One of the historical legacies of Samut Prakan Province are the Fortresses along the river from the Gulf of Thailand all the way up to Bangkok. At various times through history, going back as far as the Ayutthaya period, there has always been forts here of some description. Many fell into ruins during periods of peace but were built up again by succeeding monarchs. About 800 years ago, Phra Pradaeng used to be the first line of defence as the the coastline was in this area. However, over the years, the land extended further South and Phra Pradaeng lost its importance as a sea harbour. The first temples, in what is now Samut Prakan, were built in about 1350 A.D. Forts soon followed.

In 1768, when King Taksin became the king after the fall of Ayutthaya, he order all of the bricks from the forts at Phra Pradaeng to be moved to Thonburi to build his new palace which practically obliterated the city. However, King Rama I saw the importance of the city as a fortress. In 1809 he commanded for the city to be rebuilt together with Wittayakon Fort alongside Latpho Shortcut Canal. This area is now under the Mega Bridge. King Rama II, in about 1815, continued with the building programme at Phra Pradaeng. He had five forts built on the West side of the river and three on the East side. A ninth fort was built about ten years later. At the same time, King Rama II changed the name of the city to Nakhon Khueankhan. He also brought 300 Mon men and their families here to man the forts.

The majority of these forts no longer exist and their exact location has been forgotten. Only Phlaeng Faifah Fort near Phra Pradaeng Municipal Office has been preserved as a city park. Others have been pulled down and built over. For the past few years I have been trying to locate the original position of these long lost forts and then go there to see if I could find any remaining evidence. Then not long ago I came across an old map of the Phra Pradaeng area which marked Puchaosamingphrai Fort on the East bank opposite the municipal hall. It was surrounded by a canal. I used this evidence to cross-check with Google Earth. I found the Southern side of the canal but not the Northern canal. However, on the satellite image, I could just make out something between two buildings that looked like it was ruins of some kind.

I drove over there at the weekend to check it out. From Shukhumwit Road I turned off onto Puchaosamingphrai Road which leads straight to the Chao Phraya River. This is where we used to have to cross the river by car ferry, but now they have built the Mega Bridge. Anyway, just before the car ferry I turned left towards Wat Laem and Phrapradaeng Hospital. I parked my car in the car park here alongside the river. Straight away I knew that I was in the right place as there were a dozen big guns lined up along the waterfront. After taking a few pictures here, I turned inland to look for what I thought were ruins on the satellite image. I was looking for a long snake-like building with a red roof. I eventually found it behind the buildings of the Rajapracha Samasai Institute.

I have been exploring Samut Prakan for many years trying to discover something new or long lost. I know the ruins that I found here at the weekend were in the grounds of a medical institute so it wasn't exactly a secret. But, it did take my breath away when I first caught sight of the ruins of Puchaosamingphrai Fort. I saw the wall first and then beyond that high up the remains of a wooden building that had collapsed. It looked very much like a lost city as it was now heavily overgrown and squatters had set up shacks around the base. Many of them had physical disabilities and some apparently even had leprosy. For them this was just a place to stay but for me it was an important link to the historical past of the province. It should be preserved for future generations.

We explored around the ground level first. However, after an encounter with some vicious dogs we went around the back where we found some steps that took us to the top. From what I could tell, an artificial hill had been built and a brick building had been built on top. The wooden roof had collapsed but many of the wooden planks remained which is quite surprising. Many of the shutters on the windows were still there and a couple were banging in the wind. I wondered aloud whether it had been doing that for the last hundred years or ever since it had been abandoned. I looked in through some of the doors but the wooden floors had all collapsed. The place was obviously a death trap and probably home to numerous snakes. But, I was too exited not to pass up on this opportunity to step back in time like this. There are not that many historical ruins left in Samut Prakan.

