Asiatique The Riverside - New Bangkok Attraction
Apr 28th, 2012, 05:23 AM
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Asiatique The Riverside - New Bangkok Attraction
I mentioned this in another thread, but since there was a lot of interest in Suan Lum night bazaar, I thought I'd make a separate post about the place so everyone would know about it, since it appears to be the most likely to succeed candidate for the 'new' Suan Lum.
I just got back from "Asiatique The Riverside", which is having its grand opening event this weekend. As you might have guessed, Asiatique is on the river. It occupies the old East Asiatic Company warehouses, which date from the mid-nineteenth century. The location is down-river from the Taksin Bridge pier, not far from the Anantara (formerly Marriott) and across the river from it. The warehouses have been restored and now house shops and restaurants.
Right on the riverfront are mostly big (and presumably expensive for Bangkok) restaurants. To your right as you come from the river is a row of pubs and smaller restaurants. Immediately back of the big restaurants are a lot of smaller shops. Most of these seem to carry nicer stuff that you may have seen at Suan Lum, but as you get further from the river, the goods get cheaper and tackier. There's a sort of food court in the middle with several cuisines on offer. Facing the street (Charoen Krung Road) on the other end of the project are several fast food outlets (MK, KFC, Dunkin, etc.)
The Joe Louis Puppet Theater and the Calypso ladyboy show will both be housed at Asiatique, although it looks like their building isn't quite complete yet. The place looks only about 50% occupied. All the shops on the main walkways are open, but if you walk into the interiors there are still a lot of vacant shops, although it does look like its filling up. There were a lot of people there looking around this evening. The place was much bigger than I expected, and they have room to expand, with plans for a 'proper' shopping mall and other buildings.
I'll probably visit here again in late May or early June, after I get back from one of my irregular visits to the mother-country.
Asiatique is open every day from 5 PM (yes, evenings only). There's a free shuttle boat from the Taksin Bridge pier about every 15 minutes from 5 pm until 11 pm. They use Chaophraya Express Boats (regular ones, not tourist boats) for the shuttle service, so look out for express boats with red roofs and red flags on the back. The Anantara shuttle boats will of course drop you off at Asiatique if you ask. If the weather looks dodgy and you don't want to take the boat, a taxi down Charoen Krung from the Taksin Bridge station should be relatively quick and painless.
I just got back from "Asiatique The Riverside", which is having its grand opening event this weekend. As you might have guessed, Asiatique is on the river. It occupies the old East Asiatic Company warehouses, which date from the mid-nineteenth century. The location is down-river from the Taksin Bridge pier, not far from the Anantara (formerly Marriott) and across the river from it. The warehouses have been restored and now house shops and restaurants.
Right on the riverfront are mostly big (and presumably expensive for Bangkok) restaurants. To your right as you come from the river is a row of pubs and smaller restaurants. Immediately back of the big restaurants are a lot of smaller shops. Most of these seem to carry nicer stuff that you may have seen at Suan Lum, but as you get further from the river, the goods get cheaper and tackier. There's a sort of food court in the middle with several cuisines on offer. Facing the street (Charoen Krung Road) on the other end of the project are several fast food outlets (MK, KFC, Dunkin, etc.)
The Joe Louis Puppet Theater and the Calypso ladyboy show will both be housed at Asiatique, although it looks like their building isn't quite complete yet. The place looks only about 50% occupied. All the shops on the main walkways are open, but if you walk into the interiors there are still a lot of vacant shops, although it does look like its filling up. There were a lot of people there looking around this evening. The place was much bigger than I expected, and they have room to expand, with plans for a 'proper' shopping mall and other buildings.
I'll probably visit here again in late May or early June, after I get back from one of my irregular visits to the mother-country.
Asiatique is open every day from 5 PM (yes, evenings only). There's a free shuttle boat from the Taksin Bridge pier about every 15 minutes from 5 pm until 11 pm. They use Chaophraya Express Boats (regular ones, not tourist boats) for the shuttle service, so look out for express boats with red roofs and red flags on the back. The Anantara shuttle boats will of course drop you off at Asiatique if you ask. If the weather looks dodgy and you don't want to take the boat, a taxi down Charoen Krung from the Taksin Bridge station should be relatively quick and painless.
