We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Thailand, but an initial disappointment was the lack of casual walking opportunities. One of our favorite things to do whether at home or traveling is to take a nice meandering stroll through local neighborhoods and parks. The crazy traffic, lack of sidewalks, and non-connecting side streets made our evening walks a challenge in Phuket. Eventually we did find a few places to go that were designed with walkers (and runners) in mind.
King Rama IX Park in Phuket Town
King Rama IX Park is a rather large park covering more than one square kilometer (about 250 acres) just west of Old Phuket Town. It is known as Suan Luang Park to the locals. And locals are mostly what you’ll find here – in the evening, the park is full of Thais enjoying the cooling air.
This is truly a well designed park, offering plenty of space with a variety of activities. There is a 4 kilometer (2.5 miles) running/cycling path around the perimeter of the park, and numerous walking trails winding through the interior. (One piece of advice – if you want to use the blue running trail, do try to follow the clockwise directional arrows!) There are two playgrounds for kids and several fitness stations with outdoor exercise equipment for adults. There is a long stretch of sports fields where we saw groups playing basketball, soccer, and badminton; an aerobics class; and even two circles of adults playing hacky sack!
If you are just looking for a quiet place to relax or stroll, don’t worry – there’s plenty of space for that, too. There is a canal that feeds a water system with several ponds and fountains throughout the park. There are plenty of trees providing shade and landscaping interest. There are egrets, fish, squirrels, and other wildlife. We even saw a couple of dinosaurs hanging out!
To top it all off, this park is relatively easy to get to with at least three entrances that have free and secure parking. It is gated off from the roads so you don’t need to watch for cars in the park (just the occasional motorbike that somehow makes its way in…). And there are well-maintained public restroom facilities – a rarity. They even updated the street lamps recently so it is better lit as the daylight fades. The park does close at 10 PM and there are gates at each entrance that we assumed are locked shut each night.
King Rama IX Park was our go-to spot when we wanted to get a bit of fresh air without traveling too far. We went there several evenings during the two months we spent in Phuket. It’s a great place to spend some time outside away from the tourist-y spots.
Lake Nai Harn Park near Rawai
Located at the very southern tip of the island of Phuket is Nai Harn Lake. This began as a natural lake with a small outlet flowing into the sea. The perimeter of the lake has been enclosed in concrete and developed into a local park. The path around the lake is a flat, easy 1.4 mile loop with some shade trees. It is isolated from the major roadways so it is quite a pleasant walk. There is a small island that can be accessed from the western side of the lake by foot or car. There are occasionally special events held here – we saw a Muy Thai training camp for teens one day.
On the eastern side of the lake, there are restroom facilities and exercise equipment. In the evenings, a zumba-like dance class is held at 6 PM. Incongruously, a barber sets up shop nearby and offers patrons the standard “Thai buzz cut” while the class is going on.
Wat Nai Harn is a temple located between the lake and Nai Harn beach. This is a working monastery, so you will see monks going about their daily business within. It also operates a school for boys. When we were there we saw the procession of senior monks leading the novices out for a daily walk, which was quite interesting to observe.
Khlong Katha Reservoir in Chalong
An interesting feature of Phuket is the many reservoirs located in the hills in the interior of the island. Most of these are man-made, or man-improved, created by damming a local stream. These reservoirs act as the island’s supply of fresh water. During the rainy season, the reservoirs fill with water. The water can then be used during the dry season – the half of the year when Phuket receives hardly any rain. Officials keep a close eye on the reservoir levels and truly rely on the rainy season to replenish their water supply each year.
The reservoir closest to where we were staying in Chalong was called the Khlong Katha Reservoir. Odds are, you should be able to find something similar within 5 minutes of your own location. These locations come alive as a gathering spot for locals in the evenings. At Khlong Katha, there was a straight, ½ mile path that was used by runners, walkers, and small children on bicycles. Some people chose to walk along the street that when around the reservoir, but there was no sidewalk or really even a shoulder to the road, so that did require constant vigilance for motorized traffic.
We really enjoyed taking an evening stroll at “our” reservoir. It was fun to see local families come out to enjoy the fresh air. There was usually a fresh coconut vendor selling fruits from their pickup truck. And once we saw a couple bring their menagerie of macaws to practice their flight routines!
Bang Wad Reservoir in Kathu
The largest reservoir in Phuket is the Bang Wad Reservoir. It is located in Kathu, right in the center of the island. A 6.5km road winds around the reservoir. It’s a beautiful to drive, walk, or run, although there is some elevation gain.
The reservoir dam is about ½ mile long. There is a straight, flat path that runs atop and offers great views of both the reservoir and the hills of Kathu to the north. There are parking lots at either end of the dam. On the eastern side, there are also restroom facilities and a picnic area. Food and drink vendors set up stalls in the evenings and on the weekends.
The road around the reservoir is quiet and full of good views. It doesn’t go anywhere besides around the reservoir, so the few vehicles that use it are mostly sight-seers going at a moderate speed. There is a designated walking/running/bicycle lane on the left. The road follows the perimeter of the reservoir pretty closely so there are many glimpses of the water through the jungle, and the possibility of a light breeze coming off the water.
Bang Wad Reservoir was a bit farther from our home base in Chalong, and we only managed to make it there once. We walked several about a quarter of the way around before turning back to the parking lot and taking our motorbike on the full circumnavigation. Many of the trees along the path have been labeled with info-SQL codes by the Prince of Songkla University. It was fun to find out more about the local jungle flora. The most exciting moment came just after we’d turned around to head back on our walk. I heard the rustling of a large animal in the undergrowth and for a split second… I saw a four foot long water monitor!
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