Park sights in Thailand
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A
Benjakiti Park
This 130-rai (20.8-hectare) park is built on what was once a part of the Tobacco Monopoly, a vast, Crown-owned expanse of low-rise factories and warehouses. There’s an artificial lake that's good for jogging and cycling (bikes can be hired) around its 2km track.
reviewed
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B
Phra Sumen Fort & Santichaiprakan Park
Beside Mae Nam Chao Phraya in Banglamphu stands one of Bangkok’s original 18th-century forts. Built in 1783 to defend against potential naval invasions and named for the mythical Mt Meru (Phra Sumen in Thai) of Hindu-Buddhist cosmology, the octagonal brick-and-stucco bunker was one of 14 city watchtowers that punctuated the old city wall alongside Khlong Rop Krung (now Khlong Banglamphu but still called Khlong Rop Krung on most signs). Apart from Mahakan Fort, this is the only one still standing. Alongside the fort is a small, grassy park with an open-air pavilion, river views, cool breezes and a bohemian mix of alternative young Thais and fisherman pants–wearing, fire…
reviewed
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C
Dusit Park
A modern country, King Chulalongkorn pronounced, needed a modern seat of government. And so Rama V moved the royal court from the cloistered city of Ko Ratanakosin to the open and manicured lawns of Dusit Park. There he built Beaux Arts institutions and Victorian manor houses. Confectionery buildings of fused Euro-Thai modes housed members of the royal family in a style that must have seemed as futuristic as today’s skyscrapers. All of this and the expansive gardens make Dusit Park a worthwhile escape from the chaos of modern Bangkok, with its egg-carton Bauhaus and blue-glass buildings.
Please note: because this is royal property, visitors should wear long pants (no…
reviewed
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D
Chuvit Garden
The story behind this park is shadier than the plantings. Chuvit Kamolvisit, the benefactor of the park, was Bangkok’s biggest massage-parlour owner. He was arrested in 2003 for illegally bulldozing, rather than legally evicting, tenants off the land where the park now stands (between Soi 8 and Soi 10). With all the media attention, he sang like a bird about the police bribes he handed out during his career and became an unlikely activist against police corruption. Chuvit later ran unsuccessfully for Bangkok governor in 2004 and successfully for the Thai parliament in 2005 and 2011. This park was one of his early campaign promises. It’s a pretty green patch in a…
reviewed
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E
Rama IX Royal Park
Opened in 1987 to commemorate King Bhumibol’s 60th birthday, this green area, about 15km southeast of central Bangkok, covers 81 hectares and includes a water park and botanic garden that is a significant horticultural research centre. There are resident lizards, tortoises and birds, and a flower and plant sale is held here in December. The park’s centrepiece is a museum dedicated to the life of the king. In 2009 the water park had yachting facilities added.
reviewed
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F
Saranrom Royal Garden
Easily mistaken for a European public garden, this Victorian-era green space was originally designed as a royal residence in the time of Rama IV. After Rama VII (King Prajadhipok; r 1925–35) abdicated in 1935, the palace served as the headquarters of the People’s Party, the political organisation that orchestrated the handover of the government. The open space remained and in 1960 was opened to the public.
Today a wander through the garden reveals a Victorian gazebo, paths lined with frangipani and a moat around a marble monument built in honour of one of Rama V’s favourite wives, Queen Sunantha, who died in a boating accident in 1880. The queen was on her way to Bang…
reviewed
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G
Sanam Luang
On a hot day, Sanam Luang (Royal Field) is far from charming – a shadeless expanse of dying grass and concrete pavement ringed by flocks of pigeons and homeless people. Despite its shabby appearance, it has been at the centre of both royal ceremony and political upheaval since Bangkok was founded. Indeed, many of the colour-coded protests you’ve probably seen on TV in recent years have been held here.
Less dramatic events staged here include the annual Royal Ploughing Ceremony, in which the king (or more recently, the crown prince) officially initiates the rice-growing season; an appropriate location given Sanam Luang was used to grow rice for almost 100 years after…
reviewed
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Sai Ngam
A bit east of town is Thailand's largest and oldest banyan tree, a 350-plus-year-old megaflorum spread over an island in a large reservoir. The extensive system of interlocking branches and gnarled trunks makes the 'Beautiful Banyon' look like a small forest.
reviewed
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King Taksin Park
The town's main oasis is filled with picnicking families and joggers. It's a pleasant spot for an evening stroll.
reviewed
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H
Thung Si Meuang
The centrepiece of this city-centre park is a huge concrete replica of a Candle Parade float. The humble brick obelisk in the northeast corner is the Monument of Merit, erected by former allied forces POWs (brought here for forced labour by the Japanese, who occupied Thailand during WWII) in gratitude for the secret assistance they received from ordinary Thai citizens while in the prison camps. The City Pillar Shrine (San Lak Meuang) is in the south.
reviewed
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Nong Prajak Park
Udon's most popular park starts to rev up as the afternoon winds down, and there's a lot to do here, from feeding the fish to riding a bike. A bike-hire outlet on the northeast shore has one-, two- and three-seaters for 20/40/50B per hour. Much of the action takes place on the sunset-watching side of the lake, along Th Thesa. Dozens of streetside massage artists start doing rubdowns around 2pm and paint-your-own pottery shops open two hours later. Restaurants serve all day.
reviewed
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Bueng Phlan Chai
Walking paths criss-cross the attractive, shady island in Bueng Phlan Chai and attract the usual crowd of doting couples, students, joggers and picnickers. The beloved walking Buddha statue is on the north side and the lak meuang (city pillar) is to the south.
reviewed