Known as Suan Somder Ya the Princess Mother Memorial Park was opened in 1997 by King Bhumibol Adulyadedj of Thailand in memory of his mother. The Princess Mother Srinagarindra was loved for her kind and beneficial nature by both the royal family and the public alike and in fact, her birthday has been declared the National Social Welfare Day in her honour. As she was also a nurse, the day has been renamed the National Nurse’s Day.
Another thing that the Princess Mother was equally as passionate about was flowers. It was because of this deep love for nature that it was decided to establish a park in her loving memory. The park is designed bearing close resemblance to her childhood home garden and there is also a reproduction of the building which was her home when she was a child.
Apart from this, the park has 2 exhibition halls; this includes memorabilia from the royal family including a signed photograph of her when she was 14. One of the halls is completely dedicated to the Princess Mother. The second exhibition hall contains personal items like the Mickey Mouse needlepoint that the Princess Mother made herself for The King. The park also has a statue of the Princess and the souvenir shop continues to stay true to her nature by selling items made by foundations and social welfare organizations that had been under her patronage.
The park is located at Soi 3 Somdet Chao Phraya Road in Khlong San. The garden is open to public daily from 6am to 6pm and the museum is open from 9am to 4pm. Admission is free of charge. If you want more of Thailand’s Royal family there are plenty of other places to gain deeper insight like the Royal Barge Museum that has 8 of the Thai Royal family’s ceremonial barges.
If you want a royal stay though, then you must make Vic3 Bangkok your choice of accommodation. It is one of the renowned three star hotels in Bangkok. There are a number of star hotels in Bangkok but not many that offer the service type apartments that Vic3 offers.