I have been working on a Map of Forts in Samut Prakan Province and I am happy that there are now six forts that still have evidence of their existence. There are about twenty more that have been lost to time. I doubt that I will find anything else but I will continue with my quest to find the long lost forts of Samut Prakan. Recently I have been reading many contemporary accounts of Samut Prakan written by foreigners nearly 200 years ago. They talk of places that are no longer marked on the maps. My next expeditions will be to find the mysterious "Red House" in Paknam and the village of Paklat upriver in Phra Pradaeng. I have been posting many more pictures of my trips on the Samut Prakan Forums including more pictures of Puchaosamingphrai Fort. Don't forget to also check out our website for Samut Prakan at www.paknam.com.

Chang Erawan alongside the Outer Ring Road in Samut Prakan

It has been about three years in the making, but the southern stretch of the Kanchanapisek Outer Ring Road was finally opened on Thursday 15th November 2007. We have been waiting for this for years as the rest of the ring road has long been completed. For the people who live in the southern border areas of Bangkok, this new highway is a godsend. It means we can now quickly go to all points of the compass without going through Bangkok first. It is also good news for people arriving at the new Bangkok airport at Suvarnabhumi. Now there is really no need to go into Bangkok first to stay the night before moving onto other locations around Thailand. The airport is alongside the motorway which goes down to Pattaya. Now, the quick access to the Outer Ring Road will whisk people off  North to Ayutthaya and beyond and South to Hua Hin. To celebrate the opening, I decided to set off this morning on a non-stop drive around the outskirts of Bangkok on the Kanchanaphisek Outer Ring Road. I love road trips!

I started my trip at Chang Erawan, which is the giant three-headed elephant in Samut Prakan. This is only ten minutes away from my house. I could also have chosen to start my trip at the entry ramp on Srinakarin Road near Tesco Lotus. Before I started, I filled up with petrol at Jet. The price of petrol has been going up so much recently. A full tank cost me 1,800 baht. It wasn’t that long ago that I would get change from a 1,000 baht note. Not any longer. I am still using Benzin 95 which is the most expensive at 32.49 baht per litre. It was less than 15 baht when I first came to Thailand. Road trips these days are costing me quite a bit. If you are wondering how much today’s outing cost me, then scroll down to the bottom of this article. I suppose I should be lucky I am not doing travel blogs in the UK. The cost of petrol there is double what we have to pay. America is not as expensive and I think we are fast catching them up.

Now that the Outer Ring Road is finished, the bad traffic jams around Chang Erawan on Sukhumwit Road have cleared up. It is actually quite a complicated intersection now as there are numerous exit and entry ramps. Dominating the landscape is of course the three-headed elephant. However, it does somewhat look smaller now than before. The plans for the outer ring went back many years. There was a lot of local opposition including from the owners of the Chang Erawan. The story goes that to stop this ring road, he built the giant elephant on its projected path. But, it didn’t really stop it and, probably out of spite, they went around the elephant and straight through his front living room! You cannot stop progress and ring roads like these are really needed in order to help keep traffic off the local roads.

As the highway has only just opened, I was really hoping to stop my car somewhere on the entry ramp and hop out to take a quick photo. However, there was surprisingly a lot of cars and trucks on the road. Although it was six lanes, there were vehicles in all lanes and I couldn’t travel much faster than 100 kph. Despite that, in less than five minutes I had reached the new Kanchanapisek Bridge and had crossed the mighty Chao Phraya River. At this point the river is 500 metres wide so that will probably make it the longest single span bridge in Bangkok. You know this is such good news for us. Up to now, it would take us an hour to go by car to the other side of the river as we had to head further into Bangkok. But now we can cross the river so much quicker by car. However, it won’t always be free. I didn’t have to pay when I entered the outer ring road today, but I could see markings on the road where they are planning on building toll booths. It will probably be about 30 baht for this section (less than $1).

Once on the other side of the river, we joined the stretch that had already been completed for many years. Up to now it just stopped in the middle of no-where by the river. You then had to catch a car ferry to the other side or go into Bangkok for the Rama IX Bridge. Now of course we also have the Mega Bridge which will take us across to Samut Prakan or to Rama III road in Bangkok. The last time I was on this road it was virtually empty. It is like driving through the jungle as we were at tree tops. But today the road was very busy, but I was still able to keep an average of 120 kph.  Ten minutes after leaving the elephant, I reached Rama II Road which is Highway 35 which takes you down south to Samut Sakhon, Phetchaburi and Hua Hin. Last year I went down that road to the floating market at Amphawa. Before it had taken me 80 minutes to get to this intersection. For sure I am going to be planning some day trips down south soon. Look out for some new travel blogs in the coming months.

