Top 5 Parks in Bangkok

Posted on May 3, 2014 by koomatzu

Bangkok is great for exploring botanical gardens and natural parks. Many of the parks in Bangkok are very well maintained and clean – a great way to cool off and break up a day of sightseeing. Just don’t get freaked out by the monitor lizards while you’re relaxing on the grass!

Here are a couple of the top parks in Bangkok that I’ve found so far:

Best Parks In Bangkok

1: Lumpini Park – Bangkok’s most popular park

This may be too predictable to some, and for that I apologise – but Lumpini Park is THE park that comes to mind when people think of Bangkok. It’s where locals, tourists and expats alike come to chill out and cool off under the shady tropical canopy, right in the centre of Bangkok. Lumpini Park is located right next to Silom, making it a great break from exploring all of the busy shops and sights of the area such as Japanese street.

Although not the largest, Lumpini Park is one of Bangkok’s biggest parks and has pretty much everything in one place: a lake with pedalos, bikes for hire, outdoor gym, indoor fitness centre and a host of different maintained gardens. Lumpini is always bustling with joggers, cyclists, inquisitive tourists and locals lazing on picnic mats, it’s fantastic for people watching.

2 Benjakiti Park – Man-made and perfectly maintained

Benjakiti Park is my personal best park, completely underrated as one of Bangkok’s most beautiful parks. It lacks the more rugged and natural beauty of parks such as Lumpini, however it’s ruthlessly maintained grounds offer a delightful, contrastingly ‘neat’ beauty, with open panoramic views of the Bangkok cityscape across it’s lake.

The Bangkok Park is often lined with purple flower beds as far as the eye can see, with perfect colour themes and maintained flower displays always immaculately kept. During the daytime, Benjakiti Park offers an unbelievably tranquil and peaceful atmosphere for a capital city, completely free of people during the work hours. However it also offers a wonderful contrast of a vibrant atmosphere during the evenings when it is buzzing with runners, students, and newlyweds and graduates having photo sessions. It’s totally enjoyable at either time of day, evenings being a great time for people watching by the lakeside.

Although it’s not as huge as its gigantic sister parks of Bangkok, Benjakiti Park makes an easy detour from shopping at Terminal 21, or visiting an expo at the convention centre next door.

3 King Rama IX – Flowers Galore

The King Rama IX Park boasts the title of Bangkok’s largest pack at a massive 200 acres in size. It costs 20 baht in entrance fees (50p or 80 cents), however this is a bargain considering how long you could potentially spend exploring the park. There are absolutely loads of different nurseries and themed gardens to explore, plus a museum dedicated to King Rama IX.

If you love flower displays, be sure to visit King Rama IX park during December, when the whole park is covered in elaborate flower displays to commemorate the King’s birthday. You’ll find everything from simple colour patterns in the flower beds,to charming displays of flowerpot men and elaborate flower houses.

4 Tae Chio Cemetery & Park – Off the beaten track ruggedness

If you’d rather explore off the beaten track and away from the tourist scene of Bangkok, the Tae Chio Cemetery offers a contrastingly hidden and rugged change of scenery. You won’t find impressive flower displays and neatly maintained lawns here, however you will get a glimpse into the everyday lives of Thai locals.

Strolling through the shaded park path, you might come across elderly men playing board games; people working out in the outdoor gym; youths enjoying a game of the acrobatic version of football known as Takraw; and hidden shrines and Chinese temples. It feels refreshing to be able to discover – without mention in the guidebooks – some of the hidden gems around Tae Chio Cemetery.

5 Wachira Benthat Butterfly Park – Cycling in Bangkok

Wachira Benthat is Bangkok’s 2nd biggest park at 150 acres big. It also boasts close proximity to the neighbouring Queen Sirikit Park, Chatuchak Park and the hugely popular Chatuchak Market. Wachira Benthat offers a more natural landscape in comparison to Bangkok’s other parks, there aren’t really any flower displays and landmarks as such, however the grounds are flat and extensive – ideal for a bike ride. 99% of the visitors to this Park will be on bike and it’s worth hiring one for a nice shady bike ride in Bangkok.

