If you walk by this spot in the Ratchathewi neighborhood by chance, you may not think much of it other than an urban park that’s seen better days. Chaloemla Park, also known as Chaloemla Gardens, isn’t a touristy area. On weekdays, it’s busiest in the mid-afternoon, with locals lounging on the benches and school kids playing a friendly game of futsal. It’s only when you peek inside the gates for a closer look that you’ll realize this small park is filled with art.

 

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A post shared by Kate Alvarez (Kate Was Here) (@replikate)

On a personal assignment to see as much of Bangkok’s street art as I could, I booked a Grab bike from my hotel near MBK Mall to find this park that I had read about in blogs and travel magazines. Google Maps made it seem like a leisurely 10-minute walk from my place, but halfway there I realized it was easier to hop on the back of a bike.

On the corner of Phaya Thai Road and Phetchaburi, I was dropped off in front of the gate filled with stickers upon stickers, and of course I placed my KateWasHere sticker alongside other peeling, faded ones. I entered to see a bunch of kids kicking a football on an old court with floor art depicting Thai football players.

Chaloemla Park is set against the backdrop of building firewalls. The building facades and walls surrounding the park are filled with the most random artworks, which, according to published articles, are by both local and international artists. Several spots are graffiti-ed with words I could not make out. One wall has a faded mural of football player characters from the Japanese manga series, Captain Tsubasa. I found many cartoon-like characters and references to pop culture.

Unlike dated photos I’ve seen online, the park’s artworks don’t seem as polished and the place no longer has grass (maybe it’s temporary?), but the trees and colorfully painted old tires are still part of the eco-friendly landscape.

You can tell that the walls serve as artists’ free practice canvas. If you compare photos you’ll find on social media, you’ll notice that one spot is never the same. They get painted over every now and then. Spray-painted words—some might describe it as vandalism—are everywhere, which makes sense why this place is described as an artistic sanctuary for local graffiti artists.

The park has hosted graffiti events in the past in an attempt to bring the place back to life. But not even the layers of colorful art could hide the decrepit areas of this park, such as the remnants of a demolished building at the back, which is actually Chaloemla Park’s most popular Instagram spot, and what represents the gritty, unique character of this place.

In fact, when I was there at around 4pm on a Tuesday, I ran into a commercial photo shoot. The teen model was holding a popular soda brand, and the rundown building filled with colorful graffiti made the perfect backdrop for the street-style vibe they seemed to be going for.

During their break, I asked permission from the photographers if I could quickly film my content before leaving them to their work. They said yes. It is a public space, after all. I got my shots in 10 minutes, tops.

There were so many words painted over so many illustrations that I could no longer tell where the art ended and where the vandalism began. Or perhaps this mix is what makes Chaloemla Park the urban art haven that it’s known for.

Chaloemla Park is located at Soi Phetchaburi 18, Thanon Phetchaburi, Ratchathewi, Bangkok 10400, Thailand.