From this point the traffic slowed down a lot. In fact we had to stop a few times. This is in despite the fact that it was an eight lane highway and two lanes on the frontage either side. But, this was now a local road as well so there was a lot of people coming and going. The intersection for Nakhon Pathom was only 8 kms further on but it took me 24 minutes to travel that distance.  Maybe I should have done this on a Sunday morning. But, I wasn’t trying to break land speed records. Though I am probably the first person to drive the complete loop. Anyway, 35 minutes after leaving the elephant I was now at the intersection for Nakhon Pathom which also goes to Kanchanaburi. Maybe I will do a day trip down this road soon. Lots of possibilities here. After a short while, the traffic started to speed up. There had been some roadworks that had slowed us down.

I like doing road trips, so going around in a big circle is no problem. About 52 kilometres after leaving the elephant, I had now reached the intersection for Highway 345. This is the exit for destinations towards Suphan Buri. I guess I will have no excuse now to visit our Steve again. I have done some blogs in that area but there is still a lot more to do. As I drove along, my mind kept buzzing with ideas of new road trips. Where should I go first? One hour after leaving I reached intersection for Highway 346. I hadn’t gone as far as I had wanted to as the odometer only registered 65 kms. So, that meant an average speed of 65 kph. A lot slower than I was hoping to do. Actually, I thought I could do 120 kph all the way which is the maximum speed limit. But, I was speeding up now. This whole section in the northwest is out in the country side. It is only four lanes but not much traffic. I came up this road before to see the open billed storks in the temple. You might remember the blog on that. 

After one hour and eight minutes I reached the bridge which crossed back across the Chao Phraya River. I had done 77 kilometres. This wasn’t that bad going compared to the past. Just after the bridge there was a turning for the Bang Sai Arts and Craft Museum. I love that place and often take visitors there. I am sure I did a blog on it if you search. I might go again soon as it is now so near. A short while late I passed the intersection for the expressway from Bangkok. This is the route I normally use to go up north. Around here is also the intersection for Ayutthaya and Bang Pa In. A couple of excellent destinations for day trips from Bangkok. This is also the northernmost section of the outer ring road. I actually almost nearly got a bit lost here but managed to get on the right road to take me back down on the eastern stretch of the Outer Ring Road. I had been driving now for one hour and twenty minutes and had only done 92 kms. I had a lot of time to try and catch up on.

In comparison, the first part of this stretch was excellent. It was only a four lane highway but it was purpose built. No local traffic as there were tall fences on either side. Let’s just say I managed to do a minimum of 120 kph for a while. A sign said that the new airport was only 60 kms away. So, probably wouldn’t take long to get to Ayutthaya from the airport if you wanted to. There isn’t really much down this side. It is literally in the middle of nowhere so not many intersections. However, Highway 305 was signposted for Nakhon Nayok. I haven’t been that way before. I will make a note and maybe see if I can do a day trip that direction. I am sure there must be something.

After a good start on the eastern stretch, we then had to slow down for some road works. Also the first of two toll booths which cost 30 baht each. We had a few more intersections that included Rama Inthra and the motorway for Chonburi and Pattaya. Time was passing quickly now. I was trying my best to get home in two hours. However, one hour and 55 minutes after leaving I was passing the intersection for the new airport. Two hours after leaving I reached the Bang Na Trad Highway. I had now done 154 kms which meant an average of  77 kph. I had made up some time but not a lot. I was now on the new stretch of the Outer Ring Road. This was above the ground and although there was a lot of traffic I made good time. Normally from the airport it would take me 45 minutes to get home. I had just gone from the airport to Bang Na Trad Highway in ten minutes. Then in less than ten more minutes I was passing the exit ramp for Srinakarin Road. My house is 8 minutes from that point. So, less than 30 minutes for me to go to the airport and almost a guarantee of no traffic jams as there would be no local traffic! Five minutes later I had gone from Srinakarin Road to Sukhumwit Road (usually takes 30 minutes) and I was back at the start. As I approached I could see the giant three-headed elephant on the skyline.

