Much as I love Bangkok, it’s easy to feel hemmed in and crowded in a sweltering city of over ten million, no matter how nice, orderly and friendly the inhabitants may be. Fortunately, it’s not difficult to find respite.
The city is blessed with at least three major parks, filled with greenery, lakes, paths and gardens. They are Benjasiri, Benjakitti and Lumphini Parks; since I’m planning a post dedicated to these green open spaces, there won’t be much said about them here, other than to state that the Green Mile starts at Benjakitti and ends at Lumphini.
Whether the Green Mile really is one mile is unclear to me, but I’ll take its word. The Green Mile is an above-the-streets walkway that passes through several Thai neighborhoods as to stretches from Asoke to Lumphini. As the above photo shows, it really is green.
When walking on the path, one does not feel that they are in the midst of a bustling metropolis. There is a whole city life going on below, mostly Thais and virtually no farangs, but it is nothing like the crowds downtown or in the tourist areas. It’s not as impressive as the NYC High Line or Tampa’s Riverwalk, but it’s not intended as such. It’s a great opportunity to avoid crowds and get a different take on the city.
It’s also quite empty, with a disproportionate percentage of foreign users. This is not surprising, as while the Thai people are blessed with innumerable wonderful characteristics and traits, taking long walks in the sun is not among them. Several foreign joggers passed me, and as with joggers everywhere, they did not look very happy and I continue to wonder why people do this to themselves. 🙂
The journey begins by leaving Benjakitti Park through the hard-to-find gate leading to the walkway. Users are greeted by a seemingly bucolic greeting, set against the city looming in the background.
Within minutes, the path leads past one of Thailand’s glaring contradictions: a modern high rise apartment building fronted by ramshackle squatter huts set right on the canal.
A few hundred meters later, the neighborhood is more upscale and so are the houses along the water.
It’s not all flat. There are plenty of stairs along the way.
On the left, a mosque, on the right, a rather traditional looking Thai-style structure; don’t know if it’s part of a wat or just a Thai-style building.
The stairway shown below leads to neighborhoods most tourists and expats don’t generally visit. Signs along the rail invite users down to eat and shop.
Photos by Stephen Shaiken
As the Green Mile closes in on Lumphini Park, the scenery is like the rest of high-rise Bangkok, but there’s still good exercise to be gotten. Just watch out for power lines in the way.
