Ratchadaphisek Road (, ), also known as Bangkok Inner Ring Road () is a major road in
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...
,
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
. Conceived in 1971 and opened in 1976, it connects earlier portions including
Asok Montri,
Wong Sawang and
Charan Sanitwong Roads to form the city's inner
ring road
A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist in reducin ...
system. The road's name comes from the
silver jubilee
Silver Jubilee marks a 25th anniversary. The anniversary celebrations can be of a wedding anniversary, the 25th year of a monarch's reign or anything that has completed or is entering a 25-year mark.
Royal Silver Jubilees since 1750
Note: This ...
of the reign of King
Bhumibol Adulyadej
Bhumibol Adulyadej (5 December 192713 October 2016), titled Rama IX, was King of Thailand from 1946 until Death and funeral of Bhumibol Adulyadej, his death in 2016. His reign of 70 years and 126 days is the longest of any List of Thai mo ...
.
Ratchadaphisek Road crosses major traffic arteries such as
Sukhumvit,
Phahon Yothin,
Vibhavadi Rangsit,
Lat Phrao,
Phet Kasem,
Rama IV Road
Rama IV Road (, ; usually shortened to , ) is a main road in Bangkok, Thailand. It starts at Mo Mi Junction in the area of Chinatown, Bangkok, Bangkok's Chinatown in Samphanthawong District, Samphanthawong and Pom Prap Sattru Phai Districts and ...
and the
Si Rat Expressway. Areas around the road are served by numerous rapid transit stations;
Ratchayothin BTS station and
Asok BTS station of
Sukhumvit Line,
Talat Phlu BTS station of
Silom Line,
Wong Sawang MRT station of
MRT Purple Line
The MRT Purple line () or MRT Chalong Ratchadham line () is Bangkok's fifth rapid transit line, following the Sukhumvit Line, Silom Line, Blue Line, and Airport Rail Link. The line is long, serving the north-western area of Bangkok running ...
, as well as two long segments of the
MRT Blue line
The MRT Blue Line () or MRT Chaloem Ratchamongkon Line () is Bangkok's third rapid transit line, following the Sukhumvit line and Silom line of the BTS Skytrain. It is the first line of the MRT (Bangkok), MRT system and is operated by Bangkok Exp ...
(elevated section in Thonburi between
Tha Phra MRT station and
Bang O MRT station, and an underground section between
Lat Phrao MRT station and
Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre MRT station).
Ratchadaphisek entertainment district
The Ratchadaphisek district stretches from the junction with
Rama IX Road to the one with
Sutthisan Winitchai Road. It is a well-known entertainment area, including shopping complexes such as
The Esplanade, cinema complexes such as
Major Cineplex, a
night bazaar, and night markets as well as
love hotels.
Along with
Royal City Avenue (RCA) and
Patpong, portions of the district are designated as "entertainment zones" and thus allowed to remain open until 02:00.
Previously, in the 1980s, the same area was home to several large Thai restaurants in the form of garden restaurants. They were usually
traditional Thai wooden houses with waiters wearing distinctive
Thai costumes. The largest one was "Tamnak Thai" (ตำหนักไท, "Thai palace"). The restaurant was divided into four Thai houses, serving food from all
four regions of Thailand. The waiters wore Thai costumes but skates for speedy service. It later closed down and the owner reopened it under the name
Royal Dragon Restaurant
The Royal Dragon Restaurant () of Bangkok, Thailand was recorded in the Guinness World Records as the world's largest restaurant in 1992. The restaurant had seating for 5,000 diners. It was surpassed in capacity by the current record holder, the ...
on
Bang Na–Trat Road in the early 1990s, which
Guinness Book of World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...
has recorded as the world's largest restaurant.
Rapid Transit
* The
MRT Blue line
The MRT Blue Line () or MRT Chaloem Ratchamongkon Line () is Bangkok's third rapid transit line, following the Sukhumvit line and Silom line of the BTS Skytrain. It is the first line of the MRT (Bangkok), MRT system and is operated by Bangkok Exp ...
runs on Ratchadaphisek Road in two long segments; an elevated section in Thonburi between
Tha Phra and
Bang O stations, and an underground section between
Lat Phrao and
Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre stations.
Ratchadaphisek MRT station itself is in the northeast section of Ratchadaphisek Road, in
Din Daeng district.
*
Wong Sawang MRT Station of
MRT Purple Line
The MRT Purple line () or MRT Chalong Ratchadham line () is Bangkok's fifth rapid transit line, following the Sukhumvit Line, Silom Line, Blue Line, and Airport Rail Link. The line is long, serving the north-western area of Bangkok running ...
is located above Wong Sawang Intersection.
*
Ratchayothin BTS station and
Asok BTS station of
Sukhumvit Line is located above Ratchayothin intersection.
*
Talat Phlu BTS station of
Silom Line is located above Ratchadaphisek-Ratchapruek intersection.
References
See also
*
Ratchadaphisek MRT station
*
Suan Lum Night Bazaar Ratchadaphisek
*
The Esplanade (Bangkok)
*
Streets in Bangkok
{{Bangkok-stub