Siam Ocean World - The Streets of Sathorn - Lumpini Park - Bangkok

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Sea Life In Siam

After reading Reet's travel blog I thought I would check out Siam Ocean World - I spent 2.5 hours there and really enjoyed viewing the many aquariums, the glass bottom boat trip and the 4D movie for 750 baht (about $A22) which also included a large soft drink and ice cream.

It is easy to find Ocean World, just catch the BTS Skytrain to Siam, it is adjacent to the Siam Paragon shops. I was suprised by the variety of sea life I discovered there although it is a noisy place with all the school kids doing guided tours and scrambling for the best vantage points near each exhibit - but I guess that adds a bit extra to the fun of such a visit. One kid even came up and took a pic of me, a bit of a change when it is usually the tourists taking the pics of the locals and the scenery in Thailand.

I took a ride in a glass bottom boat, the pool was full of all types of fish and some large sharks as well.

There are some jungle and waterfall settings and the usual tunnel through a large pool of assorted types of fish. I have been to the aquarium in Melbourne and I must say that I thought the Siam Ocean World is a better experience and has a larger range of sea life for viewing. They have a giant squid and tuna in a clear preservative block which changes colour amongst all the other great exhibits.

After exiting the the main viewing area you can watch a 20 minute movie in 4D. This means that your seat moves and your legs are blasted with air as you watch the 3D movie effects on the screen. This was great fun and would be very effective for action type movies. I must have had the most scratched 3D glasses in the theatre so check yours and exchange them before you go inside the theatre if they are hard to see through.

The Streets of Sathorn - How the rich and not so rich live in Bangkok

Sometimes you can find some very interesting places just by going for a walk near your hotel. This happened to me recently when I thought I needed some exercise and went for a stroll through the Sathorn district which adjoins Silom. Sathorn houses some of the very rich residents of Bangkok and as I found purely by being inquisitive some of the poorer residents - that is financially but not in any other way.

I walked down Silom Road and turned right at Convent Road going down to Sathorn Road, turned left, went across Sathorn Road using the overhead walkway and then turned right at the first Soi Suan Phlu 3. After about five minutes of walking I turned left at Suan Phlu Soi 8, walking past the Baptist Seminary and some other magnificent residential mansions and embassies on the left and followed the road around past the Oriental Place Hotel. At the end of this Soi I turned right down a fairly narrow walkway. A Thai lady I passed told me to go the other way but I thought I would keep going and see what was at the end of the walkway.

In the centre of all the obvious oppulance was a large group of very small units with tiny back yards. I would not describe this area as a ghetto but it provides a striking contrast to the rest of the residences in the Sathorn district. Some of the locals did chat with me and were very friendly. I took some pics and kept walking back into the world of the rich towards Rama 1V road and the Lumpini Boxing Stadium.

A walk through the leafy district of Sathorn is a very enjoyable escape from the fuel fumes ever present near the main roads and this would be a perfect place to have a condo if you wanted to live in Bangkok. It also may provide an insight into the various lifestyles of the local Thai population in Bangkok.

Lumpini Park

At the end of Silom Road near Rama 1V Road is an oasis for Thais and others to escape Bangkok's air pollution, noise of the traffic and the constant hounding of the taxi and sales touts. Lumpini Park is a great place to spend a couple of hours or more - you can stroll around the lakes, take a paddle boat or even work out in the open air gym if you are keen enough.

If you are staying near Silom or anywhere in Bangkok, Lumpini Park is worth a visit and for ease of access has a subway station out front. I managed to lose my mobile phone here somehow, it must have dropped out of my pocket - I purchased a new Thai phone at the Big C shop at Siam, I just need to buy an adaptor so that I can charge it when i get home.

Click on the pics if you want a larger view and select next to see all the pictures.

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