MahaNakhon: Bangkok Rising

It's not every night that you get the chance to attend the grand opening and lighting ceremony of a country's NEW tallest tower. Monday was such a night!

the MahaNakhon Tower

In the past few years, I've gotten to see the impressive twisting design of the MahaNakhon slowly rise up over the skyline. Some say it looks like it was designed in Minecraft or built with Legos. Some say it looks like a "glitch in the Matrix". I think it looks beautiful.

MahaNakhon has surpassed Baiyoke II, which opened in 1999, as the new tallest building in the country. Baiyoke has a restaurant with a revolving viewing deck up on the top. I hope MahaNakhon will have something similar! I would love to see the view, especially since the two towers are in different parts of Bangkok.

There were to be two light shows to mark the event, one at 7:30 and the other at 8:30. The who's-who of Bangkok were invited to the Night of Light's party at the base of the tower. The rest of us crowded together on walkways or on the street to try to get a good view. As for me, I was able to get a good view from the area near Chong Nonsi BTS Station, just outside the tower.

Pinky and I arrived in Chong Nonsi around half-past six. The tower stood dead and dark above the city, waiting to be brought to life. As we walked past the exclusive party at the base of the tower, the wind picked up and the sky darkened so suddenly that it was almost like a cartoon. Then the monsoon hit.

We huddled together with the other spectators on a small covered bridge at the station, waiting for the sudden torrential downpour to pass by. Finally, it did, but the lighting was delayed an hour. Then, there was an announcement. Music started to play. Someone threw the switch, and MahaNakhon came to life!

waiting for the grand opening!

Pictures can't really do a light show justice though, can they? I'll try to get a video of the event up this weekend if I can. I have to see if I was able to capture any good footage.

the lights have gone on!

Even though it was late, it was totally worth it to see such an exciting moment. I've gotten to see MahaNakhon as it slowly rose over the Bangkok skyline to become what I am sure will be an iconic part of the city. Hopefully they will have an upper-level observation area! I hope that I can take my family or friends there next time they visit.

From where I was standing, it was hard to get the whole tower in one picture. It would have been easier to see from further away, but we wanted to be right there for the grant opening! Anyway, here is my attempt to capture it in panoramic:

my attempt at capturing the tower in panoramic

If plans go ahead for the proposed construction of the comically tall but undeniably impressive Rama IX Supertower in 2021, MahaNakhon might not hold its top spot as tallest building in Thailand for very long.