I made it back in two hours and eight minutes after leaving. The odometer read 168 kilometres. I went back to the Jet petrol station to fill up the tank again. It was the same bloke I had seen two hours previously and he gave me a funny look when I asked for him to fill up the tank again. Of course, this wouldn’t be an accurate reading of how much petrol I had used as I couldn’t be sure he had really filled the tank up before. They usually try to get round numbers with the price. Anyway, he put in 13.2 litres which cost me 430 baht. So, about 2.5 baht per kilometre. I guess a bit of an expensive two hours if you also add the 60 baht for toll booths. It cost me about $14 in total for this experiment. Once the new toll booths open, then the complete circuit would probably cost 120 baht in tolls. But, it was all good research for me and I am feeling very fortunate I now have plenty of opportunities of new road trips to go on in the coming months. I just ned to decide where I will go first! Maybe I will head north to Saraburi and Lopburi next weekend.

View from the Megabridge that crosses the Chao Phraya River twice

This year is continuing to be a good one with some excellent blogs about Thailand from our regulars and guest writers. Thai-Blogs.com is now firmly regarded as the number one blog about Thailand. Over 6,000 people browse the archives every day to learn more about the real Thailand and also to help plan their holiday. We have become popular due to our family-friendly atmosphere and our policy on not writing about the bar scene in Thailand. Our Thai and foreign writers tell you about the every day Thailand that you won’t find in any guidebooks. The following list are the highlights from September last year:

• How To...Write A Thai Soap Opera!
• Learning Thai: the motivation and skill, I
• Thailand Life
• The Teo Chew Opera
• On the River in Bangkok
• The Loop in the River
• Land of Nagas - part 1. | Part 2 | Part 3.
• Different "Fates" of Malays
• Learning Mai Bpen Rai
• The Friday Blue Flag Market
• Southern Thailand On Fire
• How Thai are you?
• Working with Thais successfully
• The Original Siamese Twins
• The Daily Life of a Thai King
• Thai Superstitions
• Betong - Town of Swallows
• 99 Things Not to Miss in Thailand - Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V
• Thai Fruit Harvest
• Stories....For A Rainy Day
• Culture in Pattaya
• Feng Shui Colours
• Tadika-The Weekend Religious School For Muslims
• How to make Thai Iced Tea
• The Sanctuary of Truth
• The Bridge on the River Kwae
• Chinese Clan and Dialect Associations
• Thai Youth......Just For Starters
• Tadika Teachers -Trip to Penang
• The Sea Almonds of Jomtien Beach
• The Giant Three-Headed Elephant
• Strange Love
• Bangkok: Then & Now
• Elephant Polo in Hua Hin
• The Beauty of Lanthom.
• Shivering.... a status symbol?
• Energy drinks
• The Temporary Bazaar
• Enjoying....Thailand's Nightlife
• Top 10 Bangkok Attractions

As usual, I didn’t include any of my Thai Food Blogs which are archived at www.enjoythaifood.com. You can also read the fascinating look book at Phuket in the 1980’s at our sister blog site Thai Travel Blogs. Also, don’t forget to visit our other sister blogs such as Thai Photo Blogs with daily pictures from Thailand and Thailand Voice which promotes the best blogs from Thailand. Then there is my Thai School Blog with daily life and pictures from a typical Thai school. The Thailand Video blogs are being re-developed at the moment. Who knows, maybe Thai Prison blogs will be next!

