Bangkok is an amazing city, but not without its downsides. Its haphazard development and sheer size mean that traffic jams are common. Travelling by BTS Skytrain and the MRT Metro can help beat the jams, but the flip side is that train carriages are often packed during peak hours. It wasn’t always like this. There was a time when Bangkok’s extensive canal network formed the main transportation routes, and the city was dubbed the ‘Venice of the East’. While many of the old canals, known in Thai as khlongs, have been paved over, the Thai capital retains several waterways that can be handy for adventurous travellers. And it is along these canals where you can discover another side of the Thai capital.
The Thonburi side of the Chao Phraya River is home to the canal of Khlong Bang Khun Thian, where you can visit the urban oasis of Poomjai Garden. This family-owned attraction is one of Bangkok’s best examples of eco-cultural tourism, and a treat for travellers of all ages. Arriving here feels like being transported back in time, far away from the city’s traffic-clogged streets, skyscrapers and modern malls. 
A family affair
This corner of Bangkok was once renowned for its lychee orchards. While modernisation led to many orchards being lost as land was sold for development, Poomjai Garden retained its fruit trees. For more than a century, this has been a family home and garden that has been treated with love and care as it has passed down through the generations.
Poomjai Garden is now a social enterprise that empowers local people. This is a place where artisans, cooks and guides from the neighbourhood are invited to share their skills, from traditional crafts to home-style recipes, creating extra income and keeping local wisdom alive.  For responsible travellers, that means your spending goes straight into the community, not a big chain.
Sustainability
Sustainability isn’t just a buzzword here. Poomjai Garden aligns its work with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, specifically focusing on clean energy. Poomjai utilises solar-powered boats to minimise emissions on their canal tours and promote low-impact, small-group experiences, rather than mass tourism. You’ll also find a strong focus on gender equality and fair opportunities within the team, making it a good choice if you care about ethical labour as well as the environment.
Heritage gardens
Poomjai Garden is more than a pretty green space. It’s a living classroom for sustainable living and traditional canal-side culture. The 7-rai (around 2.7-acre) garden preserves over 100-year-old lychee trees and celebrates the once-famous Bang Khun Thian lychee, now protected with Geographical Indication (GI) status. By visiting, you help support the long-term conservation of this rare orchard and the community knowledge that goes with it.
Boardwalks weave through lush greenery, curtains of moss, and shady fruit trees, with quiet corners to sit and listen to birdsong instead of traffic. Interpretive signs and guides help you understand the history of the orchard and how traditional gardening methods work with Bangkok’s canal ecosystem. 
Workshops
Poomjai Garden offers a rotating lineup of workshops, including natural tie-dye, Thai cooking with garden-grown ingredients, dessert-making, and cultural activities that highlight local materials and seasonal produce. These sessions are perfect for responsible travellers because they use local ingredients and craftspeople, and group sizes are small. You’ll also learn practical ideas you can use at home, from waste reduction to growing herbs on a balcony.
Explore the canals
One of the highlights of a trip to Poomjai Garden is a wooden boat ride along the canals with local boatmen. Poomjai mostly uses solar-powered boats for their tours, providing a more serene experience as you glide past traditional wooden houses, small temples and pockets of greenery that feel a world away from Sukhumvit and Silom.
Routes connect Poomjai Garden with sights like Wat Paknam’s giant Buddha, the Artist House (Baan Silapin), Wat Arun and even IconSiam, showing both old and new Bangkok along the waterways. 
These tours are designed as eco-cultural experiences rather than ‘tick-box’ sightseeing. The focus on these tours is on observing daily life, understanding how canals once shaped Bangkok, and travelling in a low-impact way. 
Farm-to-table dining
Within the garden, Natura Cafe serves seasonal dishes, snacks and drinks using herbs, flowers and fruit grown on site or sourced from nearby producers. Eating here is a simple but powerful way to support sustainable agriculture and reduce the footprint of your meal.
How to get there
Poomjai Garden is in Chom Thong district on the Thonburi side of Bangkok, adjacent to the canal of Khlong Bang Khun Thian.
Poomjai Garden offers private boat pick-up from Sathorn Pier on the Chao Phraya River, linking your visit with an interesting canal journey rather than a drive. Advance booking is required for the boat service. 
A convenient option to lower your carbon footprint is to take the BTS Skytrain or MRT Metro to Bang Wa Station (or BTS Wutthakhat). However, you will still need to take a taxi for the final part of the journey. From Bang Wa, a taxi will take approximately 15 minutes and cost around 60 Baht.
If you’re travelling as a group or with children, a taxi from your hotel may be easier and keep everyone cool.
Good to know
Poomjai Garden often opens for scheduled visits and activities rather than random walk-ins, especially for boat tours and workshops. Contact them via their website or social media to check dates, timings and availability before you go. This helps them plan staff, reduce waste and keep group sizes small.
Bring a refillable water bottle and ask where you can refill it. Carry a small tote bag for any local products or crafts you buy.
You’re in a local residential area and may visit nearby temples on a canal tour. Light, breathable clothing that covers shoulders and knees is a good option. Opt for comfortable walking shoes or sandals suitable for boardwalks, and eco-friendly insect repellent and sunscreen.
Chat with guides and gardeners about their work and challenges, and try to join at least one paid workshop or boat tour so your contribution goes deeper than a cafe stop. Buy local products (jams, herbal teas, handicrafts) if available, rather than generic souvenirs.
The lychee harvest is only every few years and heavily dependent on conditions, so don’t plan your visit solely around seeing fruit on the trees. The garden is lovely year-round, with changing foliage, flowers and activities. Find out more about Poomjai Garden in the links below:
Location | Website | Facebook | Instagram
Photos: Poomjai Garden Facebook page
