Siam Ocean World (Bangkok, Thailand)

Aquariums are often designed to give the visitor the illusion of being underwater.  This illusion is usually achieved through the use of architectural features such as huge multi-level tanks or transparent plexiglass tunnels built into the tank installation.  Siam Ocean World is one place that you actually go below sea level - the facility is built underground.  Siam Ocean is located in the basement of the very upscale Siam Paragon shopping mall in downtown Bangkok, and unless you are looking for it, you might mistake the escalators going down to the aquarium’s entrance as simply leading to a lower shopping level.

Engaging and Colorful Exhibits

The Siam Paragon shopping mall is part of a giant shopping complex that also includes the Siam Center and the Siam Discovery malls.  These shopping malls are full of modern and upscale stores featuring the most recent trendy fashions.  Siam Ocean World is likewise upscale and fashionable, with displays that are full of bright energetic colors and modernistic lines.

Even the fish are bright and colorful!

An underwater tunnel that is also underground.

Underwater tunnel as seen from another window.

There are many very large sharks.

Mammals and Birds Too

Siam Ocean includes a “Rainforest” exhibit featuring nutria coypu and otters.

There is also a “Rocky Shore” exhibit featuring penguins.

A Whole World Underground

The most amazing thing about Siam Ocean was how they managed to create such huge spaces underground.  Many of the spaces are softly lit, creating the illusion of evening hours even though it is actually mid-afternoon outside.

There were many very large tanks.

The photo below shows visitors waiting in line to ride a glass-bottomed boat that makes a circuit of the large salt-water tanks.  The visitors are wearing orange-colored life jackets.  Floating on the seas, all under street level!

Educational Efforts

There were many bilingual signs in Thai and English explaining the exhibits.  The exhibits were generally bright and colorful, some including 3D replicas, with enough facts to be interesting and educational.

Opportunities for Animal Encounters

There was a “Touch Pool” featuring some invertebrates that visitors could touch.

Food and Souvenirs

I was surprised to see a snack bar.  I didn’t stop for a bite, so I can’t report on what they served.

Just before the exit, visitors have a last chance to part with their money.  This souvenir store had quite a broad selection.

Getting There

As mentioned earlier, Siam Ocean World is located in the basement of the Siam Paragon shopping mall, in the middle of one of Bangkok’s busiest shopping areas. It is only about a 5 minute walk from the “Siam” station of the Bangkok monorail.  Admission for adult foreigners was 720 Thai bahts.

(Note: All photos taken in this post were taken during a visit on September 7, 2013.  The comments in this post are based on observations made on that day.  Conditions may have since changed.  Please check it out for yourself!)

Safari World (Bangkok, Thailand)

On its internet home page, Safari World bills itself as “Thailand’s greatest open zoo and leisure park that offers a variety of entertainment for everyone”.  If that wasn’t enough of a clue regarding the commercial and recreational emphasis of this animal collection, the top page also has a button linking to “investor relations” for this publicly traded stock company. And true to its claim, this park has a wide variety of shows, exhibits, dining facilities, souvenir shops, and activities.  Judging by the very large number of visitors we saw on our weekday (Friday) visit, I would guess that, as a commercial enterprise, Safari World is very, very, profitable.

Drive through Safari

We started our visit by going on the drive-through in the safari park which wraps around the outer parts of the property. According to the brochure, this drive stretches for a 5 kilometer circuit.  I was pleasantly surprised that we were able to proceed at our own pace.  The vehicle paths in this safari park were wide enough that we could stop in front of our favorite animals for a longer look and allow other cars to pass.  We first saw Painted storks and Marabou storks; and then camels, giraffes, zebras, and white rhinos.

The giraffe area was quite impressive.  In Japan, you might see 2 or 3 giraffes in one zoo.  At Safari World, there were so many giraffes that I was unable to count them.  My guess would be that there were somewhere between 40 to 50 giraffes in this area.  There was also a large body of water filled with water plants and green algae, and also a fair amount of green grass.

The next area included animals such as nilgai, gaurs, impalas, blackbucks, wildebeest, oryx, pelicans, and various types of deer.  This area was remarkable for the very large number of animals, and by the fact that the animals seemed to have eaten all of the grass that grew here.  All of the ground was starkly bare. 