Suan Luang Rama IX Park Bangkok

Posted on February 15, 2014 by koomatzu

Despite being lesser known than Bangkok’s other parks, Suan Luang Rama XI Park is the biggest in the capital at over 200 acres big. With a plethora of themed gardens and a huge flower display in commemoration of the King of Thailand, a visit to the park makes a refreshing rest from the craziness of Bangkok city.

King Rama IX Park

Close to the entrance of King Rama IX Park, you’ll find a hedge maze, a huge lake and an S&P restaurant. The S&P restaurant has a small terrace overlooking the lake if you fancy fuelling up or cooling off in the air con before taking a walk around the park. If you feel like it, you can even take a quick ride on the rather aged pedalos just outside the restaurant.

Just beyond the lake, you can see a prominent futuristic-looking building which houses a museum dedicated to the King. I’ve not visited myself, but for anybody interested in Thailand culture and the King it might be worth a look.

Past this point of the park it’s ridiculously easy to get lost in the hugeness of the grounds. Deep within the grounds though, there is plenty to explore: a plant nursery, botanical gardens, an outdoor gym, tai chi classes and, best of all, a beautiful Thai pavilion that sits right in the middle of a peaceful lotus pond.

King Rama IX Park is also home to a number of themed gardens from around the world including an Italian garden, French garden, a Japanese bonsai garden, American cactus garden and even a garden of giant topiary animals.

December Flower Festival Bangkok

The best time to visit King Rama IX Park is during December, the King’s birth month, when the park comes alive with amazing, colourful flower displays. The flower displays are absolutely huge and offer a mix of both tasteful flower beds as well as other quirky plant-related scenes. From sun flower gardens and rainbow patterned flower beds as far as the eye can see, to life-sized flower people, flowerpot Wellington boots, giant heart-wreaths of roses, and quaint little ‘play house’ style settings.

However, during the flower festival in December, King Rama IX Park is considerably busier than the rest of the year. The park grounds are teaming with local kids on school trips, camera-trigger happy Japanese tourists and teams of wedding photographers snapping photos of young couples.

In fact, I’ve never seen so many brides in one place as I have at Rama IX Park during the Bangkok flower festival – I must have seen five different wedding couples in the space of one hour. Despite the hugeness of this flower festival though, there are still a few Western tourists that seem to visit the park.

How to get to King Rama IX Park

The King Rama IX Park is only really reachable by taxi as it’s about a 15 minute drive away from the nearest BTS skytrain station. The nearest BTS skytrain station is Udomsuk station – from here, it’s best to catch a taxi. Ask the taxi driver to take you to ‘Suan Luang Rama gao’ and he should know where it is.

Suan Luang Rama IX Park is located close to Paradise Park Mall and should cost around 70 Baht for the journey. Once you get to the park, you will have to pay a 10 baht entrance fee – can’t really complain about such a cheap entrance fee…

Wachira Benthat Butterfly Park Bangkok

Posted on November 4, 2013 by koomatzu

Hidden behind Chatuchak Park, far away from the busy main road, the Butterfly Park offers a tranquil sanctuary from the craziness of Bangkok city. If you fancy a peaceful bike ride amongst natural surroundings, a visit to the Wachira Benthat Butterfly Park is a must.

Wachira Benthat Butterfly Park

The park itself is surprisingly huge considering it’s hidden away location off the Bangkok beaten path, perhaps even bigger than the more famous Lumpini Park. You won’t find so many of the pretty flower displays like you’ll see in the standard public parks of Bangkok – the overall look of Wachira Benthat Butterfly Park is a little rough around the edges: overgrown and slightly hilly.

However, this wild, natural environment offers an inviting landscape of solitude with plenty of picturesque lakes to add to it’s beauty. As you wander around the spacious Bangkok park, you’ll notice the odd couple snoozing on the grass, workers taking a sneaky nap in one of the podiums and cheeky groups of local kids skiving off school.

At the northern entrance of the park, visitors can relax in the quiet cafe and restaurant which serves cheap Thai meals and smoothies. There is even a mini amusement park where kids can ride their bikes around a miniature track.

