Today was our first full day here in Bangkok. It is hot! We visited a couple of places of interest today. First was Benjasiri Park (see web for more pics). It is in downtown Bangkok and frequented by both locals & tourists. It has a lake, skate park, concession stands, tennis courts, and badminton courts. The courts are for drop in play as there is no organized recreation at the city level. That is one of our tasks while we are here – at least to offer suggestions on how to get that going.
The landscaping is nice in the parks, and they do a nice job of infusing sculptures into the park. It really adds to the character of the place. Interestingly there is a no smoking policy in parks. It is finable up to 2000 baht ($57.14). Also the parks are part of city government. I haven‘t figured out how they are funded yet. I know you will be on the edge of your seat until I tell you. I do know that there is a playground in the park that was funded by a local hotel. The playground standards are not what they are in the states. Drs. Beggs & McEvoy would have a field day with the facilities. They still have the old wooden teeter totters, sand for surfacing, and pieces of concrete exposed all over. Major lawsuit wait in to happen if it were in the U.S.
The second tourism destination was the Suan Lum Night Bazaar. It is a night market that is open from 4 pm until midnight. It is an open air market for the most part. It is very touristy & people are expected to barter for the goods they wish to purchase. Many vendors carry around calculators to show buyers how many baht the item is or to convert it to dollars. Few of these people speak English, but they manage to make sales. Dr. Klitzing purchased her own calculator so she could do price conversions on her own. She also got discounts on some silk pillows without much effort. Silk is cheap here and is readily available.
The landscaping is nice in the parks, and they do a nice job of infusing sculptures into the park. It really adds to the character of the place. Interestingly there is a no smoking policy in parks. It is finable up to 2000 baht ($57.14). Also the parks are part of city government. I haven‘t figured out how they are funded yet. I know you will be on the edge of your seat until I tell you. I do know that there is a playground in the park that was funded by a local hotel. The playground standards are not what they are in the states. Drs. Beggs & McEvoy would have a field day with the facilities. They still have the old wooden teeter totters, sand for surfacing, and pieces of concrete exposed all over. Major lawsuit wait in to happen if it were in the U.S.
The second tourism destination was the Suan Lum Night Bazaar. It is a night market that is open from 4 pm until midnight. It is an open air market for the most part. It is very touristy & people are expected to barter for the goods they wish to purchase. Many vendors carry around calculators to show buyers how many baht the item is or to convert it to dollars. Few of these people speak English, but they manage to make sales. Dr. Klitzing purchased her own calculator so she could do price conversions on her own. She also got discounts on some silk pillows without much effort. Silk is cheap here and is readily available.
