Chatuchak Park in Bangkok revived me after a delayed and uncomfortable overnight flight from Melbourne. I found this cool, green and serene city park to be great for both mind and body.

Chatuchak Park is a green and serene city park in bustling Bangkok. Busy at weekends, when locals come to relax and picnic, early morning and either side of sunset is the most peaceful time to visit and enjoy the expansive lawns, walking paths and tree lined canals.

I photographed these beautiful flowers suspended close to one of numerous bridges in Chatuchak park.

It's a slightly chaotic composition and I had to be careful to avoid the array of leaves and branches potentially clogging up the scene.

By moving in close I was both able to place emphasis on the flowers and help to separate them from the foliage in the background.

I like how the yellow in the flowers contrasts with the bluish light from the sky. It’s subtle, but it does add a sense of energy to an otherwise quiet image.

Chatuchak Park History

Opening in 1900, on land donated by the State Railway of Thailand, Chatuchak Park is one of the oldest public parks in Bangkok.

The park covers an area of 0.304 square kilometers (0.188 square miles) and sits adjacent to the Queen Sirikit Park and Wachirabenchatat Park.

Chatuchak Park has become a popular recreational site for Thais, expats and tourists alike.

I was interested to discover these water wheels in the canal. They make an interesting feature and seemed to do a good job at aerating the water when operating.

I decided to add a heavy sepia tone to this photo as I felt it would bring a sense of nostalgia to the image.

Chatuchak Park Location

Located right next to the world famous Chatuchak Market, on the south-west edge of the park, you'll find Chatuchak Park along Kamphaeng Phet 3 Road in the north of Bangkok.

How To Get To Chatuchak Park

While it's outside the city proper Chatuchak Park is very accessible by public transport.

Chatuchak Park station is situated in the southern part of the park. It's a Bangkok MRT (subway) station on the blue line.

Another option is the Bangkok Mass Transit System, known as the BTS (that's right there's no M in BTS). It’s a sky train that travels across town on an elevated track.

I love traveling on the BTS as it provides tourists and local residents alike with the ability to move through quite a bit of Bangkok with relative ease.

What’s more, because you’re elevated above the ground, you have a much improved view of the surroundings. This allows you to look outwards and see far beyond the buildings immediately opposite the skytrain.

I was staying in the Sukhumvit district and was able to reach Chatuchak Park by taking the BTS Skyline to Mo Chit station, from where it’s possible to see the park from the station platform.

Bangkok bus station, the intercity bus exchange, is also nearby.

Chatuchak Park Opening Hours

Chatuchak Park is open daily from 4:30am to 9:30pm.

This view of a footbridge providing access over the canal at Chatuchak Park shows some of the dense foliage in this lovely city park.

I positioned myself to showcase the footbridge’s arch shaped supports and composed the image making use of the warm and cool color contrast within the scene.

Car Parking at Chatuchak Park

Car parking is available in dedicated areas to the north and south of the park.

While I’m not sure why anyone other than a local Thai would drive in Bangkok, you might find it helpful to check the above map to help locate the park.

Public Toilets at Chatuchak Park

There are quite decent public toilets in the park. I used them without too much trouble.

However, if you'd prefer cleaner toilets the JJ Mall, located north of the Chatuchak Market, offers cleaner, air conditioned facilities.

Generally speaking I’m not thrilled by malls and shopping centres. Nonetheless, an air conditioned environment can be a relief from the oppressive heat and humidity you’ll likely experience when arriving in Bangkok from a cooler climate.

There are also public toilets situated in nearby Chat Park.

Things To Do In Chatuchak Park

This large, green public space offers visitors a shady retreat from the hustle and bustle of what can feel like a noisy, hectic and quite overwhelming urban environment.

A meeting place for young Thai lovers the park is also a great place to see folks exercising, walking and jogging along well maintained pathways.

Chatuchuk Park features shady lawns, water wheels and fountains that provide a cool and pleasant sanctuary from what, for folks like me, would otherwise be quite oppressive heat.

A narrow artificial lake, perhaps best referred to as a canal, runs through the park.

As you can see by the photos in this post, the canal is really a major part of the park and provides a lot of opportunities for great photos.

Looking down into the brown water, from one of the footbridges crossing the canal, I noticed lots of fish and I even discovered a few water monitors swimming in the canal.

Actually there’s a number of these attractive footbridges that allow you to cross the canal. They also provide great subject matter for photos.

You’ll notice in the above photo how I chose a black and white rendering to concentrate attention on the repetition of shapes and lines throughout the scene.

By including the pedestrian in the image I was able to add scale and a energy to this otherwise static image.

If you’re a keen photographer I think you could easily spend several hours exploring the park. This should give you enough time to view the following attractions:

• Clock Tower

• Flower Clock

• Train Museum

• Youth Traffic Garden

• Art from six ASEAN countries

The large, leafy trees are quite beautiful. I really enjoyed lying down on the grass and looking upwards into the canopy.

