PARK PLACE

Lumphini Park (also known as Suan Lumphini) is Bangkok's largest and most popular park. Nestled in the heart of downtown, it's a nice escape from the everday hustle, bustle and confusion of the city.



As far as parks go, this place can get pretty crowded at times. I'm told that things really get going before 7:00 am, but I don't know this from experience. Supposedly, there are throngs of people at Lumphini performing various physical activities and vendors selling things like snake's blood at the crack of dawn.

I've been to Lumphini Park several times and the other day I arrived with my bike around 8:30 in the morning. While not overally crowded, there were still a lot of people doing things like t'ai chi:



Yoga:





Weightlifting and exercise:





And ballroom dancing:



There were also plenty of joggers, walkers and people like myself riding bicycles as well as a swimming pool.

I can appreciate the fact of people coming together to support each while exercising, but I honestly don't know how they do it in the exhausting humidity that is standard for Bangkok. Even in the heavily wooded area of the Park, the air is still completely stifling. Perhaps that's why Lumphini is so crowded before the sun fully rises. I was just riding my bike at an extremely leisurely pace and I still got pretty sweaty after an hour or so.

Lumphini Park surrounds a large artificial lake and small paddle boats are available there for rental.



The area around the lake is also a great place to spot a monitor lizard. The Park is literally crawling with these creatures and the largest ones are about the size of a small crocodile.







Unlike crocodiles, these things seem pretty timid. They tend to hang out only around the edges of the water (or in the water) and when you approach them, they quickly scurry for cover. Still, I don't want to get to friendly with them and the closest I've gotten to a monitor lizard is this guy who was hanging out in a sewer on one of the walking paths:



All in all, Lumphini Park provides a nice relief from a city that can be a tad overwhelming at times. It's a good place to relax and clear your mind, even if you chose to do so while performing some activity that pushes your body to the outer edges of heat exhaustion.