THAILAND – Bangkok, Chareonkrung, Chang Nak Alley, the Golden Mount & Tha Dien Daeng // Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

When Bond comes to Bangkok, he doesn’t just visit the city – he sees the whole town in a five minute motorbike rush. These are the main stations of the chase.

She gives us a toothless smile and says: “Shames Bond Chai!”, pointing with her fingers upwards. James Bond, yes, you will find him above. The ways leads into a dark hallway of an unspectacular concrete building, then up a flight of stairs. So we step in.

The bike chase at Chang Nak Alley…

Why Bond was here
James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) travels to Ho Chi Minh City to go after Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce). The media megalomaniac wants to orchestrate a war between China and the UK – and profit from the coverage. After Bond and his partner Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh) narrowly escape from Carvers Skyscraper, his henchman hunt them through the streets and over the roofs – Bond and Wai Lin chained together to a motorbike.

…and how Chang Nak Alley looks today.

How you gonna get there
The action hadn’t been filmed in Ho Chi Minh City, but entirely in Bangkok. Several streets in the city center close to beautiful Golden Mount, near the famous Chinatown neighborhood and the southern Thonburi district were used.
This is how to find (and combine) them:

• The chase starts at Mana Witthaya Alley in front of Sinn Sathorn Tower – the one, Bond and Wai-Lin escape from.
• A lot of action then had been filmed at the roofs around Tha Dien Daeng in northern Thonburi. Just wander over there and ask the locals, if you can enter a building and see the flat roofs. They might not always understand you, but will be eager to help you. Everybody understands “James Bond”. ;)
• Nearby is Chang Nak Alley, a long commercial road cutting Thonburi in half. At the upper end, close to the Chao Phraya River, you will find the tunneled house, Bond drives through.
• Another scene had been filmed at Phitaya Sathian Bridge on southern Charoenkrung Road. You can either board a ferry at Chang Na Alley and head south to Si Phraya Pier – or walk some 20 minutes south from Hua Lamphong Train Station to reach the bridge.
• More stunt scenes are in a whole different area of town: at Borommabanphot Alley in front of the Golden Mount. The famous landmark is barely visible in the fast scene though.

The climax with the encircled helicopter then wasn’t filmed in Bangkok at all. It is a studio set.

Good to know
To wander the locations from Thonburi to Chareonkrung and Phra Nakhon is a great way to explore the different faces of Bangkok.

1. Thonburi is a quite local experience, people do still trade at the Khlongs, whereas floating markets in other parts of Bangkok are already extinct. As you wander the streets, you will discover many handcraft stores – from shoemakers to carpenters. Next to them, street vendors sell their fresh caught fish or local Thai and Chinese dishes. Houses are still small and sturdy, the Sinn Sathorn Tower (doubling for Carvers Ho-Chi-Minh-Headquarter) is the only real highrise in the area.
2. Chinatown on the other hand is not that laid back – but up and buzzing. Hip coffee joints and restaurants fill Chareonkrung Road, if you need a cool hostel to stay, you’ll find it here. Wander up north to explore the heart of Chinatown, then with markets that challenge all your senses. And with more Bond locations to come, the shower scene directly after the chase had been filmed here:
3. Phra Nakhon then is the heart of Bangkok, both historically and touristically. It hosts the Great Palace and the famous Wat Pho temple complex as well as some other sights like the Giant Swing or the Golden Mount. That is a beautiful and tranquil temple in a little mountain. While Bond just rushes along on his bike, you instead should hike up the hill. The city noises fade out, as you climb the steps. Golden Buddha statues stand beside you, bells fill the air with soft rings, a little river cascades down next to you. As you arrive atop, you can overlook Bangkok and relax to the gently breeze after a hot day.

Don’t try to press all locations into one day. It can be done, but it wont give you any pleasure. We took three days, to split the locations into its areas – and so had more time to explore each neighborhood individually.

© 2019 HuntingBond (1,3,4,5,6,7), © 1997 Eighteen Leasing Corp. and Danjaq, LLC. (2)