The Blog of Michael Desrosiers: Benjakitti Forest Park

Tuesday, September 6, 2022

Benjakitti Forest Park

Earlier this year, one of Thailand's most massive ecological projects opened to the public.

Located downtown in the popular business district, Benjakitti Park opened for the first time in 2004.

The park has a dual-purpose jogging and cycling path encircling a large lake, as well as plenty of space for picnics, walking, and other activities.

This year, after years of hard work, a massive expansion project was finally opened to the public, and the new Benjakitti Forest Park was unveiled.

Announced in 2006 to commemorate the birthday of HM Queen Sirikit, the Forest Park was approved by the Thai government to be built on land granted by the Thai Tobacco Monopoly, which had previously had its factory adjacent to the park.

Expanding the park to 72 hectares, the new expansion cost 652 million Thai baht (18 million USD). The goal of the new park expansion is to build a genuine forest and wetlands ecosystem right in the heart of the city for the purposes of ecology and recreation.

The new Forest Park features elevated walkways rising above the wetlands, as well as walking paths which wind through them. There's also an amphitheater, a small museum, and cycling paths.

While the trees are still young, the idea is that in some 20 years' time, there will be a fully developed forest in Bangkok. The government has taken care to plant a vast variety of rare species of plants with the hopes of attracting all sorts of birds and wildlife to this sanctuary.

On a cool and cloudy morning, my wife and I woke up early to visit the Benjakitti Forest Park.

The park really is massive! You can spend hours exploring, and it's really amazing to realize that you are still in the middle of one of the world's biggest cities.

The park is still partially under construction. Uniformed military personnel are continuously working to build and improve the park so that it can reach its fullest potential.

This is one of the things that I really appreciate about Thailand. I honestly think that such prime real-estate in a city like Los Angeles or New York would be parceled up and sold to businesses and development companies for millions of dollars of profit. Here, the government realized the need for the public to have an amazing and expansive green space to call their own.

We took our time walking through the park, first one way along the elevated walkway, then back the other direction down on the ground.

I was specifically searching for birds. While there weren't as many species to be seen as at Queen Sirikit Park, I think it's only a matter of time. This vast wetlands and forest area is going to make a wonderful habitat, and I really believe it's going to be a birders paradise in just a few years.

We did, however, spot several Asian Openbills. This species of stork likes perching high up in trees or wading in the water eating small fish.

Down on the ground, the carefully manicured flowerbeds and gardens reflect a wide variety of Thailand's beautiful native flowers and plants.

The Forest Park really is a gift to the future.

The dream of what is to be probably won't be realized for another 20 or 30 years. Until then, the trees will continue to grow, the wetlands will continue to attract species of birds and wildlife as a sort of safe haven in the midst of a chaotic and growing urban landscape, and people will continue coming to enjoy an oasis of calm in the center of the Big Mango.

The skeletal remains of the old Tobacco Monopoly warehouses still remain.

While they are still empty, I believe there must be a plan for them. They currently house a number of extremely nice restrooms, and there are some orchard projects going on in the courtyards. Perhaps they will plan some events to be hosted here in the future.

It was a quiet morning, but there were several people out and about, walking, taking photos of the plants and wildlife, and generally enjoying the nature. I think it is so great to have a place like this that local residents can enjoy. I'm excited to see how the Forest Park grows and develops into something even more amazing.

This is far from the only Forest Park of its type in Asia, but it is certainly unique to Bangkok. A few years back, I was extremely impressed by the Eco Forest Park in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. At the time, I remember wishing that Bangkok had something similar.

Benjakitti Park is also now connected to the famous Lumpini Park (the oldest city park in Bangkok) via a 1.3km long elevated walkway known affectionately by Bangkokians as the "Green Mile". The Green Mile takes pedestrians over and past some fascinating neighborhoods which have thrived due to its construction. It deserves its own post in the future!

Stay tuned for that...