This small park by the River Chao Phraya is in Banglumpoo area and only fifteen minutes’ walk to Khao Sarn road, a famous hub for backpackers. This area surrounding the Phra Sumen Fort used to be overgrown with Lampoo trees which were natural habitat of fireflies. There were originally twelve forts built along the old city wall to protect the city against naval attacks and foreign incursions. Nowadays Phra Sumen Fort is one of the two remaining forts left standing in the old part of the city.
This old fort was left in a sad dilapidating condition for many years until 1990s, the whole area saw serious conservation effort. The Phra Sumen Fort was under major renovation and the wooded area around the Fort had been designed as a public park. Finally in 1999, the Santi Chai Prakarn Park with the renovated Phra Sumen Fort was officially opened to the public. A traditional Thai pavilion was built by the river bank as a place for Royalties to alight ceremonious long boats and to perform official ceremonies by the river. This project was to commemorate the sixtieth birthday of King Rama 9 on 5 December 1999.
Banglumpoo got its name from the numerous Lampoo trees along the old canals and river banks. In the old days, people rowing boats from upcountry down to Bangkok area knew that they had arrived in the new capitol as soon as they saw hundreds of fireflies along Banglumpoo. They would make camps along the riverbank waiting for their passage on bigger boats and merchants’ ships to the open sea.
This small park was part of the effort to renovate and conserve old buildings along Phra Artit road which runs along the riverbank towards the Grand Palace area. You could see this old road which has become a chic area for tourists who prefer to be close to the river here. Walking in old area of Bangkok
I arrived at the park late afternoon just in time to catch the sunset. But cloudy sky was not on my side though the high tide made the experience of being much closer to the powerful river. The waves kept throwing water onto the promenade. I felt that I could almost touch the dancing waves in the river. The high tide made me feel that the river was breathing very heavily as if she had been through a long running marathon from the north of Thailand.
This small park’s location is highly strategic as watchers in the old Fort could see a long way along the curve of the Chao Phraya River. This park is usually frequented by local people and tourists staying at guest houses along Phra Artit road. In the cost, there were cultural performances during the weekends such as traditional Thai music and dances, country music and occasional music festivals.
I was so glad to see that several original old trees have been preserved in the park. Sadly, the local Lampoo trees had been cut down over the years of construction and expansion of the city. There used to be a few Lampoo trees by the river. But the last one died several years ago because of the prolong flood. We were left with only photos of the old tree. There are still some Lampoo trees in a province north of Bangkok. Local people used to organise fireflies guided tours around that area. This created disturbances to people who lived along the canal. The fireflies were disturbed by regular nightly tours so they just slowly disappeared!
There are no longer any Lampoo trees and fireflies left in Banglumpoo area. That’s the sad result of progress and development without the awareness and respect to nature and Mother Earth. I do wonder if people will ever learn their lessons; there are still sudden mud slide and flood in the countryside as the watershed forest continues to be illegally exploited.
Meanwhile local people in Banglumpoo have formed a local conservation group to protect their heritage and surrounding in the area. That’s why there seems to be a revival of traditional arts and crafts in the area. Only forty years ago, Banglumpoo was well known for making the best Thai sweets and having the best traditional music and Thai dance schools. Being close to the Grand Palace, many court musicians, artists, dancers, cooks and milliners were living around here. That’s why communities of artistic people gathered around Banglumpoo to practice their crafts.
I could remember my mother coming all the way to Banglumpoo to buy sticky rice and mangoes, specially made red curry paste, special Thai sweets popular among high society elites. This area was truly a cultural hub and a heaven for fine court food and delicacies. How I wish I had a time machine to go back to stock up some Thai sweets! What I could do at present is to look at the river and old trees with forlorn longing of more civilised and cultured lifestyle of the good old days.
