of Lat Krabang road. Each songteaw route has a different design, although they can be quite hard to identify at night. Hail the songteaw in the same way as a public bus or taxi. They usually stop everywhere. The fare is 7 baht or 10 baht after 10pm.
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Airport Rail Link (ARL)
This relatively new, elevated metro line connects to central Bangkok and the BTS and MRT metro lines. Trains run approx every 15 minutes from 0600-2330. Several songteaw from Prawet and Hua Dta Kae go to the ARL station, which is about 500m from the main road and the Songteaw pulls off the overpass about 200m before the stop. Keep your eyes open for when to ring the bell, although there is a good chance someone else will be getting off there.
Also be aware that if you are changing with the MRT at Makkasan there is a short walk between the stations (5-10 mins).