In March 2027 the YPO is putting on a major global leadership conference in Bangkok. Over 1,000 participants plus some family members will be in attendance. One of my colleagues has been asked to be the conference host and organizer. He and the committee he leads have just signed a deal with the large downtown Marriott Hotel to accommodate all the guests in this 1,300 room 5-star hotel. The hotel also has a huge convention hall and over two dozen breakout rooms. But more importantly, it’s directly connected to a large inner city park call Benchasiri. So yesterday – my Saturday – we went to see the hotel and park so that he could show me what he was planning.
Bangkok is a city of chaos in motion. The traffic, the noise, the shear density can sometimes be overwhelming. Benchasiri Park is a tranquil oasis nestled between some of the largest buildings in the city. The park is situated in one of the densest parts of Bangkok along the Sukhumvit Road corridor. It sits right near one of the Skytrain stops. There are three shopping malls at its edges along with a large Ikea store. There are hotels, including the huge Marriott, and giant condos, as well as many ground level shops adjacent to this park. (The park location is shown in the second slide.)
Bangkok is not graced with a lot of green spaces, given its size. This is getting better, particularly with the recent completion of Benjakitti Park in another part of Bangkok’s core. I wrote about this park most recently in November. Every bit of green space is very much appreciated in this giant busy city.
Benchasiri Park is like an oasis sitting quietly in a space full of chaos. Stepping out of the hotel into this garden feels like walking into another world. The park space is calm with traffic and train noises literally gone. The park has lovely trees, sculptures and lots of places to walk, sit and picnic. There is a lake with fountains that also help drown out the noises of a hectic adjacent Bangkok.
And, of course, there are caretakers keeping the park clean with the Fuller brushes. How could I resist talking about these ever popular Thai cleaning tools. (Slide 16)
I suspect that people attending this conference two years from now will spend much of their time walking and talking in this lovely park that is a piece of tranquility surrounded by chaos.
For closer look at the park, perhaps this video might be useful. It’s not the best, but it at least shows many of the features I discussed in the entry above.