The number “nine” in Thailand is regarded by all Thai people as an auspicious number. The date yesterday was 9.9.49 which made it a good day to do something special. So, all around Bangkok and the country, events were organized in honour of His Majesty The King’s 60th anniversary on the throne. At the new Suvarnabhumi International Airport, they organized a marathon on the runaway. Probably something you wouldn’t be able to do again once the airport opens later this month. Another event was the walkathon organized across the yet to be opened Mega Bridge which spans the Chao Phraya River. A hard choice, but I decided to go for the walkathon. I had been closely following the progress of the mega bridge and I wanted the experience of walking across it on foot.

I hadn’t seen much publicity in the newspapers but I knew that people were told to dress in a yellow shirt. The event was planned to start at 4 p.m. Now, this is no normal bridge. It is massive. Due to a loop in the river, the bridge actually crosses the Chao Phraya River twice! And half way across, there is a major intersection which you can use to leave the bridge early. For us people who live in Samut Prakan, this will be our first, though not last, bridge that crosses the river. After the bridge opens in December, we will no longer need to drive one hour into Bangkok to cross the river on the Rama IX bridge. I have been looking forward to the opening of this bridge for a long time as it will now mean we can get quick access to the outer ring road and we can now avoid Bangkok when we go on our day trips.

I wasn’t sure about where I was supposed to go to join the walkathon. I had decided to follow anyone who was wearing a yellow shirt. But, I realized after a while, that these people were going in all different directions! Before I knew it, I ended up in the queue for the car ferry and so had to do a u-turn in order to find an access ramp for the bridge. I then spotted several coaches of people wearing yellow turning off onto a side road. Bingo! I followed them and soon found myself amongst hundreds of coaches and thousands of people. Many of them were wearing yellow but others were wearing blue. But, they all seemed to be organized into groups. It looked like it was going to be a colour co-ordinated event. I wasn’t actually sure if anyone could turn up for this event or whether you had to register first. But, then I heard on the tannoy that all the yellow shirted people should hurry to the starting point because the blue shirted people had already arrived. So, I mingled with a group of people wearing yellow shirts and headed towards the access ramp.

It was hot work walking up this road in the blazing sun. A number of people were holding water bottles but I had forgotten to bring any. By the time I got to the top I was not only tired but very thirsty. There must have been already a thousand people there and looking behind me I could see there were thousands more coming. It was literally a sea of yellow with some blue taking up the rear. At the top, stewards were telling people to line up in rows and to sit down and wait. Which everyone did without complaint. Up ahead I could see a giant portrait of H.M. The King and also a large amount of yellow balloons. It looked like we were waiting for an opening ceremony. As far as I could tell, a similar ceremony was going to be held at the other end of the bridge on the Bangkok side. I couldn’t see much from where I was standing so I calmly walked up to the front taking pictures as I went along.

Being a white-faced foreigner in Thailand, it is possible to get away with things like this as most security people don’t know how to confront you. It also helped that I had a camera with an expensive looking lens so it made me look like a press photographer. (I really need to get myself some kind of id card to hang around my neck for events like this.) When I do stuff like this I make a point of never making eye contact and do my best not to look like a tourist. So, I was able to get right to the front to take pictures of the governor of Samut Prakan and other local politicians taking part in the opening ceremony. The balloons were then released and the marching band started to play and everyone set off for the long walk over the bridge. I then ran on ahead a little way in order to get some pictures of everyone walking towards me.

We crossed the first part of the bridge over the Chao Phraya River and then a short stretch of land. I could see the river going off into the distance and then coming back to go under the second span. This was where we met up with the dignitaries from the other side. A stage had been set up here and there were television cameras and photographers from the national newspapers. There were also royal photographers there dressed in black suits and a red arm band. Apparently a member of the royal family was coming for the ceremony. I took pictures of the politicians with no problem. But then they made an announcement in Thai that only the royal photographers with red arm bands were allowed to take pictures when the royalty arrived. They made it very clear that even mobile phones with cameras were not allowed to be used. So, I decided to start the long walk back and to take more pictures of the views.

