Bangkok Parks

Bangkok's parks and gardens offer welcome respite from city heat and noise. They include: Lumphini Park at the northern end of Silom Road, and bordered by Wireless and Rajdamri roads. Lumphini Park is popular with joggers, keep-fit enthusiasts, families and sportsmen, particularly during the early morning and late afternoon. Chatuchak Park near the Paholyothin and Viphavadi Rangsit Highway junction at Lard Prao, on the way to Bangkok's Don Muang Airport, is also the site of a famous weekend market that sells almost everything made and grown in Thailand. Khao Din Zoological Garden is an artfully landscaped enclave with an artificial lake. The zoo neighbours Ratchadamnoen Avenue's Royal Plaza, and National Assembly Building, and contains a fine collection of African and Asian mammals, reptiles and birds. King Rama IX Park or Suan Luang Gardens is an extensive park with fine botanical gardens deep inside Sukhumvit Soi 103 in Bangkok's eastern suburbs. The botanical gardens were opened with private and public donations in 1987 to celebrate H.M. King Bhumibol's auspicious 60th birthday.

Magic Land at Lat Phrao, just north-east of Bangkok's Central Plaza Hotel, is the capital's major amusement park. The complex offers a wide range of exciting rides and other amusements including haunted houses and sideshows. Similar facilities are found in the eastern suburb of Minburi at the Siam Water Park. The water theme park features an artificial sea replete with authentic waves, waterfalls, water sliders, whirlpools, and numerous water-related activities. The adjacent Safari World features a collection of African and Asian mammals, including lions, tigers, giraffes, zebras and bears, that live in natural surroundings. The sprawling complex also contains Asia's largest aviary with over 4,000 birds.