Travel Advice: Don't Trust The Nation!

[Guest fountainhall]

There was an unbelievable short piece of advice in the Traveller’s Check section of The Nation yesterday. Someone had written in asking for suggestions for a quick 6-hour sightseeing trip with his two children in Bangkok. This is what Vipasai Niyamabha, a highly experienced travel writer, said:

 

I would recommend you take the train to Saphan Taksin station right by the Chao Phraya River. From there, you have easy access to a pier with regular ferries and long-tail boat taxis to take you to see things along the river . . . Then you return to your meeting point on time by Skytrain. Hope you enjoy Bangkok!

 

http://www.nationmul...u-30187393.html

 

Well, it’s possible they might not enjoy their trip if they take Khun Vipasai’s advice. Perhaps Khun Vipasai does not actually read The Nation – or gaythailand.com, for that matter – for then he would certainly know that as of 8 weeks ago Saphan Taksin station no longer exists, and it's a long, hot 800-meter walk from Surasak station!

[Guest ReneThai]

A month ago Saphan Taksin was not yet closed. BMA is planning to close it , but TIT

 

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/BMA-to-close-Saphan-Taksin-station-to-ease-bottlen-30183268.html

 

http://bangkok.startpagina.nl

[Guest]

Closing the one BTS station with a good connection to the river boats is ludicrous.

Any fool can see public transport works at its best when there is good interconnection between routes.

[Guest fountainhall]

Thanks ReneThai. I had read recently that work had started on dismantling the platform, but I have not checked it personally. I will now do so - and apologise in these columns to The Nation and its writer if my information was wrong.

 

I agree that closing the station is idiotic, given the throughflow of passengers and its location. With the computer programmes now available, I simply do not understand why it is not possible to run the service with minimal delays and interruption even with a tiny part of the track in single operation. Perhaps, like the equipment which allowed BKK's radar to operate on emergency power without even realising it (leading to a shut down of the entire system for almost an hour), the BTS computer equipment is way out of date

[pong]

in every mag/newsppr etc tipically there are supplies ''fill-ins'' on the shelf lying there for some empty spot. I once had a short job for a kind of travel mag and also produced a load of them-travel bargains, some overclearly labelled'' summer-season only'' or etc. So what they did was printing them midwinter with some duhh office girl not able to read even the clearest signs. Did not bother me-was paid already. But in TH much moreas in EUR its a hell of a job to even check positively that some once noted things are still in existence, nt changed or moved or whatever.

[Guest fountainhall]

Mea culpa! I was at Saphan Taksin station today. It is definitely open and there is no sign yet of any equipment to pull down the platform. Around 11:30am, the station was very busy. Whenever they do pull it down, it is going to inconvenience a lot people, locals and tourists alike. Apologies for the incorrect information.