Lumpini

Bangkok. If you asked people what that name brought to mind, you'd get a plethora of answers. The Robinson Crusoe look-alikes that inhabit Khao San will tell you about Buddhist temples, full-moon raves, or Elephant rides. Head down Sukumvit, and you'd see that the sex trade is as alive as it ever was. There's businessmen out to make a buck or a name for themselves, just as the journalists, many of whom consider Bangkok the hub of Southeast Asia.
If you put all these answers together, you'll get large portions of the whole picture.

There is, however, one thing that I've never heard anyone say. One place that either doesn't come to people's minds, or is a place they deem unworthy of mention. It's a place that I visit religiously when in town: Lumpini Park.
Bangkok is pretty in-your-face with its urban-ness. So perhaps coming to Lumpini Park is a form of escapism for me. But, then again, I was born in a big city, and have chosen to live in or very near big cities my whole life. I am attracted to their energy, the hustle and bustle and all that.
Perhaps the attraction lies in the contrast between the natural and the man-made. Sit on the shores of the lake and you can see the city skyline rising in every direction. And there you are, sitting, maybe tossing some bread crust to the carp. Of course, they may not be carp at all. God knows what kind of three-eyed mutants swim in those waters. Still, they attract me religiously, on the first afternoon of each visit to Bangkok. I spend too long tossing crumbs onto the water and watching the fins creating great turbulence under the surface as the fish jockey for a bite. I know the city is still outside my little cushion of green. I can hear the traffic, see the smog-ringed buildings. I'm surrounded by it, but not in it.

So that's my pitch for Lumpini Park. Good enough to be on par with the city as seen through the eyes of the Robinson Crusoes, skirt-chasers, and suit-and-ties? Probably not. A park? That's pretty damn boring. Just don't forget its there, because it is, and it's a wonderful place to spend an hour.