I was up early today, and I had the morning off, so I decided to buy a ticket on the newish Yellow Line Monorail for the 40-odd minute out to the city's Prawet District. I had never been to that part of the city before, and I enjoyed the views from the wide window at the front of the automated monorail.
It was so nice to see so many people out and about this morning. There were lots of families picnicking on the lawn or paddling around the lake in rented swan boats. Jogging has become hugely trendy in Bangkok over the past year or so, and there were also a lot of people in their expensive running gear jogging on the paved trails.
A large geodesic dome at the edge of the park housed a collection of cacti and desert plants. It wasn't open yet when I walked by, but I was able to look around through the gaps in the metal grate over the door. I'll have to return sometime when it's a little later in the day and the botanical garden is up and running.
By the time I finished my walk and left the park, it was already midmorning. I walked back to the station, stopping in at the huge and vibrant U-Sa-ard Market for breakfast. The covered market is very much a working market, not one that specifically caters to tourists (though there were plenty of foreigners, presumably those living in the nearby Bang Na area).
I still had to walk about a kilometer from the station to get to the park, but the walk took me through some really nice neighborhoods with huge, luxurious houses and a beautiful mosque.
Bangkok's largest city park was opened in 1987 to mark the 60th birthday (the symbolically important "fifth cycle in the 12-year Chinese zodiac) of late King Rama IX. The park has an area of 500 rai, a traditional unit of measurement that land in Thailand is still measured with to this day (500 rai is around 200 acres).
The park is home to a beautifully manicured botanical garden and a pavilion honoring the king which was closed for renovations when I visited.
I wasn't there to jog, though the weather this morning was a bit cooler than it had been and it might have actually been a nice day for a run.
I took a long, leisurely walk around the lake, then explored some of the smaller gardens off of the main loop.
A khao mun gai shop caught my eye, and I sat down for breakfast or roast chicken on rice served with a cup of broth and a spicy and sour dipping sauce.
No matter how long you live somewhere, you should never stop exploring. I've been in Bangkok for more than a decade, and it seems like there's still always somewhere new for me to discover.
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