Saturday morning we crossed the river to go for a bike ride in Bang Kachao (บางกะเจ้า), which in 2006 was dubbed “Best Urban Oasis” by Time in its “Best of Asia” series. Since 2006 it may have slipped in the rankings, but it was a wonderfully convenient getaway from the city.
We traveled straight down our street, hopped on a ferry (same ferry previously mentioned here), walked off the ferry to a bike rental place, and were on our way.
Everywhere we went there were bike lanes on both sides of the road and traffic was very respectful of us. Our primary destination was Sri Nakhon Khuean Khan Park and Botanical Garden (สวนสาธารณะและสวนพฤกษชาติ ศรีนครเขื่อนขันธ์). Our kids enjoyed taking turns leading our bike ride through the winding paths of the park.
After the park we very much enjoyed a stop at Ply Restaurant & Cafe (ร้านปลาย). We enjoyed the very tasty and well priced western options on the menu as well as the air conditioned escape from the outdoors.
Two words of warning:
- The seats on our ฿50/day (~$1.40/day) bikes were—not surprisingly—not the most comfortable for a whole day tour.
- Helmets are not provided with bike rentals.
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