Bang Ka Chao, The Best Urban Oasis of Asia
Who would think that there is still a forest right at the center of a crowded city like Bangkok? But actually there is. Bang Ka Chao is considered to be “Bangkok’s Lung” because it intakes and purifies the sea breeze before the breeze from Thai Gulf gets into the city. Moreover, in 2006, the place was given a name of "The Best Urban Oasis of Asia" by Time Asia Magazine. Bang Ka Chao is located on an island at Klong Toei which is in the middle of Bangkok.
In this place, you can feel peace and fresh air, which is completely opposite to the feeling you have at Klong Toei pier before crossing to the island by boat. People here are holding on to the idea of self-sufficiency. They manufacture their own products like pillows, soaps, shampoos, herbal balls, incense sticks, and etc by using the ingredients they can find on the island and sell the products to the visitors. They also sell various fruits and plants such as gac fruits, orchids, and cacti.
We started our trip by meeting at Khlong Toei Pier and then took a ferry to the island. The ferry fee costs 10 baht per trip. At first, we didn’t expect to see Bang Ka Chao as a complete forest. This is because when we first met each other at Khlong Toei pier, there were a lot of tall buildings and people in uniform, but when we got on the island, everything changed. Concrete buildings turned into wooden structures with corrugated metal as a roof, and people wearing old t-shirts and slippers. It is just completely different from the normal Bangkok everyone knows.
To give you more information about Bang Ka Chao, the place is consisted of almost 12,000 rai or 4,800 acres. Currently, there are almost 1,500 households in Bang Ka Chao, and almost 4,700 local people in the area. Bang Ka Chao is conserved as green space due to the government's policy in promoting green space in Bangkok. However, due to the amendment of new law, Bang Ka Chao is now permitted to have apartment, hotel, and housing estate in which many Bang Ka Chao people are now opposing the law.
On the island, we rent the bicycles for 100 baht and started our trip around the island. As roads are very small, bicycles are widely used for transportation. Actually there is no prohibition to cars, but it will be more convenient to use bicycles.
We could feel the fresh air and nature. One thing that could be improved the most about the island is the dirtiness of the canal due to polluted water from the city, which is unavoidable since the island is the passway for dirty water from the city to Thai Gulf. To solve the problem, people here are making their own enzyme water to pour into the canal in hope of having a better water condition even though we don't think that it's working very much as Bangkok keeps releasing trashes and polluted water down the river.
We also visited the incense stick house in which we were very excited about because this was our first time to make our own incense sticks! This activity is free as Bang Ka Chao people want tourists to know and be interested about their local products. But if you want the products back home, you have to pay for them. It took us about an hour to make a pack of incense sticks, from mixing every ingredient together and let the incense sticks air-dry. Before we left, we bought some incense sticks home because of their benefit to repel mosquitoes.
Look at how happy Mook is with her new incense stick!
Next, we took a visit to the massage house for relaxation. The massagers microwaved the herbal pack and herbal ball and put them on our bodies. The massaging service is also free for everyone as Bang Ka Chao people want to promote the herbal products so that tourists will buy the products after they are satisfied with the massage. Like the incense stick, this was also our first time to be massaged with herbal products so we were quite excited. The aroma was great! We could really feel our bodies losing the tensions. As we were being massaged, we got to enjoy the peaceful nature surrounding the house too. It was a very great relaxation after all.
Then, we rode the bikes around the island and just inhaled the fresh air. When the sun almost set, we were already at the pier again, ready to go back home.
Lastly, we would recommend everyone who wants to spend quality weekends somewhere else besides malls and cafes to give Bang Ka Chao a shot. Also, we can only hope that this place will continue to be a huge green space as we really love the way it is, and hope that it will never change.
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Ways to get there...
By car via Phetchahueng road, Phra Pradaeng
By boat from Klong Toei pier
*You can ride bicycle to the pier and get the bicycle on the boat for 10-50 baht
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Bang Ka Chao
KASEMRAJ ROAD, KLONG TOEI SUB-DISTRICT, KLONG TOEI DISTRICT, BANGKOK 10110, THAILAND
OPENING HOURS:
MONDAY - SUNDAY 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.