Chiang Rai and Thailand could plan for more park space

[boomerangutang]

               Thais don't seem to care about planning for park space.  Bangkok has a tiny park space ratio compared to most other big cities ww.  Smaller cities and towns in Thailand are similarly bereft of parks.  Some examples of how Chiang Rai could be made better:

 

      Jogging/bicycling paths on one or both sides of the river.  It could be done if there was a bit of willingness and creative thinking.   Instead, Chiang Rai planners (if such people exist) think like Chinese:  development, multi-lane highways, take out trees, flatten and fill everywhere, more development, shopping malls, spray toxins to eradicate everything green, more development......  At the main intersection just south of Big C, there are 4 big box hardware stores within a mile of the intersection - all selling the same things, and none have many customers.   There's barely a blade of grass at any of the multi-rai complexes.  Conversely, where is there a park, in Chiang Rai, where kids can go with mom and dad, to use a swing, a see-saw, a round-about, play frisbee or frolic?

 

         Halfway between Swensen's and Central, on the east side of the street, there's a multi-rai space with big trees.  Never anyone in there (mainly because it has a defunct cremation chimney, and Thais are superstitious).  It would be ideal for a large park.  

 

          West of town there's the long limestone hill alongside the river with a Buddha Cave at its west end.  Another superb location for a park.  All it's used for now, is 3 weeks at Songkran, temporary straw vendor stations are set up, and then several tons of trash are left behind.  The trash is still there, festering, from last April, and we're just two months away from another onslaught of garbage.

 

              If Thais love their country, why do they trash it?

[rijb]

I thought they burn their trash.

[boomerangutang]

6 minutes ago, rijb said:

I thought they burn their trash.

                There's a giant red fig tree, halfway down the river side of the hill across from Pattaya Noi. A large pit was dug at its base.  That pit is full of garbage and about 30 large black sacks of garbage are thrown all around the large tree.  To me, it's not only disrespectful of nature, but of the lovely tree itself.  It could be the largest red fig tree worldwide.  It's got giant fan roots.  When it's fruiting, the tree sized branches are covered in dark pink figs.  Great for local wildlife.  Before locals killed or eradicated the many local monkeys, that tree was surely a gathering spot for them and deer.  Now it's a gathering spot for tons of stinky garbage.   If anyone would like to join me to clean up that area, let me know.  I've got two pick-up trucks.  I've also done some trail clearing in that park-like area, but that's another tangent.

 

 

 

[rijb]

Maybe this will help...

 

[Bardeh]

There's a play area for kids next to the old airstrip. We take our son there regularly. There's also a nice park up at Rajabhat University next to a lake. I do agree with your sentiment in general though - unless we get in the car and drive, there's nowhere just to go for a nice walk because the streets are so godawful for pedestrians here.

[boomerangutang]

12 hours ago, Bardeh said:

There's a play area for kids next to the old airstrip. We take our son there regularly. There's also a nice park up at Rajabhat University next to a lake. I do agree with your sentiment in general though - unless we get in the car and drive, there's nowhere just to go for a nice walk because the streets are so godawful for pedestrians here.

       Yes, there are a few small places with playground equipment, but they're pretty sad, with rusting, minimal stuff.  If Chiang Rai gave 1/10,000th the funds and consideration to their kids as they do to propping up businessmen and building roads/apartments/malls ....then it would be a nicer place for children to grow up.  Instead, the city fathers have a Chinese-type perspective:   Build endless amounts of infrastructure with thousands of tons of concrete, while tearing out forests and farmland at hundreds of rai/month, ......and all will fine.

 

[sceadugenga]

After nearly 15 years of local dog walking I've gone from winding my way through streets full of frolicking children to almost deserted thoroughfares.

The maid brings three children she looks after on weekends, ages between 5 and 9, do they play in the large garden we have?

 

No, they sit inside glued to their phones and tablets.

 

I think that getting kids to play again is a greater problem than finding appropriate spaces for them that they wont use.

 

Disclaimer: There is no intent in this post to make the problem seem like a uniquely Thai issue. 

[boomerangutang]

Scea dude;  more appealing play equipment will entice some kids to put their hand-held devices aside and go out and frolic, get fresh-air, mature socially, and adopt a posture other than sitting/bent-down-at-the-neck staring at a screen the size of a cigarette pack.

 

         If I was boogying with kids (ages 4 to 18) I would take them out to boogie in nature and/or on the playing field.  When I resided in the States, at various times I was a step-dad to over 20 kids.  We would go out and play soccer, softball, running, jumping, climb trees, visit waterfalls, .....and all sorts of other invigorating things.  The only screen they watched was TV for sesame street and perhaps a couple of hours on Saturday morning when cartoons ruled (along with incessant ads for sugar-packed products, ugh).  

 

       Other dads would see me out interacting with kids and say; "Hey man, how do you find the time to get kids outside to do fun things?!"   I'd respond with something like; you gotta decide to devote the time.  Kids are only going to be kids for a little while.  Soon enough, they'll be young adults, and burdened by all the things adults are supposed to be worried about:  making a family, affording the 10,000 things that are required to raise a family, paying for car on time, paying for house/apt on time, etc,