Best Parks for Running in Bangkok, Thailand

 

Best Parks for Running in Bangkok, Thailand

If you are a runner, you would agree that even while traveling, it is important to maintain your running practice, in order to keep up your fitness level.
Otherwise, if you do not run for a month, you have to start from scratch and it takes months to return your muscles to the condition where you can run daily without pain.

Bangkok in October is hot hot hot, and it rains here often.
But the best parks offer well paved running paths, which are full of runners, especially early mornings or on weekends.

Many of the parks are well planted with mature trees and have lakes, which are home to many fish, turtles and monitor lizards that come out of the water to sun themselves on the grass.

Some parks have vendors selling water, fresh juices and coconut water, and some parks have no vendors inside the park, but you can use one of the exits to buy water and return to the park to continue your run.

All the parks have multiple free and very clean toilets along their running paths.
There is a cleaning person at each toilet.
There is no toilet paper in these toilets, as the locals use the small water hoses by the toilet to wash up.

I have compiled a list of he very best parks for running in central Bangkok.
Some of these parks are used by locals and tourists as resting green places in a hectic city, but the running paths are wide enough to give you a long run without being disturbed.

In my opinion, it is best to run early morning while it is less hot, and then to return to your place to shower and change clothes, so you can start your day fresh and clean.
For this reason it is best to use the park that is most convenient to your apartment or hotel.

When I stayed in my first apartment, the most convenient park was Benjakitti Park.

1- Benjakitti Park and Benjakitti Forest Park
This park is the most beautiful In Bangkok.
This green lung is made entirely from reused grey water.
It has elevated paths crossing over vast water lily ponds, as well as a good running path around a small lake.

There are a few toilets inside, but no vendors are allowed inside the park. There is a Starbucks near one of the entrances in the Bentley house, where you can refresh before or after your run.
There are also street vendors outside the park selling water, pomegranate juice in season and coconut water.
It is easy to do a 5 km run in this park.

While we stayed in our second apartment In Bangkok, we ran daily in Lumphini Park.

2- Lumphini Park
Lumphini park is the most popular park in the city.
But do not let that deter you from choosing Lumphini park as your running venue.
The paths are well paved, and the well marked longer path is 2.5 km, so you can do two laps to make 5 km.

The park has plenty of clean toilets and some vendors selling fresh juices and water, as well as coconut water for $1.

While running, you will see ladies practicing a form of Tai Chi, done with handheld fans, which open in a strong whoosh and look very elegant.
Another group practices a dance with swords.

You will see people feeding the birds or the monitor lizards and couples snuggling on the benches.
A cleaning and gardening crew seem to live inside the park, and they attend to every broken branch before it blocks the running path.
On weekends, i saw the most amount of runners in the park.

3- Chatuchak Park
Chatuchak park is located in north Bangkok near the famous Chatuchak weekend market.
The market is a major event, with 10,000 vendors selling everything and anything.

We saw rows of pet stores and aquarium supplies, colorful fish in plastic bags for miles, as well as local foods, interesting snacks, clothes, bags and much, much more.

The park has a big lake with a running path around it.
A full lap is 3 km. and there are lots of clean toilets along the path.
During the week the park is lovely, but it gets a bit busy on early morning weekends, when we saw the park’s guards put out traffic cones to make a narrow running lane.
They removed them after the early morning “running rush hour” was over.

The park is right by the MRT (subway) exit, but if you plan to combine your run with a visit to the very busy weekend market, you will have to walk south to reach the market streets.

Prepare to be shocked by the lack of social distancing as tens of thousands of people crowd together walking shoulder to shoulder in a cluster ball of human bodies.

4- Wachirabenchathat Park (Rot Fai Park)
This park is located to the west of Chatuchak park.
The parks are seamlessly connected, but Wachirabenchathat Park (Rot Fai Park) is much quieter and more beautiful.

It is also a bigger park where you can make your own run on different paths.
It has a vast water lily pond in the middle which you can see by walking on rickety bamboo paths which you cannot run on,
But the regular running path is well paved and wide.

The park has a butterfly pavilion that is free to visit, and sculptures along the running path.
There are lots of clean toilets.

The park is also connected to the Queen Sirikit Park which is a botanical garden, but when we were there, it was being renovated and was not a good place to run.

5- Saranrom Palace Park
This is a very small park with a path that is only 400 meters long, but it is used by runners and walkers alike, who live nearby.
It is a pretty park with pavilions and mature tropical trees, a toilet and like all parks, outdoor gym machines to encourage the population who cannot afford gym memberships to exercise.

6- Another out of the way park is Suan Luang Rama IX Park.
It can be reached by public transportation.

7- Nong Bon Lake Park
It is adjacent to Suan Luang Rama IX Park and offers a vast lake used by kayakers.
Both parks are excellent choices to run.

There are other options of safe places to run in Bangkok.
You can do your own research and find the ones nearest you, to establish a morning routine to keep up your fitness levels.

With sweat and much joy,
Tali