The Sky Bar At Le Bua, Bangkok

Near the Chao Phraya river on Silom Road, perched high atop the Le Bua State Tower hotel sits the Sky Bar - and if you go for views, it's worth a visit. It's below the "V" in the photo above. The hotel refers to it as part of "The Dome", something you can't help but notice if you're in the area in the daytime; gold and gleaming high above the skyline along the riverside.

The effect while standing at the bar itself is much like that of swimming in an infinity pool: as you stand next to it you feel as though you're peering over the edge of the world, with nothing but a four-foot high glass divider between you and the street - 63 floors below. Granted, the outdoor revolving viewing platform of the Baiyoke Tower is higher by (I believe) about 15 floors, but there's a barrier there that eliminates the thrill of the Sky Bar.

As you can see if you click on and enlarge the header image today, the glass wall and brass handrail seem to actually stick out further than the edge of the building's wall below you. I'm NOT a fan of heights, but it's a compelling sight.

The walkway between the bar and the barrier was more than generously full the evening friends and I visited, and as drinks were very expensive (I'm remembering $10USD for a Diet Coke) we looked around for a while, took some photos and then went out for dinner elsewhere. There is a dress code - no flip-flop sandals, no shorts, no tee shirts, and they'll inform you of that if you try to just waltz through and into the elevator, trust me on this - but it's still worth a visit. There's no charge to just go up and look.

I took the two exterior photos from my room window out the back of the Om Yim Lodge. I'll post my pictures of the bar area when I do the post on the hotel itself.