Bangkok (Lonely Planet) - Andrew Burke [49]
Easily mistaken for a European public garden, this Victorian-era green space was originally designed as a royal residence in the time of Rama IV. After Rama VII (King Prajadhipok; r 1925–35) abdicated in 1935, the palace served as the headquarters of the People’s Party, the political organisation that orchestrated the handover of the government. The open space remained and in 1960 was opened to the public.
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BANGKOK STREET SMARTS
Keep the following in mind to survive the traffic and avoid joining the list of tourists sucked in by Bangkok’s numerous scam artists:
Good jewellery, gems and tailor shops aren’t found through a túk-túk driver.
Skip the 10B túk-túk ride unless you have the time and will-power to resist a heavy sales pitch in a tailor or gem store.
Ignore ‘helpful’ locals who tell you that tourist attractions and public transport are closed for a holiday or cleaning; it’s the beginning of a con, most likely a gem scam.
Don’t expect any pedestrian rights; put a Bangkokian between you and any oncoming traffic, and yield to anything with more metal than you.
Walk outside the tourist strip to hail a taxi that will use the meter – tell the driver ‘meter’. If the driver refuses to put the meter on, get out.
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Today a wander through the garden reveals a Victorian gazebo, paths lined with frangipani and a moat around a marble monument built in honour of one of Rama V's favourite wives, Queen Sunantha, who died in a boating accident in 1880. The queen was on her way to Bang Pa-In Summer Palace in Ayuthaya when her boat began to sink. The custom at the time was that commoners were forbidden to touch royalty, which prevented her attendants saving her from drowning.
The satellite corners of the park are filled with weightlifting equipment where a túk-túk driver might do some leg crunches in between telling tourists that the sights they are looking for have closed. As the day cools, various aerobics and dance classes practise their synchronisation, and if you’re lucky like us you might see a delicate kun yǐng – Bangkok matron recognisable for the big perm and generously applied make-up – enjoying a slow-motion workout on the rusty rowing machine.
SILPAKORN UNIVERSITY
Map
0 2623 6115; www.su.ac.th; 31 Th Na Phra Lan; air-con 503 & 508, ordinary 1, 25 & 82; Tha Chang (N9)
Thailand’s universities aren’t usually repositories for interesting architecture, but Silpakorn, the country’s premier art school, breaks the mould. The classical buildings form the charming nucleus of what was an early Thai aristocratic enclave, and the traditional artistic temperament still survives. The building immediately facing the Th Na Phra Lan gate was once part of a palace and now houses the Silpakorn University Art Centre (Map; 0 2218 2965; www.art-centre.su.ac.th; 9am-7pm Mon-Fri, 9am-4pm Sat), which exhibits work by faculty, students and other Thai and international artists. To the right of the building is a shady sculpture garden displaying the work of Corrado Feroci (also known as Silpa Bhirasri), the Italian art professor and sculptor who came to Thailand at royal request in the 1920s and later established the university (which is named after him), sculpted parts of the Democracy Monument and, much to his own annoyance, the Victory Monument.
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YOU, YOU, WHERE YOU GO?
A direct translation of a standard Thai inquiry ‘Ъai năi?’, the English phrase ‘Where you go?’ will be hurled at you by money-struck túk-túk and taxi drivers as if it were a military interrogation. Despite that nagging feeling of rudeness, you don’t have to respond and the best answer is to master the public transport system, which is cheap and reliable, and won’t steer you to its cousin’s tailor shop. If that doesn’t work, you can always retaliate with a playground comeback like ‘I’ve come to see you’.
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Not surprisingly, the campus has an arty, contemporary vibe and is a good place to sit and watch sketchers doing their thing. Stop by the Art Shop beside the gallery for unique postcards