Looking at the large number of animals, and especially the number of young animals, one can deduce that breeding efforts at Safari World are very successful.  But with larger numbers of animals, I would think there needs to be larger living spaces.  I had the impression that, for many of the species in the drive-through section, there were too many individuals crowded into too small a space.  The below photo of the ostriches seems to indicate that something needs to be fixed.

Big Cat Feeding Show

The drive-through area housing the carnivore lions and tigers was separated from the areas housing the herbivores by double-gated security entrances.  The best thing about this area was that it comprised a smaller circuit within the larger drive-through circuit.  For that reason, after we made one pass through the lion and tiger areas, we were able to loop around for another look.  Our hired driver knew approximately when the “Feeding Show” would take place, so he strategically timed our second loop to coincide with the show.  The “Feeding Show” featured a pick-up truck that had a cage built onto the cargo bed.  An attractive young woman stationed inside of the cage pushed out pieces of raw chicken through slots built into the cage.  The lions and tigers appeared to be quite accustomed to what is surely a daily routine.  As soon as the feeding truck appeared, the big cats all climbed aboard to their favorite positions.

We were able to follow the feeding truck from the lion feeding area to the tiger feeding area.  I was amazed that none of the lions tried to follow the truck into the tiger area.  I guess the cats are very well trained as regards to where they will be fed.

Below is a video of the tiger feeding:

After watching the feeding show, we returned to the outer circuit and completed the drive-through safari.  The last animals were the bears.

Elephant Show

After completing the drive-through safari, we entered the “regular” part of the zoo.  There were a number of animal performance shows featuring orangutans, sea lions, elephants, dolphins, and birds.  We saw the sea lion show and the elephant show.  Both the sea lions and the elephants were trained to perform quite extraordinary feats.

This elephant did a tight-rope walk across two pipes. 

These four elephants painted pictures that were later offered for sale.

Around the world, there is considerable controversy about the use of animals (especially elephants) in these types of entertainment activities, with accusations that training usually includes methods that constitute animal abuse. To be fair, from the shows that we observed, it wasn’t possible to know whether such methods were or weren’t used with these animals.  But even assuming that gentle training methods were employed, some of the stunts that the elephants were required to perform seemed to be quite unnatural and over-the-top.  One would think that there must be a way to allow the animals to demonstrate their unique talents and skills without forcing them to do strange and demeaning tricks.

Giraffe feeding

At the safari terrace which overlooked a portion of the drive-through safari, visitors could buy various fruits to feed to the giraffes.  It was really impressive to see so many giraffes at such close range.  Judging from the shrieks of joy and the many broad smiles, this activity made a considerable impression on the visitors who experienced it. 

Other Animal Exhibits

The zoo portion of Safari World had many more animals.  Unfortunately, since we spent so much time in the drive-through safari and watching the two animal shows and stuffing our faces at the lunch buffet, there wasn’t that much time to carefully observe the other animal enclosures.  The two photos below were taken while quickly walking past cages housing birds and monkeys. 

After lunch, we watched the “Spy War Show” which seemed quite similar to what you would expect to see at movie theme parks.  Right in the middle of the spy wars show there was a sudden thunderstorm that stopped the performance for almost a whole hour. The rain came down so hard it looked like someone had turned on a giant shower.  Luckily, we were under a large roofed area, and so we managed to remain mostly dry. By the time the storm passed, the walkways throughout the zoo had been turned into ankle-deep streams, and just about all of the visitors in the zoo, including us, carefully made their way to the exit.

Food and Souvenirs

Throughout the zoo, there were many restaurants, snack stands, and souvenir shops.  For us tourist visitors, there was no shortage of places to spend our money.

Getting There

Safari World is located in the outskirts of Bangkok about an hour ride by car from the city center.  Since we had a hired van arranged by our host, I do not know how much it would cost to hire a taxi.  I did notice that there were quite a few taxis going through the drive-through safari, so I imagine that it must be a reasonably affordable transportation option for the foreign tourist.  I believe admission for adult foreigners was 900 Bahts, which is a considerable amount in Thailand.

(Note: All photos taken in this post were taken during a visit on September 6, 2013.  The comments in this post are based on observations made on that day.  Conditions may have since changed.  Please check it out for yourself!)