Parks and Gardens
Bangkok's parks and
gardens offer welcome respite from city heat and noise. They
include: Lumphini Park at the northern end of Silom Road, and
bordered by Wireless and Rajdamri roads. Lumphini Park is popular
with joggers, keep-fit enthusiasts, families and sportsmen,
particularly during the early morning and late afternoon. Chatuchak
Park near the Paholyothin and Viphavadi Rangsit Highway junction at
Lard Prao, on the way to Bangkok's Don Muang Airport, is also the
site of a famous weekend market that sells almost everything made
and grown in Thailand. Khao Din Zoological Garden is an artfully
landscaped enclave with an artificial lake. The zoo neighbors
Ratchadamnoen Avenue's Royal Plaza, and National Assembly Building,
and contains a fine collection of African and Asian mammals,
reptiles and birds. King Rama IX Park or Suan Luang Gardens is an
extensive park with fine botanical gardens deep inside Sukhumvit Soi
103 in Bangkok's eastern suburbs. The botanical gardens were opened
with private and public donations in 1987 to celebrate H.M. King
Bhumibol's auspicious 60th birthday.
Amusement and Theme Parks
Magic Land at Lat
Phrao, just north-east of Bangkok's Central Plaza Hotel, is the
capital's major amusement park. The complex offers a wide range of
exciting rides and other amusements including haunted houses and
sideshows. Similar facilities are found in the eastern suburb of
Minburi at the Siam Water Park. The water theme park features an
artificial sea replete with authentic waves, waterfalls, water
sliders, whirlpools, and numerous water-related activities. The
adjacent Safari World features a collection of African and Asian
mammals, including lions, tigers, giraffes, zebras and bears, that
live in natural surroundings. The sprawling complex also contains
Asia's largest aviary with over 4,000 birds.
Theatre
Theatrical events in
Bangkok include Thai dance and puppet performances, English and
Thai- language dramas, concerts by visiting international artists,
musical performances, and infrequently imported mimes and plays.
Visitors are advised to consult the English-language newspapers,
particularly the weekly or daily calendar of events, to ascertain
the times and dates of current performances. Major theatrical venues
include: Thailand's National Theatre, adjacent to the National
Museum at Bangkok's Sanam Luang. The theatre is the venue for
concerts and Thai classical dram a
performances. Weekend performances of Thai dance dramas are
periodically staged. The Thailand Cultural Center on Ratchadapisek
Road, the Alliance Francaise Auditorium on South Sathorn Road, the
AUA Language Centre Auditorium on Rajdamri Road, the British Council
Center in Siam Square, and the Goethe Institute on Soi
Attakarnprasit, off South Sathorn Road, also stage theatrical and
musical performances. The Hotel Siam Intercontinental periodically
stages British plays, mostly comedies, from London's West End, with
accomplished British actors. The KAD Performing Arts Center in
Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand, includes the lavishly- equipped
KAD Theatre with a seating capacity of 1,550 and the KAD Playhouse,
with a seating capacity of 500. The KAD Performing Arts Center is
geared towards staging imported full-scale theatrical and musical
productions from abroad, performed in the original language, and
original Thai dramatic and musical productions.
International and Thai Sports
Golf. soccer, boxing,
badminton, tennis, bowling and snooker figure prominently among
international sports enjoyed by Thais. Indigenous games and sports
include world-famous Thai boxing, takro, kite-fighting and boat
racing. International sports the visitor is likely to enjoy include:
Deep-Sea Game Fishing
Bang Sare Fishing Club, just south of Pattaya, is the principal
center for fishermen seeking marlin, king mackerel, tuna, sharks and
other denizens of the Thai Gulf. Major fishing centers on the Indian
Ocean coast include Ranong and Phuket.
Golf
Thailand's clement weather means that golfers can enjoy their sport
all year round at a wide variety of challenging courses. Thailand's
major public golf courses are located in Bangkok, Nakhon Pathom, Hua
Hin, Chonburi, Patta ya,Phuket
and Chiang Mai.
Horse Racing
Weekend races, each averaging 10 races, can be seen at Bangkok's
Royal Turf Club and Royal Bangkok Sports Club.
Motor Sports
The 2.4 kilometer Bira
International Pattaya Circuit regularly features local and
international motor and motorcycle racing.
Sailing
Hobie Cats, Lasers and
Prindles are available in Hua Hin and Phuket.
Scuba Diving / Snorkeling
Thailand offers some of Southeast Asia's finest diving opportunities
in Gulf waters around Pattaya, Sattahip, Rayong's Samet island,
Trat's Koh Chang Marine National Park, Chumphon and Surat Thani's
sparkling archipelago which contains the beautiful Samui island and
Angthong Marine National Park: and in the Andaman Sea on Thailand's
Indian Ocean coastline around Surin, Similan, Phuket and Phi Phi
islands, and Tarutao Marine National Park near the Thai-Malaysian
maritime border. Professional dive shops in Pattaya and Phuket teach
neophyte divers. Snorkeling opportunities abound throughout Thai
waters.
Tennis / Badminton / Squash
Numerous opportunities are found in leading Bangkok and resort
hotels. A list of courts where visitors are allowed can be found in
the Bangkok Telephone Directory's Yellow Pages.
Windsurfing
Pattaya's Chomthian Beach
is the major center of this popular sport. Further opportunities can
be found at Cha Am, Hua Hin, Koh Samui and Phuket's Patong Beach.
Thai sports the visitor will enjoy include:
Thai Boxing
This developed as a form of self-defense during the Ayutthaya period
(13so-17sv). Boxers are forbidden to wrestle or bite. However, they
may kick, shove and push and unreservedly use bare feet, legs,
elbows and shoulders, besides fists, to batter each other into
submission. Thai boxing is featured throughout the week at Bangkok's
Ratchadamnoen Stadium (Monday, Wednesday. Thursday and Sunday) and
Lumphini Stadium (Tuesday, Friday and Saturday).
Takro
This sport is
traditionally played by a loosely formed circle of men who use feet,
knees, thighs, chests and shoulders to acrobatically pass a woven
rattan ball to each other, endeavoring to keep it airborne, and
eventually kick it into a basket suspended above their heads.
Kite-Fighting
During Hot Season months, particularly March and April, opposing
teams fly male Chula and female Pakpao kites in a surrogate battle
of the sexes. The small, agile Pakpao kite tries to fell the more
cumbersome Chula while the male kite tries to ensnare the female
kite and drag it back into male territory.
Boat Racing
Regattas are featured in many country fairs which celebrate the end
of the annual Rains Retreat. The long narrow, low-slung wooden boats
are festooned with flags and flowers, manned by oarsmen and raced
with great gusto, The most noteworthy boat races are at Nan, Phichit,
Nakhon Phanom, Surat Thani, Ayutthaya and Pathum Thani, near
Bangkok.
Entertainment
Thais are a fun-loving people. Nationwide, boxing stadiums, race and
golf courses,
tennis and squash courts, billiards halls, opulent nightclubs,
gourmet restaurants, discotheques, concert halls, teahouses,
cocktail lounges, amusement parks, bars, museums, theatres, art
galleries, massage parlors, zoo logical gardens and cinemas lure
pleasure seekers throughout the year. Thailand's English-language
newspapers carry daily listings on concerts, exhibitions, displays
and cinematic offerings. Complimentary weekly tourist publications
such as This Week, Explore Pattaya. etc., contain additional
information with emphasis on dining and nightlife attractions. Beer
bars, cocktail lounges and pubs are ostly concentrated in the
Sukhumvit, New Petchaburi and Silom Road areas. |
