Benjakiti Park (Queen Sirikit Convention Centre)

[GirlDrinkDrunk]

Benjakiti s a very nice park, with a great 2.8 (or thereabouts) km bike loop that has enough twits (and twists)and turns on the back end to make it a fairly entertaining place to do laps. the park even joins up well with Lumpini via a dedicated bike path, that except for a few sets of annoying stairs separates the parks by less than a 10 minute traffic free ride.

The problem is, the gate at the end of the path that joins them is always locked.

there was a time when the park was easily accessed and open all along "falling rain road" inside the tobacco monopoly.

This has now been fenced off and from where the bike path lets out, it is generally 1.5k to the nearest gate.

I really cant understand why the Bangkok authority would spend millions of baht on a bike route between two major cycle friendly parks and make one of the parks nearly impossible to enter.

There is such a high concentration of sleeping guards that surely they could do something to earn their money, like man a couple of extra gates to allow people access to the park.

it is not a really big deal for me, as it is only just over a kilometer out of my way, but it must be a source of endless frustration for soi 10 residents, who have one of the largest and greenest parks in the city on there doorstep, but must walk 1.5k there and another 1.5k back out of their way to get inside the dam_n thing.

It is just one of those areas where bangkok fails by providing the greenspace, but conspiring to make sure as few people as possible use it.

in fact soi 10 has 2 parks, one on either end. One is closed ALL day (chuwit park) opening only between 6 and 10 and 4:30 to 7 or something ridiculous like that, the other has a total of 3 usuable gates all at the extreme edges of the park as far away from residential users as is physically possible.

just an observation

[Lakegeneve]

Things don't always make sense but sometimes they do. Anyone living in the area is really blessed as you have two park options and when the TTM moves you'll have a much larger park in a few years.

The gate may be locked to deter thieves or at the request of residents? Ask the guards or long term neighbours. Don't forget that small donations often opens doors...

On Chuwit Park, remember that it is private land so it is lucky it can be used at all.

After all, a rich politician from a property based family who admitted to corruptly paying off the Latphrao police for years while earning huge amounts from his 'bath-tub' massage, entertainment complexes had no self interest in making this land available to the public! Especially prior to running for the BMA Gov job. (I'll avoid the details of how the land was made vacant)

[GirlDrinkDrunk]

The residents most certainly did not request access to the park be limited. all the soi 10 residents i know are annoyed to no end by the extra walk, especially those with children. Access to the park is so limited, that the park gets a tiny fraction of the use that lumpini does

the gates are clearly blocked, as in all bangkok parks, to keep out the homeless, however with the sheer volume of guards, someone monitoring the gate could easily accomplish that. And i really have no inclination to bribe a useless park guard to let me in to a free public park.

And yes i recall chuwit parks history, i had the pleasure of witnessing the site the morning after, and i think chuwit is an ass. I have been told by a local vendor near the park entrance that the park is closed during the day to keep the police from sleeping there! knowing the man, it is conceivable.

I spent 2 years explaining to a 4 year old why we could not go into the park on the walk home from school. I will always hate chuwit for that.