A Stroll in Chatuchak Park

One thing that I like about Bangkok is the presence of greens even though it is a highly urbanized city. The Thai government created parks in many parts of the city so as to give Bangkok citizen a place to enjoy nature. One of these parks is the Chatuchak Park located in the Chatuchak District.

I believe that Chatuchak Park is the most popular park in Bangkok because it is located near Chatuchak Weekend Market, which is the mecca for affordable Thai souvenirs. The truth is that I always pass this park whenever I go to weekend market. Chatuchak Park is very big and shoppers to the market will find it hard to avoid it.

Clock tower in Chatuchak Park.

There was a day when I decided to go to Chatuchak Weekend Market even though it was not a weekend. I refused to believe that such a popular tourist attraction is not open during the weekdays. I went to Chatuchak Weekend Market hoping to buy some pasalubong or souvenirs. That's the day I realized that the “weekend” in Jatujak Weekend Market really means weekend. All the shops are closed and what's on sale are decorative plants.

I was disappointed with the day I wasted. I decided to vent my frustration by strolling at the nearby Chatuchak Park.

There is nothing much to see in Chatuchak Park other than the trees and plants that are soothing to the eyes. I think that this is a perfect place to relax after many hours of bargain hunting in the weekend market.

There is no entrance fee to this park and anyone can just have a picnic here.

I had no mat that day so I just sat on the grass. Pigeons approached me asking for food.

Good thing that a friendly college student offered me some of her bird food. At least I had something to feed these feathered creatures.

I noticed that there are so many pigeons in Chatuchak Park. They're everywhere gawking at park visitors for food. Tourists who want to feed the birds can buy bird food from vendors inside the park. The bird food costs 10 or 20 Baht a pack.

A man-made lake was placed in the middle of the park. It reminded me of the canals that are so common in Bangkok. I guess that waterways is important to Thai culture that they usually place any body of water in their parks.

Bridges cross this lake and I bet that this are place that would be good for photos.

There are boats-for-rent on the lake. These are good for couples because each can load up to two persons.

There's nothing impressive with Chatuchak Park aside from being the park near to the popular weekend market. Tourists can use this place to take a rest after a tiresome day at the weekend market. The good thing with this park is that the stations of the Skytrain and MRT (underground train) are in the vicinity. Visitors to this park can easily go to other places in Bangkok by just riding the trains.