Cycling in Bangkok

The main focus of the Bangkok Butterfly Park is the large cycle path that runs through it; 99% of the people you come across in Wachira Benthat Butterfly Park will be riding a bike. It’s not ideal to explore the park on foot due to it’s huge size, but the flat landscape and wild surroundings make for an ideal bike ride in Bangkok.

Unfortunately, I never actually found where exactly to hire the push bikes that I saw everybody else riding. Apparently, if following my directions to the insectarium below, the bike hire area is located to the left of the bridge in the opposite direction to the Butterfly Gardens. I have a feeling they may be available from the Dream World amusement park pictured above.

Bangkok Butterfly Garden & Insectarium

As well as being ideal for cycling, Wachira Benthat also has it’s own butterfly garden and insectarium. The insectarium has some beautiful flower displays and a range of butterflies to admire and photograph. What’s best of all though, is that admission is free!

To get to the butterfly garden and insectarium, it is easiest to enter the park from Kamphaeng Phet 3. Enter the park through the large vegetable garden courtyard, then straight on across the right side fork in the path. You’ll notice a ‘relaxation area’ just ahead to your right: just past here is a rather ugly, metal bridge. Cross the bridge and turn right for a couple of hundred metres.

How to get to the Butterfly Park in Bangkok

The best way to find the Bangkok Wachira Benthat Butterfly Park is to take either the MRT to Chatuchak Park or the BTS to Mo Chit – either way will take you directly to Chatuchak Park. You then want to make your way to the other side of Chatuchak Park from here – It can be kind of frustrating trying to find an exit so just try and make your way out at the opposite side first!

When you exit the park, you’ll find yourself on Kamphaeng Phet 3 road. Walk along this road to the right and you should pass a complex called Jatujak Green. Eventually, you’ll find yourself at the gates to a vegetable courtyard that leads to Wachira Benthat Park.

Bangkok To Kanchanaburi

Posted on September 6, 2013 by koomatzu

A weekend in Kanchanaburi

Kanchanburi is a peaceful and picturesque area of Thailand just a two hour drive (130 km) away from Bangkok. Kanchanaburi is mainly famed for it’s historic Bridge Over The River Kwai as well as arguably boasting some of the best waterfalls in Thailand. If you’re looking to spend the weekend away to escape the hustle and bustle of Bangkok, Kanchanaburi is ideal.

Attractions and hotels in Kanchanaburi are relatively spread out from the main town area so it pays to rent a car to get around Kanchanaburi – some of the waterfalls are as far as 70 km away from the main town. Songthaews are plentiful though, and their prices are pretty reasonable.

Although public buses are easily available in Kanchanaburi, these take a very long time and it may not be worth some people’s time if they are only staying in Thailand on holiday temporarily. Typically, a two night stay is long enough for a quick trip to Kanchanaburi.

How to get from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi

The best way to get from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi is by minibus. You can catch a mini bus for 120 baht at the Phayathai minibus station. Just take the BTS to Phayathai, follow exit signs for the Victory Monument and you will find a small station at the bottom of the steps. The minibus to Kanchanaburi only takes about two hours.

Trains and public buses are available from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi but can be unreliable and slow. You can check the bus timetable here – just make sure to head to the Southern bus terminal only as the website is a little outdated. Once you arrive in Kanchanaburi, a Songthaew will cost between 100 and 150 baht to take you to your hotel.

Where to stay in Kanchanaburi

When booking accommodation in Kanchanaburi, it is important to look into the details of the location of the hotel. If you’re keen to explore the nightlife and restaurants of Kanchanaburi, opt for a hotel in Kanchanaburi town. The liveliest part of Kanchanaburi town is based towards the River Kwai Bridge.

Good Times Resort is located nearby the bridge and is a brand new, reasonably priced hotel with friendly staff and close proximity to the main attractions and nightlife of the main town. Even closer still, is the more luxurious Felix River Kwai Hotel.

If you’d prefer a tranquil escape in the countryside of Kanchanaburi, Royal River Kwai Resort offers a spa style getaway amongst beautiful surroundings. The Mida Resort is also located a little further into the country of Kanchanburi and offers the choice of beautiful villas, riverside camping, luxury spa and cool activities like quad biking.