As I was walking back, it was getting darker and then the lights came on which beautifully lit up the bridge. I knew there was going to be a firework display at 7.30 p.m. so I decided I would try and get down to the river bank to see if I could get a picture of the bridge with the fireworks in the background. It took about an hour or so to walk back to the car. I should say stagger as I was really tired and dehydrated by this time. I then drove back to the main road and headed towards the river. But, there was so much traffic waiting to get onto the car ferry that it delayed me a lot. (I really cannot wait until this bridge opens. It will really speed things up for us.)  In the end I didn’t get to my viewpoint in time and had to watch the fireworks display from the car. Never mind, it had been an eventful afternoon.

The Sanctuary of Truth in Pattaya

Here are some more good Thai blogs from this time last year.

• Farang Kee Nok – life of a Thai-American
• Going to Bangkok in 1904
• "Farang Speak Thai?!"
• Random Thai Superstitions
• Betting in Thailand
• Satellite Pictures of Thailand
• Sunthorn Phu – Thailand’s most famous poet
• Taxis in Thailand – everything you need to know
• Paknam Railway – first railway in Thailand
• Thai Sayings
• More Thai Sayings
• Floating Market in Samut Prakan
• Bangkok's Mega Bridge Updates
• Back to...The Beauty of Bangkok
• Superstitions and Customs from the past
• Footsteps of Thai Heroines
• How to Apply as a Teacher in Thailand
• Thai Ladyboys – one of the most popular blogs from last year
• More Superstitions and Customs
• Wai Khru Ceremony
• Do's and Don'ts for Teachers in Thailand
• Cars vs. Motorcycles
• Don't be old-fashioned, let's experience Thai Bus!
• The Space Between – personal space for Thais
• Making Good Luck for my Car
• Dos and Don'ts....in Thailand
• An Honest Thai Person

As usual, I left the food blogs out as you can find them at www.enjoythaifood.com. Also don’t forget to visit the archives for the travel blogs at www.thaitravelblogs.com.

There are some good festivals coming up:

• Phi Ta Khon festival – 1st-2nd July
• Grand Candle Festival – 5th-11th July
• Ashana Bucha Day – 10th July
• Tak Bat Dok Mai Festival – 10th-11th July

We have started to archive our festival blogs. Also, to add information about festivals coming up. You can take a sneak preview of what we have done so far here: www.thaifestivalblogs.com.

Back in February 2005 and June 2005 I wrote in my blogs about the new mega bridge that was being built across a loop in the Chao Phraya River. It is a massive project because the bridge will cross the river twice in one go. As you can see from the above photograph the bridge is proceeding fast now and they have started to close the gap. In the photo below you can see that the approach road is also making good progress. This isn't the only bridge in Samut Prakan being built across the river at the moment. Another one for the Outer ring road is also being built further downstream. These projecs are supposed to be finished by the end of this year.

In my blog the other day, I was telling you about the new mega bridge which they are building across two sections of the Chao Phraya River. The bridge goes from Samut Prakan to Samut Prakan to Bangkok.

In this map you can see clearer what I meant about the loop in the river. That is a big diversion for ships heading to Bangkok. I told you before that the only way for me to take my car to the other side of the river is to go to the car ferry which I have marked on this map. To cross the river by bridge, I have to follow the bend of the river to the King Rama IX bridge which is just off the map in the top left hand corner. You can see the green road which takes traffic across the river. The yellow line is the boundary for Samut Prakan. North of the river is Bangkok. As they are now building a new canal alongside the bridge the land inside the loop has become a virtual island. This is where I went exploring on Sunday. You won't find this area in the Lonely Planet.

The first place I wanted to find was the Bangnamphung Floating Market (figure 1). I first heard about this floating market back in April when I crossed the river to see the Songkran Parade in Phra Pradaeng. I noticed some billboards advertising this new place. I made a mental note to try and locate it another time. I had forgotten all about it but then on Saturday I bought a new guidebook in Thai which covers the top part of the Gulf of Thailand. The book had a map which gave me a rough idea of where to find the floating market. So, on Sunday I decided to go off exploring.

