Bang Pu Seaside

Bang Pu sits on the Gulf coast south-east of Bangkok, on the mudflats where the Chao Phraya delta meets the sea, and it is run by the army as a recreation centre. From roughly November to March, brown-headed and black-headed gulls arrive in their thousands from Mongolia, China and Siberia to winter on the flats, and they concentrate around the long pier where visitors feed them - the birds fly alongside people walking out, close enough to touch. Feeding is done with fish crackers sold on site; conservation opinion on the practice is mixed, and the crowds and the food have made the flocks unnaturally dense. The surrounding mangrove and mudflat area is a designated wetland site holding migratory waders including the critically endangered spoon-billed sandpiper. Sala Sukhawadee, a wooden dance hall on the pier dating from the 1930s, still opens for ballroom dancing at weekends, mostly to elderly Bangkok couples.

What you actually see

• The wintering gulls - thousands arriving from November to March.
• The pier feeding - birds flying alongside walkers, fed with crackers.
• The 1930s dance hall - Sala Sukhawadee, still used for ballroom dancing.
• The wetland - mudflats holding migratory waders including rare species.

When to go

November to March for the gulls, which is the entire reason to come - outside that the pier is empty. Weekends bring the dancing and the crowds.

Honest expectations

The gulls are only there in winter. Feeding is heavily commercialised and its effect on the birds is debated. The mudflats smell at low tide. It is an army-run recreation ground rather than a nature reserve.

Nearby

The Ancient City and the Erawan Museum are north; Bangkok is inland.