เราไปเดินเล่นแถวบางลำพู และเดินตลอดถนนพระอาทิตย์ มุ่งหน้าสู่ป้อมพระสุเมรุ เราเดินดูตึกเก่าที่มีการดัดแปลงเป็นร้านอาหารและเกสต์เฮาส์ เราสนุกกับการถ่ายรูปบ้านเรือนชีวิตความเป็นอยู่ของคนท้องถิ่น จนถึงป้อมพระสุเมรุที่โค้งถนนพระอาทิตย์ที่เป็นสวนสันติชัยปราการ สวนนี้เปิดอย่างเป็นทางการในปี 2542 สวนนี้ค่นข้างเล็กมีพื้นที่เพียงแปดไร่เศษ กรมศิลปากรได้ทำการซ่อมแซมปรับปรุงป้อมพระสุเมรุ ที่ตกอยู่ในสภาพทรุดโทรมมาก สมัยก่อนเรามีป้อมยามตลอดแนวกำแพงเมืองทั้งหมดสิบสองป้อม แต่ปัจจุบันมีเหลือเพียงสองแห่ง ป้อมพระสุเมรุเป็นหนึ่งในสองป้อมที่เหลือในเขตพระนคร
ในบริเวณสวนนี้เราสามารถเห็นต้นไม้เก่าแก่ที่หลงเหลืออยู่ และมีการสร้างพระที่นั่งสันติชัยปราการที่บริเวณริมแม่น้ำเจ้าพระยาด้วย สวนแห่งนี้จัดสร้างขึ้นเพื่อเป็นการเฉลิมพระชนพรรษาครบหกสิบรอบของในหลวงรัชกาลที่9 ในวันที่ 5 ธันวาคม 2542. นับว่าเป็นสวนสาธารณะแห่งเดียวที่อยู่ติดโค้งนํ้าแม่นํ้าพระยาที่มีวิวสวยที่สุดแห่งหนึ่ง เราไปถึงที่นั่นตอนบ่ายมากเพราะอยากถ่ายรูปพระอาทิตย์ตกดินสวยๆ แต่ท้องฟ้ามีเมฆมาก เราจึงอดดูพระอาทิตย์สีแสบตาอย่างที่ต้องการ แต่ก็ตื่นเต้นกับระดับนํ้าที่ล้นตลิ่ง คลื่นนํ้าซัดขึ้นมาบนทางเดินเป็นระลอก เรารู้สึกว่าได้ยืนติดแม่น้ำเจ้าพระยา แทบจะเอามือไปจับคลื่นนํ้าเล่นได้ แต่ก็กลัวว่าเดี๋ยวคลื่นใหญ่จะแกล้งซัดเราจนเปียก เราทึ่งในพลังของสายน้ำมาก ไหลมาไม่หยุด ไหลมาเป็นเกลียวใหญ่มากมาย
สวนนี้ทำให้คนในท้องถิ่นมีที่ออกกำลังกายทุกวัน มีที่สำหรับแสดงวัฒนธรรมท้องถิ่นและจัดงานแสดงศิลปะด้วย นักท่องเที่ยวก็ชอบมาพักผ่อนที่สวนนี้ สมัยก่อนบางลำพูมีต้นลำพูมากมาย ซึ่งเป็นที่อาศัยของพวกหิ่งห้อยมากมาย เวลาคนพายเรือมาจากทางเหนือ พอมาเห็นต้นลำพูที่มีหิ่งห้อยส่งแสงกันมากมาย พวกเขาก็รู้ว่าเขามาถึงพระนครแล้ว ชายฝั่งแม่น้ำเป็นที่พักแรมของคนเหล่านี้ ก่อนที่จะเดินทางต่อไปและเปลี่ยนไปสู่เรือใหญ่เพื่อเดินทางออกสู่ทะเลต่อไป
ตอนนี้ต้นลำพูทที่เคยหลงเหลืออยู่สามต้นได้หายไปหมดแล้ว โดยต้นสุดท้ายที่อยู่ที่ริมนํ้าแห่งนี้ ก็ตายไปในปี 2554 เพราะนํ้าท่วมกรุงเทพนานมาก เราก็ได้แต่เหลือรูปภาพของต้นลำพูเท่านั้น บางลำพูเคยเป็นถิ่นที่มีชื่อเสียงมากในเรื่องขนมหวานไทยโบราณ และเป็นแหล่งรวมศิลปินหลายสาขา เช่นดนตรีไทย รำไทย งานฝีมือโบราณ นักวาดรูป การทำอาหารและขนมตำรับชาววัง แต่ปัจจุบันหลายอย่างเปลี่ยนแปลงไปมาก คงเหลือแต่ความทรงจำของอดีตที่หอมหวาน และชีวิตที่สิวิไลในอดีต เรายังจำได้ว่าตอนเป็นเด็กเรามากับแม่เพื่อมาซื้อเครื่องแกงที่มีชื่อ ข้าวเหนียวมะม่วงเจ้าเก่า และขนมไทยนานาชนิด เราอยากมีความสามารถพิเศษ ในการเดินทางกลับไปในอดีตเพื่อไปซื้อขนมไทยอร่อยๆกลับมาหลายๆกล่อง แต่ความจริงก็ทำได้แค่ยืนดูแม่น้ำเจ้าพระยา แล้วรำพึงรำพันถึงอดีตและวันวานที่แสนดีเท่านั้นเอง
Below is the photo of the last Lampoo tree in this park taken in 2011 or 2554. Source
Wishing you peace, good health and prosperity.
