When driving around Thailand, one sees road signs saying BKK 300kms etc etc. All very well but where exactly in Bangkok are these signs talking about..

Being a huge sprawling metroplis there must be a landmark that is considered as the "centre" of the city and hence that is the point where the kilometre signs are taken from.

Anyone throw any light on this please

If its done the same in Thailand as it is done in the US then the measurement is taken from where the road ends or from where the road makes a major junction with another road.....usually.

Edit: Upon further reflection I think I'll add a disclaimer here....I have never worked with signage but what I said above is what I've been told. I have worked alot with mile stone markers and they are measured from the beginning of the road...in the US...I guess in Thailand you would call them kilometer stone markers.

I think they're measured to/from 'saan lak meuang' the city shrine near Wat Phra Kaew.

If its done the same in Thailand as it is done in the US then the measurement is taken from where the road ends or from where the road makes a major junction with another road.....usually.

In Australia it's usually done from GPO (General Post Office) to GPO.

If its done the same in Thailand as it is done in the US then the measurement is taken from where the road ends or from where the road makes a major junction with another road.....usually.

In Australia it's usually done from GPO (General Post Office) to GPO.

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That makes sense mate, I wonder how the kiwis do it

Mike is spot on. All road distances in Thailand are done from Lak Meuang to Lak Meuang and don't let anyone tell you different or I'll send Big Fat Dave round to sort them out!

In Australia it's usually done from GPO (General Post Office) to GPO.

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Same in the US, though it's done from the central post office (we don't use "GPO" AFAIK).

Why, I don't know ..but I think in London it is Marble Arch?

In London I thought it was Buck House??

I think you'll find that all distances in London are measured from where a cross used to stand near Trafalgar Square and Charing Cross station. Something to do with Queen Elanor years ago. There's a plaque on a traffic island that marks the exact spot.

If its done the same in Thailand as it is done in the US then the measurement is taken from where the road ends or from where the road makes a major junction with another road.....usually.

In Australia it's usually done from GPO (General Post Office) to GPO.

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That makes sense mate, I wonder how the kiwis do it

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from the MPSL to MPSL

I think you'll find that all distances in London are measured from where a cross used to stand near Trafalgar Square and Charing Cross station. Something to do with Queen Elanor years ago. There's a plaque on a traffic island that marks the exact spot.

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"Dear Queen" - "Chere Reine" - hence "Charing" cross

Mike is spot on. All road distances in Thailand are done from Lak Meuang to Lak Meuang and don't let anyone tell you different or I'll send Big Fat Dave round to sort them out!

Is Dave fatter than harry?

If its done the same in Thailand as it is done in the US then the measurement is taken from where the road ends or from where the road makes a major junction with another road.....usually.

In Australia it's usually done from GPO (General Post Office) to GPO.

That makes sense mate, I wonder how the kiwis do it

from the MPSL to MPSL

Sorry bloncs I missed that one... prease exprain?

Its easy to find out where the roads are measured from, you just get 2 really long pieces of string and tie one to the 1km marker on the North side of BKK and tie it off, now go to the 1km marker on the South side and tie it off.

Repeat this for East and West, now go to where the two pieces of string cross and that’s where all the distances are measured from.

This operation is best carried out on foot, as you don’t want anyone falling over the string when you pull it tight.

If its done the same in Thailand as it is done in the US then the measurement is taken from where the road ends or from where the road makes a major junction with another road.....usually.

In Australia it's usually done from GPO (General Post Office) to GPO.

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Now I'm getting some valuable info... thanks.

I used to think in Oz they measured distance from Bar to Bar

most population of sheep location

most population of sheep location

:D

Why, I don't know ..but I think in London it is Marble Arch?

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For years and years I have always thought it was Hyde Park Corner. Time for some research.

Roger

I've got a terrible idea abut I'll present it anyway. Lots of the posters live in Bangkok and drive cars....HEY YOU GUYS WITH THE CARS...go out and drive and when you get to a sign that tells the mileage to Bangkok then using your odometre go until you get to where ever the distance is and then report back to us as to where you were......I'll bet that you don't all end up in any where near the same place....

I always had the impression that the signage coming from the north towards Bangkok (i.e. along Highways 1 and 32) was measuring to the Victory Monument.

Why, I don't know ..but I think in London it is Marble Arch?

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For years and years I have always thought it was Hyde Park Corner. Time for some research.

Roger

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Yeah! Marble Arch/Hyde Park - same thing...maybe they've gone all scientific on us

In Australia it's usually done from GPO (General Post Office) to GPO.

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Same in the US, though it's done from the central post office (we don't use "GPO" AFAIK).

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I'd always heard it was from City Hall....

Whilst driving down to Surratthani one time my friend and I noticed that we were about 30 km from the next town...after driving for a while the sign declared an extra 5 kms to our destination...oh how we laughed...until we realised due to a bad bit of Thai sign reading at a service area we had done a "Uey" and were going the wrong way!

Just up the road from me is the km 28 marker at the Pathum Thani/Bangkok border on Vipawadee-Rangsit.

Anyone with a decent map should be able to work out roughly where 28km southbound into Bkk ends up.

Just up the road from me is the km 28 marker at the Pathum Thani/Bangkok border on Vipawadee-Rangsit.

Anyone with a decent map should be able to work out roughly where 28km southbound into Bkk ends up.

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Are you talking about a km marker?...a short concrete post with numbers on both sides showing how far for coming and going? or are you talking about traffic signs which are big, rectangular and flat, either on a tall post on the side of the road or overhead on a beam over the roaddway with text saying the name of the town (usually in Thai letters and western letters) along with the distance to the aforementioned town)? I believe that the OP was about signs....the big, rectangular and flat........

I was talking about the markers which are normally concrete posts. I say normally, because they (probably most in Bkk) have now been replaced by flat rectangular signs.

For bkk it is measured to the office of the mayor. Very close to democracy monument around KSR.

Directly opposite the most famous bread and milk place in thailand where the guy turning bread is basically a machine. He does the same task of buttering bread for hours on end. Pritty impressive.