The journey by bus from Chanthaburi to Bangkok is scheduled to take 4 hours. There are no direct air or rail links between Chanthaburi and Bangkok.
Bus Timetable from Chanthaburi to Bangkok
Click on the Chanthaburi – Bangkok link in the timetable below for more information and to buy tickets.
| Chanthaburi - Bangkok ฿ 275 4h 30m | |
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Bus Stop in Chanthaburi
Bus services to Bangkok depart from Chanthaburi Bus Terminal, Wat Mai, Mueang Chanthaburi District, Chanthaburi 22000.
Arrival in Bangkok
Bus services from Chanthaburi terminate at Ekkamai Bus Terminal, 928 Sukhumvit Rd, Phra Khanong, Khlong Toei, Bangkok 10110.
Democracy Monument in Bangkok
Democracy Monument is an important large statue on Bangkok’s main road, the Ratchadamnoen Avenue, built in 1939 to mark the end of Absolute Monarchy in Thailand earlier in 1932. Democracy Monument is as controversial as it symbolic, and has become a rallying point for civil protests against military governments ever since.
Symbolism of the Monument
The monument itself consists of 4 large wings, each representing one of the four branches of Thailand’s armed forces (army, navy, air force and police force) around a central box holding a copy of the new constitution. The wings are 24 metres high representing the fact that Absolute Monarchy was abolished on the 24th June.
The decision to build the monument on the Ratchadamnoen Avenue is also highly symbolic as the road was constructed on the orders of King Rama V, inspired by a trip to Europe, to create a suitable location for royal parades.
Democracy Monument in BangkokPeriod of Military Dictatorship
The reason that the monument is controversial is that the end of Absolute Monarchy did not usher in an era of democracy. Instead, Thailand had come under the control of military dictatorship by the time the monument had been built. Whether the end of Absolute Monarchy in Thailand was a good or a bad thing, what it was in reality was the transfer of power from one group of elites to another, not to the people via the ballot box.
Non-Democratic Ideology
The design of the monument in many way reflects it’s distinctly non-democratic origins. It is recognisably similar to some of the artwork which was produced in Nazi Germany around the same period and the reliefs on the side of the statue bear more than a passing resemblance to the propaganda artwork of Stalin’s Russia.