First Ever Little Bangkok Sangha Annual Picnic

by Cittasamvaro

Well, after much deliberation and procrastination it looks like Saturday 19th December is the ideal date for the first annual Christmas picnic. It is the only event we are planning for December.

The temples in England all have a picnic each year – so we should too. Of course there is nowhere quite like England for a picnic outdoors. But where the UK has only about 4 1/2 days of Summer, so Bangkok has about that many days of cool.

Yogi Bears in the woods

Why? Well, because it’s nice. We don’t just want to be about emptiness, meditation, and aching backs and knees. It is always good to hang out a bit with other meditators, nice people one and all. Meet a few new people, share some info on different things etc.. Don’t feel you don’t know anyone – None of us know everyone. The idea is, if you have an interest in meditation or meditators, yoga or just picnic food, come by yourself and mingle a bit.

Picnics!

Trouble is – how does the food aspect work ?

The only option that seems feasible is to provide all the hot ricey stuff from a couple of those cooler/keep-warm boxes, and also some water. Perhaps then we can leave it to individuals to bring cakes and fruit. But this means that you have to book your spot so that we can estimate how much food to bring.

So I (Pandit) will provide veggie fried rice, and veggie noodles for everyone, and take some ice or cold water. I guess spoons and forks also (or some of those ubiquitous ’sporks’). There should be some shops not too far away to buy other drinks and stuff. If everyone else bring some fruit or cake/cookies it should work out. It is something of an experiment anyway …

Place

Terry recommends the park near Chatuchak. It apparently has some nice spots, both quite and busy, as well as handy bathrooms. There are some shops not far off, for supply runs. And the Santi Asoke vegetarian food court is in the area so he and I might hit there for some group supplies beforehand. There is no charge for the food, but you will have to book so we know how many portions to provide.

So … its not certain if there will be just a few of us or many, but it should be fun anyway.

WE will meet at Mor Chit BTS, on the park (West) side at 10:30 am and aim to eat around midday once we’ve picked a spot and laid out our towels. Oh yes, bring your own towel.

BUT, you must leave a note in the comments box below if you are going to join. Also any suggestions (I never arranged a picnic before in my life, so bound to be some details missed).

Talking of sporks : a great graph from Graph Jam

The Park :

Rod Fai Park (Railway Park) is located in Chatuchak area in Bangkok, next to Chaktuchak park. Rodfai Park has an area of 148 acre, which used to be golf course of Railway club. The park is open everyday, however, some parts are close on Monday for maintainance. In the car park area there are bicycle rental services which bicycle can be rented from 20 Baht for all day long.

Rodfai Park is an ideal place for picnic. Visitors can enjoy their picnic anywhere in the park, bringing foods and drinks from the outside the park. However, Alcohol drinks are not permited to be brought into the park. Moreover, there is arround 2 acre picnic location which has desk and bench provided for visitors just next to a lake.

Bangkok Butterfly Garden also in Rod Fai Park located on the east side of the park. Visitors can enjoy walk with colorful free-flying butterflies in Butterfly Dome. many species of butterflies can be found in Bangkok Butterfly Garden. In addition, the park is one of the an ideal place for bird watching lovers

Note : Butterfly Garden is open everyday except Monday.