Yesterday I set out to find a way to the new Central Plaza via the backroads. Without traffic, I can get to the mall via Chaeng Wattana within ten minutes. Sometimes Chaeng Wattana Road is seriously congested, and the short trip could take twenty or thirty minutes.
There are three gates into Nichada. The Samakee Road gate is probably the "main" gate where traffic enters. There is a gate that gives easy access to express (which requires you to be a member of the health club). The last gate is the Seechaithong Gate. Beyond the Seechaithong Gate is a Thai neighborhood of somewhat narrow streets.
I hopped on my bike and exited the Seechaithong Gate. It took me thirty or so minutes to find how to get to the mall through these back streets. The actual ride, once I knew the route, only took ten or so minutes. The challenge was that not all the streets go straight through, most of them dead end.
Today decided to go grocery shopping at the Top's grocery store at Central Plaza, and to drive the back route. I was driving about 20 mph when I approached a four way intersection with no traffic signs or signals. The other road seemed smaller, so I assumed that I would have the right of way. A motor cycle flew out in front of me traveling at about 40 mph. I slammed my breaks and only just missed him. If I had arrived a second earlier, I would have hit him. Had I arrived three or four seconds earlier, he would have slammed into me. Neither would be my idea of a good time.
After six years here in Thailand, we moved back to the U.S. Instead of returning to Ohio, we settled into California.
Showing posts with label chaeng wattana. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chaeng wattana. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Saturday, November 29, 2008
New Central Plaza
On Thursday, a new mall opened on Chaeng Wattana Road. The name is Central Plaza, and it is run by the premier plaza group here in Thailand. Here they use the term plaza instead of mall because some company has the trademark to mall or some other such nonsense.
The new Central Plaza is very nice. While its not quite as nice as the Central World downtown, it is very solid. It has two book stores that sell English books (Asia Books sells exclusively English language books) and there is even a pretty decent camera store there. There are a lot of good restaurants renting space as well. They have a movie theater on the seventh floor. Of course, there is the Central Department store anchoring the whole thing. Central is kind of like the Macey's of Thailand.
The Top's grocery store on the bottom floor is a huge plus. Its a lot easier to grocery shop there if I also need to pick up other non-grocery items.
The one thing I wish it had was a Toys-R-Us. Still, Central has a decent, albeit expensive, toy section.
If traffic is light, I can probably get to the mall within five or six minutes. I visited on Friday afternoon, and there was not a lot of traffic. In the evenings,h however, Chaeng Wattana can be quite busy. Tim and I, however, think that we can actually get there via some back roads, which would make traffic even less of a concern. If that is true, I could even ride my bike there.
The new Central Plaza is very nice. While its not quite as nice as the Central World downtown, it is very solid. It has two book stores that sell English books (Asia Books sells exclusively English language books) and there is even a pretty decent camera store there. There are a lot of good restaurants renting space as well. They have a movie theater on the seventh floor. Of course, there is the Central Department store anchoring the whole thing. Central is kind of like the Macey's of Thailand.
The Top's grocery store on the bottom floor is a huge plus. Its a lot easier to grocery shop there if I also need to pick up other non-grocery items.
The one thing I wish it had was a Toys-R-Us. Still, Central has a decent, albeit expensive, toy section.
If traffic is light, I can probably get to the mall within five or six minutes. I visited on Friday afternoon, and there was not a lot of traffic. In the evenings,h however, Chaeng Wattana can be quite busy. Tim and I, however, think that we can actually get there via some back roads, which would make traffic even less of a concern. If that is true, I could even ride my bike there.
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