It's extremely relaxing and a great way to find release from the stresses and strains that are sometimes a part of overseas travel.

Chatuchak Park is dotted with colorful flowers all year round. Many of the plants have labels attached which identify them in Thai, English and, for our horticultural friends, Latin.

Chatuchak Park is a popular place for jogging so, if the tropical heat doesn’t drain all your energy, you might enjoy a circuit or two around the park.

What’s more there’s outdoor gym equipment for those with the energy.

Bike Riding at Chatuchak

There are four adjoining parks which, together, provide great opportunities for bike riding.

• Rot Fai Park and Gardens

• Queen Sirkit Park

• Wachirabenchatat Park

• Chatuchak Park

A loop around Chatuchak Park is around 3.4 km (2.1 miles). However, by following the paths through all four parks you can extend your run to over 6 km (4 miles).

This is significant as it provides a safe and stress free route for walkers, joggers and cyclists alike.

Chatuchak Weekend Market

The famous Chatuchak Weekend Market is one of the largest outdoor markets in the world. A huge variety of goods are available at the market including clothes, flowers, plants and handicrafts.

Opening hours are as follows:

• Monday 9am to 6pm

• Tuesday 9am to 6pm

• Wednesday 7am to 6pm

• Thursday 7am to 6pm

• Friday night from 6pm to midnight

• Saturday 9am till 6pm

• Sunday 9am till 6pm

A visit to a local market is often an interesting cultural experience and, for a lot of people, very much part of their travel itinerary.

Because of it’s massive size and the variety of goods on offer Chatuchak Weekend Market is a great venue to see how local Thai folk shop.

If you like shopping there’s no reason why you wouldn’t pick up a bargain or two for yourself.

Making Photos in Chatuchak Park

I've visited Bangkok numerous times over the years.

As a major regional travel hub it's a great place to base yourself when you have time on your hands and you're planning to make excursions into nearby countries that are only a few hours away by plane.

The photos in this post were made after arriving in Bangkok from Melbourne, Australia at the beginning of just such a trip.

Clearly it's important to get out into the light to readjust your body clock to local time, particularly after a long international flight.

I find walking helps acclimatize me to the weather as much as the sights and sounds in whatever city I've arrived in.

One of the advantages of a photo walk in Bangkok is the sheer range of visual stimuli you're likely to see.

It’s a great way to tap into the creative side of the brain and allow for a more artist approach to picture making.

But what if Bangkok is just a stopover on the way to a radically different travel destination?

Even if city parks or street scenes aren’t your primary interest, it’s my experience that a day out with your camera can get your eye and brain ready for photos when you arrive at your primary destination.

Night Time In Chatuchak Park

It’s true it can get a little eerie wandering around Chatuchak Park after dark. As always, with personal safety in mind, you need to keep your wits about you.

That can be tricky when you’re concentrating on making photos. And let’s face it, a camera can draw attention as it’s an expensive item that can easily be resold by a thief.

My advice is to undertake night time adventures in well lit areas and, wherever possible, to do so accompanied by a partner or friend.

If you’re still concerned consider hooking up with a group of like minded folk for a night photography course.

I made this photo at Chatuchak Park with darkness encroaching, like a thief in the night.

I like the sickly greenish hue of the artificially illuminated water and the repetition of shapes and lines within the bridge.

The shutter speed was 1/12 second and the image was made, handheld, with an older Leica camera with no image stabilization.

While I wouldn't recommend most folks photograph in this way, without practice, I do it regularly.

I'd say 1/8 second is my cut-off point. Handheld exposures, even with modern cameras or lenses with great image stabilization, slower than that worry me.

Are all my exposures made, handheld, at 1/8 second absolutely razor sharp?

Probably not, but there are times when I feel it’s more important to actually make the picture than being turned off by the possibility of an unsharp result.

Back in the day I can remember numerous centre page spreads in the venerable National Geographic magazine that featured images that were not razor sharp.

This proves that the viewer is more interested in the emotional and visual impact of the image than whether it's slightly unsharp.

So who are you, primarily, making pictures for?

• Yourself

• Millions of viewers (potentially) online

• Commercial customers

• Camera club judges

That particular Leica camera, the Leica M9, was also problematic in that it displayed terrible noise characteristics, even at relatively modest ISO speeds.

Fortunately the more recent models of Leica M-series cameras are far improved in relation to noise performance and produce really excellent results.

My advice is to make the image and then determine if it’s suitable for the audience in question.

Just click on any of these images to see them displayed larger and get an indication of their sharpness.

Would you be happy with these results, particularly for web display?

Conclusion: Chatuchak Park Isn’t Paradise, But It’s Not Bad Either

Chatuchuk Park doesn't offer the grandness of many major botanical gardens in Western countries.

Nonetheless, it offers local Thais, expats and tourists with a sense of personal space and peace amidst the hustle and bustle of this busy Asian metropolis.

If, like me, you find yourself in Bangkok and in need of rejuvenation, Chatuchak Park might well be the place for you.

Glenn Guy, Travel Photography Guru