Top things to do in Kanchanaburi

Take a boat ride along the river – You can charter a long-tail boat from a couple of different stops along the river, the easiest place to hire one being around the River Kwai Bridge. The Floating Restaurant located next to the bridge rents boats for 800 baht an hour and they fit up to 8 people. A trip along the river allows you to stop off at many of the attractions along the way such as caves, shrines and the famous War Cemetery.

Explore the waterfalls – Kanchanaburi is home to dozens of waterfalls and different national parks, however the most popular waterfall among visitors and locals is Erawan National Park Waterfall. Erawan waterfall is located about 70 km away from the town centre so you will need to take a songtaew or drive. Entry costs 200 baht for non-Thais or 60 baht for expats if you bring your work permit.

The waterfall has seven tiers in total and take around a 40 minute walk through monkeys and forest to reach the top, largest waterfall. Erawan waterfall gets very busy with people swimming and sliding down the rocks so if you’d prefer a quiet, tranquil scene, then it would be best to leave as early as possible in the day. Be prepared for the badass gangs of fish in the waterfalls though, they’re pretty nibbley and some of them about as big as my arm…

Visit the Bridge Over The River Kwai – Of course it wouldn’t be a trip to Kanchanaburi without a historic visit to the River Kwai Bridge. Located right in the centre of activity in the main town, you can take a ride on the train across the bridge, visit the war museum and take some photos on the bridge. If you want to beat the crowds, head there earlier in the morning rather than later.

Things to do at night in Kanchanaburi

Make sure to check out the Kanchanaburi Night Market located next to Kanchanaburi train station on Sangchuto Road. Open from 6pm until 10pm, the Thai night market is not too big and overwhelming like some of Thailand’s other more famous markets. It’s not overly busy and attracts mainly Thais than western tourists, making the Kanchanaburi night market all the more authentic and different.

The night market sells an array of clothing, underwear and shoes at very cheap prices, much cheaper than other areas of Thailand. However, my favourite part about the Kanchanaburi night market is the multitude of super cheap food stalls selling Thai snacks, desserts and meals. If sampling Thai snacks and food excites you, you will love the night market!

The bars and nightlife of Kanchanaburi are mainly accumulated along the River Kwai Road (or, in Thai, Maenam Kwai road). All the popular tourist bars are located towards the eastern end of the River Kwai Road from the River Kwai Bridge. There are a good selection of bars from blaring dance music and backpacker-filled live reggae bars, to quieter bars with pool tables and girl bars.

For some nightlife a little more Thai-style, the River Kwai Hotel has a very cool bar at the front of the hotel complex called the Cowboy Bar. The Cowboy Bar is an open roofed bar with live Thai bands and chilled out, young Thai patrons. Staff don’t tend to speak English and the environment is a little more dressed up and calm compared to Maenam Kwai road.

The hotel also has a nightclub called Glitzy, a very popular nightclub in Kanchanaburi which has live bands every night. The music at Glitzy is mainly Thai and the club attracts a very young crowd.

Tae Chio Chinese Cemetery, Sathorn

Posted on May 26, 2013 by koomatzu

Tucked away amongst the backstreet sois and nestled within the multitude of Bangkok skyscrapers of Sathorn, you can find a peculiar and unconventional Chinese graveyard; it’s an all-in-one park, gym, temple and hangout for the locals. It’s off the beaten track and hard to find unless you know about it, you don’t tend to find it in the guide books and you won’t find tourists there. It has the beauty and evocative history of the Chinese temples only without the tuk tuks and sometimes tacky tourist charades that come with some of the other more popular tourist sites.

There is a lot more to this unheard of Bangkok park than just your traditional temples though – you’ll find everything from old geezers playing cards and drinking tea, to pensioners playing tunes on the harmonica or singing classic thai songs on random karaoke machines; locals jogging through the Chinese cemetery, pumping iron to the backdrop of a colourful temple, or youths playing lively Takraw matches.

