My associate in Bangkok, Ms. MoongMink, is preparing a day’s outing for me upon my return to Thailand’s capital city. As a lover of flowers and plants, she will be taking me to a number of different places – one of Bangkok’s premier flower nurseries; Khru Waan’s two acre garden oasis, the largest private garden in Greater Bangkok; and to Seri Thai Park, Bangkok’s beautiful water park located in the heart of the city. I’m really looking forward to this all day excursion, as I will be seeing a part of Bangkok that most tourists never see. Here’s a report filed by Ms. MoongMonk on Seri Thai Park.

Seri Thai was opened to the public in 1987 as part of a flood prevention project initiated by His Majesty the King Rama IX. Once known as Bueng Kum (Bueng in Thai = a big pond) or Bueng Ta-thong, the vast public reservoir was renamed Seri Thai Park in honor of the Seri Thai or free Thai movement, on the occasion of 52nd anniversary of the end of World War II. The park covers an area of 145 acres; one section of the park was allocated for the creation of Bangkok Forest Park as a commemoration to King Rama IX’s 50th reigning anniversary. The forest park consists of 3 parts, namely Thawisuk, Rom-Sai and Charoenkarn, all of which are partly planted with perennial plants and allocated for flowers and fruit trees garden, both Thai and foreign species, as well as an island pavilion which is populated with 10 species of palm trees.

By the way, I will be arriving in Bangkok on Nov 12 – only 2 weeks from now. Don’t forget to subscribe to my RSS feed to ensure that you receive all my updates, reports and commentary on my whirlwind 30-day adventure to Thailand and Malaysia.

BANGKOK has a reputation for its eclectic mix of east and west. In this bustling cosmopolitan city, you’ll find Buddhist shrines and temples seamlessly blending in with modern skyscrapers and gaudy shopping centers, a variety of art galleries and cafes, an exciting (and sometime erotic) nightlife in addition to an abundance of excellent restaurants of every persuasion - Thai, French, Chinese, Indian, Italian, Middle Eastern etc – not to mention the tasty Thai dishes that are served up at many of the streetside food stalls. No wonder, Bangkok was rated as the top city destination in the world by readers of Travel and Leisure.

But beyond all this glitz and glamour, there is a part of Bangkok that few tourists ever see. Tucked away in many of the small residential gardens throughout the city are pockets of natural beauty and greenery. If you’re in Bangkok, you may want to follow the lead of my associate, Ms. Moongmink – this lady’s genuine passion in life is flowers. Last Sunday morning, Moongmink stepped out of her tiny apartment after the rains stopped and took a stroll through the alleyways of her neighborhood armed with her trusty pocket camera. Look at some of the beautiful and exotic flowers that she photographed along the way! During her little outing, she had to deal with some nasty barking dogs – fortunately they were behind barred gates. I guess their bark was bigger than their bite!