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Underwater World Pattaya

Posted by Stuart at 10:27 PM on March 28, 2005

On Saturday I just couldn't take it any more; I just had to get out of Bangkok. So I packed my backpack and hopped on a motorcycle taxi to the nearby Ekkamai bus station, where I caught a bus to Pattaya.

Now, as I have said many times, Pattaya is not my favorite place in the world. On the other hand, it's not Bangkok, and sometimes a change in the air (or actually just breathable air) is all I need.

As soon as I arrived, I rented a motorbike from my favorite shop with the well-chosen name of Mai Pang ("Not expensive"). The 24 hour rental only set me back 200 baht (about US$5).

I then checked into a guest house (500 baht = US$12.75) and rode the bike around town a bit. Even though there was a bit of traffic on the roads, the ride was surprisingly relaxing.

On Sunday I drove around some more and did some shopping. For some strange reason, though, clothes seem more expensive there than in Bangkok. Perhaps it's because there are so many tourists? In any case, the driving around earned me two sunburned lower arms.

The highlight of the whole trip, however, was a visit to Underwater World, Pattaya's Aquarium. My expectations were low, but it actually turned out to be pretty cool. Basically it is a 100 meter long, walk-through aquarium with a decent collection of fish, sharks, turtles, coral, eels, starfish, stingray, etc. It was well-worth the 180 baht (US$4.50) entrance fee.

Actually, the 180 baht fee was written in Thai language and was only for Thai people. The fee written in English was 360 baht. But this time, instead of being annoyed, I put on my best Thai smile, flashed my university ID, said Pom bpen ajarn ("I am a teacher") and handed the girl 200 baht. Amazingly enough, it worked and she gave me my 20 baht change and a kon Thai (Thai person) ticket.

Speaking of kon Thai, the place was packed full of them. Initially I was dreading fighting the crowds, but actually it made things even better because it forced me to slow down or even stop for minutes at a time and just relax and watch the fish swimming beside, around, and above me.

As I was watching the fish swim a few inches from my face, we would occasionally see eye-to-eye. And what were they telling me over and over? "Fish are friends, not food!"

(Since I didn't have my camera with me, someone else's excellent pictures (and description in Norwegian(?)) will have to do.)

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