Apr 28th, 2012, 05:43 AM
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I knew this was comming, but am glad to hear it has opened. It is suppose to have a big ferris wheel like the London Eye. Is that there? Glad to hear there are some nice shops as well as touristy stuff. Probably needs to be a combo to make a go of it. The puppets and Calypso will also help. What a gold mine for travel operators...Dinner and evenings entertainment for your group in one bus stop. If you see any reviews of places to eat, let us know. We will be at the Anatara in Nov. A new thing to do.
Apr 28th, 2012, 12:16 PM
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I saw this under construction when I was there in Feb (Pook has a great view of it!) and it looks super cool. I'm definitely going to try and visit during the 24hr layover we have in BKK in December, but look forward to more first-hand reports...and PICS!
Apr 28th, 2012, 04:24 PM
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Thanks, Michael. Good review. Sounds very interesting. Doubt that I will make it there in the two nights I have left here in BKK on this trip. But it's definitely in the mix for July! (Evelyne, for me the last couple of weeks of July... don't suppose you'll still be here then?)
Apr 28th, 2012, 06:37 PM
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@ carol Simpson, unfortunately no we are going to Siem Reap for 3 days and then picking up a cruise on the Amalotus for one week ending in saigon and spending another 5 days there. Would have been nice to get together again....
Apr 29th, 2012, 12:13 AM
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Sorry I will miss you, Evelyne, but it sounds as though you have a lovely tripped planned.
If you do a google search for asiatique bangkok, you can pull up a 9 minute + you tube video. The place looks interesting, for sure. It will be nice when it is all done, but I'll bet that takes some more time. Ferris wheel, Joe Lewis theater, Calypso Caberet show... etc. It will certainly be a good replacement for Suanlum.
If you do a google search for asiatique bangkok, you can pull up a 9 minute + you tube video. The place looks interesting, for sure. It will be nice when it is all done, but I'll bet that takes some more time. Ferris wheel, Joe Lewis theater, Calypso Caberet show... etc. It will certainly be a good replacement for Suanlum.
Apr 29th, 2012, 12:17 AM
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Karen - no Ferris wheel, yet. There is still a bit of construction going on around the edges, so maybe it's on the way.
Will & others - I'm posting a blog entry tomorrow with lots of pictures. Check http://ChiengFa.com on what will be Sunday night in the US. Here's a pretty sunset picture taken there to hold you over:
http://ow.ly/i/APgw
Will & others - I'm posting a blog entry tomorrow with lots of pictures. Check http://ChiengFa.com on what will be Sunday night in the US. Here's a pretty sunset picture taken there to hold you over:
http://ow.ly/i/APgw
Apr 29th, 2012, 10:34 PM
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The full log post with pictures is now up:
http://chiengfa.com/2012/04/30/asiat...ht-attraction/
http://chiengfa.com/2012/04/30/asiat...ht-attraction/
May 26th, 2012, 07:19 PM
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I thought I'd top this with a quick update:
I revisited Asiatique last night to see how it was coming along. A lot more shops are open now, including all the big river-facing restaurants. As you might expect, these are rather expensive (for Bangkok), with entrees alone costing 600 to 1,000+ Baht, but there are lots of cheaper options further away from the river.
The shop spaces inside the big warehouses are now mostly open. The fancy shops near the river are worth a look. There is a big variety of interesting stuff there, while further away from the water are the more typical souvenir shops. There were a few street performers here and there as well.
The theater building looks far from finished. There are shops open on the ground level, but on the upper floor where the performance hall will be there's just a big empty space, and not much sign of anything going on. I expect it will be months before Joe Louis or Calypso move in (maybe next tourist season).
The shuttle boats going there can be quite crowded, but the traffic is even worse. Definitely go by boat.
I revisited Asiatique last night to see how it was coming along. A lot more shops are open now, including all the big river-facing restaurants. As you might expect, these are rather expensive (for Bangkok), with entrees alone costing 600 to 1,000+ Baht, but there are lots of cheaper options further away from the river.
The shop spaces inside the big warehouses are now mostly open. The fancy shops near the river are worth a look. There is a big variety of interesting stuff there, while further away from the water are the more typical souvenir shops. There were a few street performers here and there as well.
The theater building looks far from finished. There are shops open on the ground level, but on the upper floor where the performance hall will be there's just a big empty space, and not much sign of anything going on. I expect it will be months before Joe Louis or Calypso move in (maybe next tourist season).
The shuttle boats going there can be quite crowded, but the traffic is even worse. Definitely go by boat.