Stay strong and cheerful.
#thaiphotocontest75 on tree photography by @thaiteam
thank you for a beautiful trip!
Ahh that was great! My heart beats extra hard when you take us on your tours. I was around the Grand Palace in December and Khosan road but I missed this fort and this area.
Thanks for the walk!
You are welcome to share my walk with me in the future. This park is a small gem for local people in Banglumpoo. There used to be tourists here too; local people called them hippies! LoL
😭 the trees and fire flies. You are right. Will we ever learn? I dream of a wild earth. Unharmed from irrisponsible development. Much love and many blessings sweet @kaminchan. Of course you included a photo of an orange kitty. Lol ❤
So nice to hear from you! That orange cat was taking his evening walk in the park! I hope people would come to their senses before Mother Nature goes on strike!!
Have a nice weekend.
Thank you very much @goldendawne for your kind support and encouragement.
Have a nice day!
A wonderful place, I'm curious to know if there are still squirrels 🤣 During our last trip to Bangkok, we were in a hotel in the street 2 min from the park.
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I forgot to look around for squirrels! I think they only come out in the morning. There were several people in the park so they just stay away from people.
Cheers.
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Wow! Such good news to cheer me up for the weekend! Thanks so much for your kind support and generosity which make budding bloggers very cheerful.
So that's what it looks like in the daytime. I've only seen the place after dark. It was a festival time and Leo and I got to taste many delicacies there.
Leo has recently told me he is yearning to get back to Thailand some day.
Yeah! This small park is rather nice with old trees and close by the river. Your Steemfest4 meeting took you to a beer place near here, I gathered.
I am in a difficult situation this time as I could not find another job since the pandemic shutdown. Life is getting tough by the month. If tourism has not started by next year, more people are going out of business which means more unemployment. This will affect many other companies like an unexpected domino effect.
Rich people are allowed to get long stay visa for staying here up to two years!! I have seen coaches of foreign millionaires arriving in Bangkok and stopped by 5star Michelin restaurant!! They looked down at us pedestrians at the traffic light! Very strange feeling!
Stay warm and cheerful.
Yes it was the #beersaturday.
I am sorry to hear about your situation. It is not much better here. Many people have lost their jobs, and I don't see a way for many to get new jobs either.
I wonder if things will change for better soon after the pandemic has cleared.
It is however a good thing that all of us on Hive and other crypto currencies already have a some sort of a lifeline, as if the worst comes to worst, and all jobs are lost, we are likely to gain a lot from what we are already doing when the rest of the people join this space.
Also, I think it is interesting what you say about foreign millionaires coming to Bangkok. Finland has recently been turning away tourists at the borders.
I think it might be beneficiary to have millionaires and billionaires visit your country and bring their money with them.
But don't they fear the virus, coming in by buses? Maybe millionaires are immune to it?
Yeah. I am afraid things are in terrible shape for most people around the world. I am very lucky to get into blockchain blogging ahead of many people here. I would have something to fall back on in times of emergency.
Well, these rich tourists have to be quarantined at a five star hotel in Bangkok. They must have about five tests during the first month in Thailand. Then they have to be escorted by special tour operators when sightseeing around Thailand.
Lots of rich foreigners are in a waiting list for entering Thailand. They know we have no local cases of infection during the last eight months. Doctors here could cure infected people in less than seven days for those without previous health conditions. Thai people are very relaxed about COVID as we know it’s quite safe in Bangkok.
But the border area with Burma might not be so safe as the patrol police continues to arrest illegal Chinese and Burmese immigrants trying to sneak into the country through the forests! These people told reporters that they would be safer in Thailand. Some people were tested positive so they would be treated and survive the ordeal!!
Time flies by too fast.
Have a nice week!