Victory Monument, Bangkok

The monument stands where Phahonyothin, Phaya Thai and Ratchawithi roads meet in Ratchathewi district, north of central Bangkok. For most residents it is a place to change buses rather than a memorial, and the area stays busy from early morning until late at night.

It was erected in June 1941, after only a few months of design and construction, to mark the Franco-Thai War of 1940 to 1941 against the Vichy French authorities in Indochina. The government of Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram presented the result as a victory, although Thailand gained less territory than it hoped and the settlement was imposed by Japan. The names of 656 soldiers and civilians who died are inscribed on the base.

The Italian born sculptor Corrado Feroci, known in Thailand as Silpa Bhirasri, created the figures. The central obelisk is shaped like five bayonets joined together, and five bronze statues around it represent the army, navy, air force, police and civilians.

Its Western style contrasts with the Democracy Monument on Ratchadamnoen Avenue. Feroci himself was reportedly unhappy with how the statues and obelisk were combined.

There is no entry and no fee: traffic makes the monument itself unreachable on foot, so the best views come from the elevated walkways around the BTS Skytrain station, which opened in 1999. Dusk, when the obelisk is lit, is the best time. Half an hour covers the views, longer with a bowl of boat noodles at the canal side stalls near Wat Apai Tharam.

Bangkok's main bus hub on Phahonyothin Road

The monument sits inside a traffic circle that formed when Phahonyothin Road was built as the highway north under the Phibunsongkhram government. Today it is the central hub of Bangkok's bus network, with routes and vans fanning out in every direction, and locals have a saying that if you are lost in Bangkok, you should start at Victory Monument.

Victory Monument station, numbered N3 on the BTS Sukhumvit Line, stands above Phaya Thai Road and opened on 5 December 1999. Its skywalks circle the roundabout, so you can reach every corner and most bus stops without crossing traffic.

Boat noodles that moved off the Khlong Samsen canal

The noodle stalls by Khlong Samsen have a history. Vendors once sold kuaitiao ruea, boat noodles in tiny bowls, directly from boats moored on the canal, and trade peaked from the 1970s to the early 1980s. Around 1985, under Governor Chamlong Srimuang, the vendors were told to move onto land, which is why they now cook from shophouses along the bank. Small bowls make it easy to try several kinds. The nearby Wat Apai Tharam, an Ayutthaya period temple, is known locally as Wat Makok.