It’s quite an odd mish mash of activity considering the solemn and spiritual mood that usually lingers in the atmosphere of a standard graveyard. But nonetheless, it’s refreshing and completely typical of Thai culture and it’s laid back, open minded approach to life. If you prefer to see culture and everyday life in an authentic and chilled out setting – basically if you’re bored of repetitive, somewhat sheltered tourist sights and displays – a trip to Tae Chio cemetery can make for a pleasant change.

If you drop by during the day, you’ll find it to be a peaceful, unique park to sit and snack on some of the street food and snacks from the outside Bangkok sois. If you head to the cemetery at sunset, you’ll find it to be a lively and entertaining hangout for the younger locals just finishing work and school. Next to the gym and main chinese temple is a Takraw court -Sepak Takraw is a popular Thai sport which I can only describe as being like a fusion of football, volleyball and acrobatics. It makes a really interesting sport to spectate and if you visit the cemetery in the evening, it’s likely you might be able to catch a game.

The gym at the cemetery is very much like the more well know outdoor gym in Lumpini Park, only I believe it to be a little more relaxed, less intimidating than the ‘beefcake feel’ of Lumpini park, and the Temple setting more distinctive and appealing to the eye. As a whole, the Tae Chio graveyard is a little rough around the edges – it’s not like the immaculately maintained, better known parks of Bangkok – but it has a spirit, creativity and vibe of a whole new level.

How to get there

Take the BTS to Surasak station in Sathorn and take exit 2. Continue with the direction of the traffic until you get to the main cross roads, continue left around the corner (soi 17) and follow the soi (Charoen 1) past the Seven Eleven. Head on into the soi, following left round the bend until the you see an apartment block called Sara Residence. Shortly after this the road forks straight ahead and right – Take the right turn and after about a hundred yards you’ll find the park on your left.

Surasak station is located next to Saphan Taksin station and just past Sala Deng BTS. Saphan Taksin is the main ferry hub to travel along the Chao Praya river and Sala Deng, Silom has many modern bars, shops and restaurants to hang out at. Sathorn and the Chinese Cemetery make for a convenient stop off if visiting these nearby Bangkok stations.

Lumpini Park

Posted on May 23, 2013 by koomatzu

Lumpini Park, Bangkok’s first public park, was opened by King Rama VI in 1925 – you can find his statue at the main gates. It was named after Lumbini, the famed birthplace of the Buddha in Nepal. The Bangkok park offers huge, natural open grounds of lush, shaded greenery and peaceful lakes.

You will find a serious amount of Bangkokians snoozing on the lawns and benches around Lumpini park but on the other hand, exercise is greatly encouraged within it’s walls – the sheer size of the park makes it very popular with runners and great for cycling in Bangkok (although cycling is only officially allowed between 10 am and 3pm). You can even find an outdoor gym full of hulking Bangkok locals benching tyres on rusty bars as well as other random exercise equipment throughout the park grounds.

The large old trees that line the paths in Lumpini park make it a refreshing stop in Bangkok to cool off in the shade. There are many open areas to stop and rest or have a picnic but there are also more interesting displays such as the Palm Garden – an array of gigantic, tropical trees; the Chinese pagoda – set amongst an arrangement of flowers, overlooking the stillness of the lake; the lake island hidden amongst it’s many palms and floral displays.

To the locals of Bangkok, Lumpini park is more than just a display of flora and fauna, it also has a library, school, social club, homeless centre and a youth centre which offers sports activities like tennis, swimming and basketball. On the last Sunday of every month from around 7.00 until 9.00am, local monks hold Buddhist Sermons; During February to April, the palm garden hosts live music from 16.30 every Sunday. Pedal boats and rowing boats are available for rent for 30 baht per half hour. If you can wake the boat guy up anyway.

There are currently, as of 2013, building works being undertaken around parts of Lumpini Park which make it a little less peaceful and calm as it could be. The maze-like roads that wind through the park are also used by a surprisingly large number of trucks, either construction related or just garden maintenance related (e.g. they use one fire engine-looking truck to water all the foliage around the Bangkok park). Lumpini park is so big though that it is possible to escape these disturbances – For a more calm and peaceful park in Bangkok though, it may be worth checking Benjakiti Park.

How to get to Lumpini Park

You can either take the MRT Subway to Lumpini and follow signs within the station to the park, or you can take the BTS Sky Train to Sala Deng and follow signs from there to the MRT.

