The park's location is actually part of the issue. It's wedged between two massive roads (Ratchadaphisek and Asok) and the expressway, so unless you live right in the Asok-Phra Khanong corridor, getting there means dealing with that traffic. Most Thais in this city live further out in places like Bang Na, Lat Phrao, or Nonthaburi, so by the time they'd fight through the city to get there, they'd rather just go to a local park or a mall with air conditioning.

There's also the cultural thing about public drinking and eating. In a lot of Western parks, people bring beer and snacks and make an afternoon of it. Thai law technically bans alcohol in public parks, and while people do it anyway, it's not the same relaxed vibe. You won't see groups sitting around with a few bottles of Leo and a basket of som tam like you would in a park in Berlin or London. The park feels designed for activity, not lingering.

If you want to see a packed green space in Bangkok, go to Santiphap Park on a Saturday evening. It's tiny but the running track is full, people are doing group exercises, and there's a night market right outside. It's not about the size or beauty of the park, it's about how it fits into people's daily patterns. Benchakitti is a great park for living next to, but for most of the city

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I think it's also a class thing honestly. Most Thais who have the time to lounge around in parks all afternoon are either retired or well-off, and those groups tend to hang at their local coffee shops or condo pools instead. The average worker in Bangkok is doing 6-day weeks with long commutes, so when they get a day off they're not going to sit on grass, they're going to the market or temple or visiting family. Benchakitti feels like it was built for expat joggers and the Asok office crowd, not really for regular Bangkok life

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honestly i think part of it is just that thais don't really do "parks" the way westerners do. like, for a lot of locals, a green space is somewhere you go for a specific purpose - jogging at 6am or taking the kids for an hour - not really a place to just hang out and picnic for an afternoon. benchakitti's design is nice but it's pretty sterile, all concrete paths and manicured lawns with no shade. compare that to lumpini where there's more trees and benches tucked away, even then it's mostly office workers on lunch breaks

the other thing is the humidity. i've lived here 4 years and even at 7pm it can still feel like a wet blanket. most thais i know would rather sit in an air conditioned mall or a soi with street food than sweat it out on a grassy knoll. and honestly, the concert thing - paper planes are decent but not huge draw here. if it was bodyslam or something it'd be packed. the skywalk stuff is just the usual instagram thing, yeah, but that's bangkok for u

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yeah Krua Dok Mai Kao is solid but if you're up for a detour, try Som Tum Nua near Siam Square. their som tam pu pla ra is insane if you like the fermented fish sauce kick. way more pungent than the On Nut spot, just less grilled chicken options

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