As it turned out it was quite easy to find the floating market as there were a number of bilingual signs along the way. I parked my car in Bangnamphungnai Temple and followed the crowd to what looked like a newly constructed canal. Or at least one where the banks had been recently reinforced with concrete slabs. I am not sure what I was expecting. I suppose I was thinking it would be a bit like the famous floating market at Damnoen Saduak. I thought there would be dozens of vendors paddling up and down the canal selling their produce to locals and tourists. Well, it wasn't quite like that. Most of the vendors were on the river bank or were selling from boats which were firmly moored. The only people I saw on boats were some tourists who had rented them out.

There were the usual number of food stalls which was to be expected. But, there was also many OTOP stalls. If you don't know, this stands for One Tambon One Product. It is a scheme started by Thaksin to encourage each district in the country to produce and sell at least one unique product. This alone made the trip worthwhile. It was interesting to see and buy some local products. There must have been over 100 stalls which provided quite a nice atmosphere. In addition to hiring boats, it looked like you could also hire bicycles. I walked along the canal for a while until the path stopped alongside a road about a ten minute walk away.

I think this is a place I would certainly come back to. The floating market is open every weekend between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. I came a bit late this time so if I bring some visitors next time I will try to go earlier in the morning. A nice touch for me was that there were no foreigners at all. Obviously it isn't in any English guidebooks yet as it has been open less than a year.

My next task was to find Sri Nakhon Khuankun Park (figure 2 on the map). This was alot harder as the map wasn't very clear and the roads were very narrow and winding. This whole area is hardly built up at all. It is very much like a jungle in places. I eventually found the park which was in the middle of no-where. Literally. At the entrance there were about a dozen cars parked. If you don't have your own transport then I am not sure how yo uwould get to this place. Entrance to the park is free of charge which is nice but not surprising because of its remote location.

On walking inside I was amazed about the size and neatness of the place. Again I wondered about the remoteness and location of the park. How many people would come here? How many people know about it? In the middle of the park there is a large lake. Scattered around were a few salas, open planned buildings, and bridges crossing streams. Some people were lying on the grass eating a picnic and others were feeding the fish in the lake.

I decided to walk north to where I presumed I might find the Chao Phraya River. I actually had no idea where I was on the map but I was hoping I might be able to see a glimpse of the river. After walking for about 15 minutes or so I came across a watch tower which was about seven metres high. What was puzzling was that surrounding the watch tower was a wooden boardwalk which had fallen into disrepair. It was strange because the park looked new. Anyway, the view from the top didn't give me any clues about which direction I should go. I was surrounded by palm trees and nipa palms.

I decided to keep walking north. The path became more overgrown. I then discovered another area which had some buildings and seating areas that had fallen to pieces. This looked like it had been a park in the past with maybe some shops and boardwalks out into the jungle. But now the jungle had taken over. I wasn't sure whether to continue walking or not. I knew it must only be a hop skip and jump to the heart of Bangkok but it was starting to feel like I was in that DiCaprio movie The Beach. You know, that scene where the backpackers stumble across a field with drugs growing and they are gunned down by the farmers. The place was dead quiet and there was not a single person in sight.

I decided to head back but first I needed to relieve myself. As I walked behind a tree, a loud noise startled me. It sounded like an animal moving fast through some water. But this wasn't a small animal. It sounded as big as a human but was moving much quicker. It crossed my mind that it might be a wild crocodile! I then decided I had done enough exploring in the jungle and decided to walk back to the new part of the park. I didn't want to be eaten by crocodiles. If there were crocodiles these wouldn't be doped like the ones that perform in the wrestling matches in Paknam.

Walking back to the lake I spotted some more wildlife. Apart from butterflies and birds, I could see something swimming in the river. It wasn't fish. I went to take a closer look. A few minutes later I spotted a monitor lizard running across the grass and jumping into the water. It must have been about two metres long. It looked like it was quite powerful the way it was swimming. I wonder if this is what startled me earlier. Maybe there was a much larger one out in the bushes.

I decided to cut my walk in the park short when the wind started to pick up and it looked like it was going to rain. I probably would come back here again to do a bit more exploring. There certainly seemed to be plenty of flora and fauna. Again it would be a nice place to bring visitors. The park is open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.