Benjakiti Park

The weather was reasonably pleasant this morning, so I went for a walk in nearby Benjakiti Park before work. It’s a huge park, with a big pond in the middle, a running path and a biking path around the pond, and then gardens beyond that.

A lot of expats live in this part of Bangkok so there were quite a few of us foreigners (“farangs” in Thai) out running and walking. We’re easy enough to spot – we definitely stand out. But there were quite a few Thais as well, and many elderly Thais doing tai chi in the gardens.

On my way out, a Thai father was also leaving. He was carrying his daughter – she was maybe three years old – and he was singing her a song. It sounded familiar to me but it took a while for it to register. He was singing “Mary Had a Little Lamb” – in Thai, but there was no mistaking the tune. Funny that that song is all around the world.

The good weather – okay, let’s not get carried away – the slightly less hot and humid weather continued at lunch so we went to Pak Bakery near the office and sat at a table outside. The name is deceptive – there is indeed a take-out bakery that sells pastries and desserts but they also serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. Decided to have my first bowl of Thai noodles, so I ordered noodles in green curry with chicken. Was a little taken aback when the waitress served it to me with chopsticks. Seriously – for long, wet noodles covered in curry sauce? How long before that was all over my tie? But I had to admit – the dish was very tasty.

In fact, I can only think of one unpleasant eating experience. Well, drinking experience actually. I was offered a glass of tamarind juice. I asked twice to make sure that that’s what it was. And it was not good – it tasted like someone had taken sea water and tried to add enough sugar to it to make it palatable. Without success.