Phaya Thai District
| Phaya Thai พญาไท | |
|---|---|
| Khet | |
|
| |
 Khet location in Bangkok | |
| Coordinates: 13°46′48″N 100°32′34″E / 13.78000°N 100.54278°E | |
| Country |
 Thailand |
| Province | Bangkok |
| Seat | Sam Sen Nai |
| Khwaeng | 1 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 9.59 km2 (3.70 sq mi) |
| Population (2003) | |
| • Total | 72,495 |
| • Density | 8,156.7/km2 (21,126/sq mi) |
| Time zone | THA (UTC+7) |
| Postal code | 10400 |
| Geocode | 1014 |
Phaya Thai (Thai: พญาไท; IPA: [pʰā.jāː tʰāj]) is a district in central Bangkok, Thailand. Despite sharing a name, due to boundary changes Phaya Thai Road and Phaya Thai BTS Station are currently in the nearby Ratchathewi district.
Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) Chatuchak, Din Daeng, Ratchathewi and Dusit.
History
The Phaya Thai district was set up in 1966 taking areas that were part of Dusit and Bang Kapi districts.[1] It was named after Phaya Thai Road, a major road in the area. Since then, many changes to the district has been made. In 1973, the Huai Khwang district was separated from Phaya Thai. Later in 1978, as an effort to balance the population among districts, the boundaries between Phaya Thai, Huai Khwang, and Bang Kapi districts were modified.[2] A new Ratchathewi district was created, carving out the southern part of Phaya Thai in 1989.[3] Finally in 1993, some eastern part were moved out of the district to the newly formed Din Daeng,[4] leaving Phaya Thai with only one remaining sub-district, Sam Sen Nai as of today.
Note that, due to the split out of Ratchathewi, Phaya Thai Road is no longer in Phaya Thai district. It only runs through Ratchathewi and Pathum Wan. Similarly, Phaya Thai BTS Station is located in Ratchathewi, on Phaya Thai Road.
Administration
The district is sub-divided into only one sub-district (Kwaeng).
| 1. | Sam Sen Nai | สามเสนใน |
Places
A large portion of the district on the east side is occupied by Royal Thai Army. This includes Army stadium, and military owned TV Channel 5. Several other government offices are also located here, such as Government Savings Bank (Thai: th:ธนาคารออมสิน), Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
The population is more concentrated in the area called Saphan Khwai (Thai: สะพานควาย) with many shops, apartments, and a BigC shopping center.
The Thai Philatelic Museum is recently renovated and moved to the building behind the Samsen Nai post office at Saphan Khwai in December 2004. Rather small, among of the exhibits are awards Thai philatelists received from various international competitions together with photocopies of the winning entries, posters depicting rare Thai stamps, winning postage stamp designs. It opens to public on Wednesday through Sunday except holidays.
Wat Phai Tan (Thai: วัดไผ่ตัน) is the only Buddhist temple in the district.
Transportation
There are three BTS skytrain stations in Phaya Thai: Sanam Pao, Ari, and Saphan Khwai. The Bangkok MRT station Bang Sue is located on the extreme north-west corner of the district.
People
Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra (2001–2006) was an ex-police officer who began his career at Phaya Thai Police Station. Shinawatra and his political party, Thai Rak Thai were ousted in a bloodless coup in September 2006.
References
- ↑ พระราชกฤษฎีกาตั้งอำเภอพญาไท พ.ศ. ๒๕๐๙ (PDF). Royal Gazette (in Thai). 83 (39 ก special): 1–3. May 1, 1966.
- ↑ พระราชกฤษฎีกาเปลี่ยนแปลงพื้นที่เขตพญาไท เขตห้วยขวางและเขตบางกะปิ กรุงเทพมหานคร พ.ศ. ๒๕๒๑ (PDF). Royal Gazette (in Thai). 95 (48 ก): 180. 1978-05-02.
- ↑ ประกาศกระทรวงมหาดไทย เรื่อง เปลี่ยนแปลงพื้นที่เขตพญาไท และตั้งเขตราชเทวี (PDF). Royal Gazette (in Thai). 106 (208 ง ฉบับพิเศษ): 9. 1989-11-24.
- ↑ ประกาศกระทรวงมหาดไทย เรื่อง เปลี่ยนแปลงพื้นที่เขตพญาไท เขตราชเทวี เขตห้วยขวาง และตั้งเขตดินแดง กรุงเทพมหานคร (PDF). Royal Gazette (in Thai). 110 (184 ง ฉบับพิเศษ): 3–6. 1993-11-10.
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