Benjakiti Park

Posted on May 17, 2013 by koomatzu

Peace amongst the hustle and bustle of central Bangkok…

Benjakiti park lives in the shadow of the more famous and renowned Bangkok park, Lumpini Park. Benjakiti park is extremely quiet, maybe you’ll come across the odd jogger or cyclist, there seem to be an oddly large number of security officers and gardeners working there as well – and thats about it… It’s actually located close by Lumpini Park and in easy walking distance of Asoke’s Terminal 21 (you can read about Terminal 21 here) so makes a contrasting break from a day out shopping in Bangkok.

The man-made lake at Benjakiti park occupies the majority of the landscape, with decking and seating looking out over the water and the Bangkok sky scraper reflections. From the decking area running along side the rectangular lake, the view is a beautiful juxtaposition of the modern city scape and colourful natural beauty of the Bangkok park itself. By no means is it a natural, wild looking park though – the gardens are well maintained and the layout has a structured, methodical feel – uniform rows of bold, purple flower displays line the lake with constistancy and punch.

Some may not like the unnaturalness of Benjakiti Park, but I personally see it’s perfection as striking. Ironically, the lack of other people due to it’s underatedness make it incredibly more peaceful and the over-employment of gardeners there make it absolutely immaculately well kept! Benjakiti park is a little smaller than Lumpini park, so is maybe not as great a place to go long distance jogging in Bangkok (ideal if you run about 2km though), but it does have it’s own outdoor exercise equipment for a cheap workout. There are also peddle boats to take out on the lake – although I have never once seen anybody using these either.

You may also be interested to check out the nearby Retro Live Cafe – ideal for lunch with friends in Bangkok. It opens for lunch between 11am and 2.30pm and the international buffet costs 420 baht per person. On evenings, particularly Fridays, they boast live music performances from famous bands and singers.

How to get to Benjakiti Bangkok Park

The easiest way is to take the MRT to Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre. Take exit 3 to the Convention Centre and then carry on walking left up the road once outside the station. Benjakiti park is also about a 10 minute walk from Asoke BTS station.

Erawan Elephant Museum, Bangkok

Posted on March 18, 2013 by koomatzu

Located just on the outskirts of the city of Bangkok, you can find the unmissable Erawan Museum- a unique museum in that it is enclosed within a 43 metre tall, giant elephant. It was built in 1967 by an eccentric multi-millionaire resident of Bangkok to preserve his collection of antique art and to showcase the four major religions of Asia. The grounds of the museum consist of beautiful gardens with carpe ponds, ornate statues surrounding the museum and a shrine built into the structure of the towering three-headed elephant above.

The main museum and shrine

Below the elephant building is the small museum dedicated to the history of Sukhothai and antique pottery of the region. The lobby-like area above this and under the shrine itself is very elaborately decorated with an extravagant and colourful circular staircase swirling around the dome shaped room up to the beautiful stained glass roof at the top. At the top of this level, you can either take the elevator or continue climbing yet more winding stairs which bring you into the body of the elephant itself.

Lobby area inside

Here, there is an interesting and unconventional shrine located at the very top of the structure, brightly decorated with a less traditional and modern edge to it than the more historical temples in Bangkok. There is also a small window at the top where you can view the scenery and gardens from above. Due to the actual size of the gardens and museum, a visit to Erawan Museum would need no more than an hour for many people. However the gardens, although small in size, have some intriguing sculptures and attractive flora for a little extra entertainment and relaxation.

Surrounding gardens

Entry to the Erawan Museum in Bangkok costs 300 baht for foreigners and 150 baht for Thais. It is open 8.00 am until 5.00 pm daily

How to get to Erawan Musem:

Take the BTS skytrain to the terminal station at Bearing. A taxi from here should only take 5 or 10 minutes and will cost around 55 baht depending on traffic. In thai, Erawan Museum is ‘peepeetapan erawan’.

Tip: Erawan Museum is a religious site, it is wise to try to dress a little more modestly to avoid the risk of being denied entrance to the actual museum and shrine. Avoid wearing short shorts or vests for example.

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