taking the bangkok subway

I tried the MRTA Subway for the first time since it opened 2 weeks ago. It's still on its opening run so the flat rate to any station is only 10 Baht. Unlike the BTS system that uses a card, the Subway uses a plastic coin that you only tap on the gate sensor. The only danger there being you can easily lose it since it only weighs as much as a bingo chip.

I got on the Lad Prao station, followed the people in front of me, and voila! -- I was in front of the platform. It's a bit of a walk down, 3 escalators to be exact, plus a few meters of walking. The tunnels remind me of the Ayala pedestrian underpass back in Manila. The station itself is still pretty bare, with only a few signs in Thai that I assume say coming soon (or something to that effect). It's not as bright and chirpy as the BTS stations though -- but maybe it's because people aren't used to taking the Subway yet. The announcement at every stop is way better than the BTS, at least the (I assume) recorded reminder of "please mind the gap between the train and platform" is said with an understandable accent. 

It took me 20 minutes from Lad Prao to the Queen Sirikit Convention Center. Not bad at all -- if I took a cab it would have taken me an hour or more with all the traffic that Bangkok seems to have an abundance of. Here's to hoping taking the Subway is the closest and fastest connection I'll have to Sukhumvit!   
 
Check out BangkokBob's link for more specific Subway info.