With the massive bulk of the Skytrain, the incessant traffic on Bangkok’s streets and the soaring glass towers, you could be forgiven for thinking that there are no green spaces here at all. But, thankfully, there are some great Bangkok parks as well as a local peculiarity, the raised walkway. These high paths connect two of the biggest parks, and are being expanded to give access to other nearby streets.
Bangkok Parks – Benchasiri Park
Perhaps the easiest green space to find in Bangkok is Benchasiri Park that sits beside the Emporium Department store. The skytrain stop is Phrom Phong on one of the main streets of the city Sukhumvit. It is only 4.5 hectares in size and has a small lake, wooded lawns and footpaths. The south side of the park has sporting facilities, a public swimming pool, a basketball court and a skate park. It is a pleasant space to take a pause in a very busy area.
There are two other parks in the area to the south of the beginning of Sukhumvit Road; places of tranquillity near the party zone of the city.
Benchakitti Park
Much bigger and much more impressive than Benchasiri, is the Benchakitti Park down at the end of Soi 4 Sukhumvit. This has facilities on a much larger scale that include a sports centre and the park museum. If you miss your mutt, there is the Khaosod Dog Park on the north side (and if you miss your kitties there is the Cat Cafe on Soi 19 in Asok, near the Terminal 21 Mall). Given the size of Benchakitti, bicycles are available to rent and take on the surfaced riding paths.
Just within this Bangkok park there are three main swathes of greenery. Firstly, there are the attractive flowers of the gardens then there is a wilder area and an area of wetlands. The paths through all of this are great for walking and jogging, and there is a large, almost rectangular, lake on the east side.
This brings me to one, perhaps uniquely, Thai feature of this park and that is the raised walkways. These have ramps and allow you to look down on the nature and enjoy the view from above. The walkway extends to Soi 10 to the east, and in the other direction, west, takes us harmlessly over a horrendously busy multilane highway, enjoying pleasant views while on the way to…
Parks of Bangkok – Lumphini Park
Lumphini Park (Limphini or Silom MRT stations) has artificial lakes, a recreation centre, monuments and sculptures. There are boat rentals, yoga classes and a food court.
Further to the north of Bangkok is Chatuchak Park, with a subway station of the same name and similar features to the other Bangkok parks.
For more green spaces I refer you to this article by a colleague at TBA 40 on the campus of Chulalongkorn University (Hua Lamphong subway), a little to the west of Lumphini Park, or, at 200 hectares in a bend of the river, the Bang Kachao, and within it, the Sri Nakhon Khuenkhan Park. It is near the MRT metro Khlong Toei station.
It all adds up to a surprisingly large amount of parks in Bangkok in one of the world’s most fascinating cities.
