A walk in the park

and a traffic jam at 5:30am

By Grant Cameron

November 5^th, 2017

SUAN LUANG KING RAMA IX PARK

It had always seemed to me that this place was pretty inaccessible (apart from being distant from my home) because it was tucked away in small sois (lanes, or roads that are not wide), and traffic would likely be bad.

Or, as often happens . . a poor driver slows the traffic for all behind her (I mean him, him, not she, sorry). To defeat the traffic scenario, my friend and I decided to arrive one Sunday at 5:30am, 40 minutes before sunrise, and of course, we got stuck . . in traffic.

Our purpose in visiting Suan Luang King Rama 9 park was simply to photograph sunrise and the geodesic dome and botanical garden.

This was my first shot of the day, only because sunrise was a while away yet.

Sunrise, the "before"

The sun was still below the horizon but the pavilion was well lit up. Even though, I needed the tripod.

Moving to the lake we wanted to photograph the sunrise, and if our homework was correct the sun would rise behind the beautiful spire and building shown. This was the shot as I got into focus and anticipated the sunrise, 20 minutes early.

Sunrise, The "waiting"

The camera (with ND filter) was setup, and as I waited I wandered nearby and met several people meditating in anticipation of the new day. They were throwing themselves in front of me just to get into the shot.

Sunrise, and the reason for visiting!

But when the sun first made its jump above the horizon, this is what I captured.

Leaving

That was it! Captured!

Time, now, to go to the next planned venue for shooting (see a later post). But I had to pass by the pavilion which was the first building shot of the day . . and took another shot of it.

And Another . . .

From a different view point and facing the sun, still not yet high in the sky.

Traffic, You said!

So why did I mention traffic at the beginning?

Well, not having an inkling that the park was a favourite place for joggers, and Tai Chi enthusiasts we bumped into their traffic (not literally) as they came to the park in droves, parked their cars (there were many, lots, loads!), and got about their business.

Organised exercise

Apart from joggers, who went about their own business ruthlessly and methodically killing their knee joints and waiting to become hip replacement candidates in future years, and the odd meditator who threw themselves (as you saw) into my camera's field of view, the rest of the exercisers were organised with leaders and music!

Being one of the exceedingly few foreigners around, the aerobic leader had a great time pointing me out, as the "farang", to her massive troupe of devotees; they all had a good laugh.

But my goodness they were active and in a blur of activity (except for the elderly Tai-chi'ers).

Suanluang Rama IX is located on Nongbon sub-district, Pravet district, Bangkok, on an area of 500 Rai. It is divided into 6 sections which are:

– The Garden of the Great King

– The Botanic Garden

– The Reservoir (Traphang Kaew Keb Nam)

– Romanee Garden

– The Water Garden

– The Sanam Rasdara and Sport Center

The park is open from 05:00 to 18:00 and it seems there is an entrance fee (of only 10 Baht), but there was no sign of entrance fees being collected at 5:30am. Get there early!