Wang Mai | Bangkok Photo Walks, Issue 111

About 40 photographers joined us at the National Stadium BTS station on Sunday 4th May 2025, including both

some new faces and a notably familiar one. Greg Rhodes, a former head of BPG, was back in Bangkok for a short

break and joined our exploration of an area we last visited together on Sunday 8th May 2022 for Photo Walk

#102. You’ll find his photos on page 122. Thankfully, Mark managed to find us a route that was a little different

from the one he selected three years ago. The area has enough side alleys and back roads that we could walk

it in another three years and he would probably be able to find us another mostly unique route.

In this case, the big addition to the itinerary was a visit to Chulalongkorn University Centenary Park. The 28-

rai (11 acres or 4.5 hectares) green space opened in 2017 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the university’s

founding. Aside from giving students a place to relax between lectures, the park also functions as a rainwater

detention basin, trapping heavy rains and preventing the massive influx of water from causing flooding. It was

partially inspired by the Kaem Ling (แก้มลิง or ‘monkey cheeks’) flood control measures envisioned by Rama

IX. Both systems work by allowing large flows of water in but only a controlled trickle out, preventing Bangkok

from being inundated.

Strictly speaking, both walks #102 and #135 skirted the border between the Wang Mai and Rong Muang

subdistricts of Phatum Wan district. The park is in Wang Mai, which determined how the walk would be

named. The name itself was one of the nicknames given to Bangkok’s Windsor Palace, built in 1884 by Rama

V as a residence for his eldest son, Vajirunhis. The common name hints at the palace’s inspiration – Windsor

Castle in the UK – while wang mai (วังใหม่) was the more common name among common Bangkokians of the

time and simply means ‘new palace’.

Sadly, the young prince never got the chance to live in his new palace as he died in 1895 at the age of 16.

The building was instead used as a school, initially teaching cartography, then agriculture, then various other

disciplines before finally becoming the seat of the Faculty of Arts and Science when Chulalongkorn University

was founded in 1917. The palace was demolished in 1935 to make room for the National Stadium.

We received submissions from 30 of the photographers who attended the walk, including several different

angles of a good-natured lady who became an impromptu model while getting a haircut out in a small soi.

You’ll find her on page 64. We hope you enjoy them and all of the photos of this eclectic area taken by our

talented members.

Have fun,

Mark, Chutima, and Ben.

Magazine Editor

Ben Reeves

Photo Walk Coordinator

Mark A. Hathaway

Administrative Support

Chutima Panjapan

Logo Design

Ubonpayom Ongsara

Front Cover Photo

Antonio Navarro

Group Photo

Chutima Panjapan

Back Cover Photo

Nassim Abed

© 2025 Bangkok Photographers Group

All rights reserved.

Bangkok Photo Walks is a not-for-profit

publication created by the members of

the Bangkok Photographers Group. All

photographs herein are copyrighted by

their respective creators and published

only with their permission.

Familiar faces in familiar places

BANGKOK PHOTO WALKS

May 2025 Issue 111