Need Some Air Conditioning? Try Bangkok’s Sky Train

Lindsay and I chose to visit Thailand right in the middle of the “hot season.” The benefits of doing this is that you almost completely avoid the tourist crowds and there are numerous low season discounts on hotels to take advantage of. However, they don’t call it the “hot season” for no reason…it is extremely hot. To make matters worse Bangkok is a sprawling urban jungle and the concrete and asphalt trap this heat making it even hotter in the city (this phenomenon is called the urban heat island effect). Despite the heat Lindsay and I were running around the city of Bangkok trying to take in as many sights as possible. On one particularly hot afternoon we found ourselves exhausted but wanting to see more of the city. We decided to take a ride on Bangkok's Sky Train. This amazing train is part of Bangkok's mass transit system and glides gracefully on elevated tracks (very high off the ground) over central Bangkok. We got on the train near the National Stadium station with plans to simply ride a few stops. However, when we stepped into the train we couldn’t believe the air conditioning. It was pumping full blast and the train care literally felt like a refrigerator. We ended up riding the train over and over on the same loop until finally getting off to continue exploring. Not only was the air conditioning amazing but the view you get of the parks and buildings of Bangkok is spectacular. Were were sitting in air conditioning gliding along on a smooth train over central Bangkok…life couldn’t have been better. Eventually we got off the train and continued to explore. We were both totally rejuvenated and we owe it all to the wonderful air conditioning of Bangkok’s Sky Train.