Siam Ocean World

[TBWG]

Has anyone visited this place, I believe it is in a shopping complex called Siam Paragon near MBK.

If so, is it worth while and also what is the shopping complex like? i.e up market or another MBK.

Thanks

TBWG

[jdinasia]

The Aquarium is worth seeing once .... Siam Paragon is gonna be NICE when it is all open ... the KinoKuniya bookstore there is great!

[TBWG]

The Aquarium is worth seeing once .... Siam Paragon is gonna be NICE when it is all open ... the KinoKuniya bookstore there is great!

Thanks JD

Is it or will it be when finished another MBK type mall or more upmarket?.

TBWG

[the gent]

The Aquarium is worth seeing once .... Siam Paragon is gonna be NICE when it is all open ... the KinoKuniya bookstore there is great!

Thanks JD

Is it or will it be when finished another MBK type mall or more upmarket?.

TBWG

Have you been living in a very small hole deep in the Bavarian Black Forest?

[baht&sold]

The "Gent"??

To the OP, try here Siam Ocean World and no, Paragon is nothing like MBK (which is why I like both;)

Edited February 13, 2006 by baht&sold

[visarunner]

Hi,

Siam Paragon belongs to TheMall roup who also operate Emporium.

They plan that SiamParagon becomes even more upmarket.

I wonder who can afford all those goodies.

At least the Gourmet corner is doing already brisk business n yes the bookstore of Kinokuniya is great.

[daleyboy]

Looks good, thanks for the link B&S will have to take the young uns there when we come over in Jun.

[Michael W]

The Aquarium is worth seeing once

I was about to buy a couple tickets to see it with my girlfriend but I balked at 450B/ticket price (we had just visited the Duset Zoo the previous month for a fraction of the cost). At some point I guess we'll get around to it.

the KinoKuniya bookstore there is great!

I missed that; definitely on my list for next time.

[think_too_mut]

The Aquarium is worth seeing once .... Siam Paragon is gonna be NICE when it is all open ... the KinoKuniya bookstore there is great!

Thanks JD

Is it or will it be when finished another MBK type mall or more upmarket?.

TBWG

MBK is hardly comparable, other than expensive shops at the higher floors.

The Siam Paragon is meant to be an upmarket place, and it is.

Just too many non-buyers visit it (students) just having a look.

Enjoyed the place. I'm not concerned about their sales figures.

God sight, many beautiful girls there, shop attendants and young visitors.

The aquarium: if you have been to the Pattaya Sea Underworld, you would have seen more.

Somebody said 1 visit, that's about enough.

Baby and children department: great it was, hope they keep the stock at the same level.

One shop assistant told me they are the same as the Emporium: sell what they have, the stock is replenished quarterly.

The supermarket downstairs is really good.

I might go there again if I have nothing else to do.

[TBWG]

[MBK is hardly comparable, other than expensive shops at the higher floors.

The Siam Paragon is meant to be an upmarket place, and it is.

Just too many non-buyers visit it (students) just having a look.

Enjoyed the place. I'm not concerned about their sales figures.

God sight, many beautiful girls there, shop attendants and young visitors.

The aquarium: if you have been to the Pattaya Sea Underworld, you would have seen more.

Somebody said 1 visit, that's about enough.

Baby and children department: great it was, hope they keep the stock at the same level.

One shop assistant told me they are the same as the Emporium: sell what they have, the stock is replenished quarterly.

The supermarket downstairs is really good.

I might go there again if I have nothing else to do.

Thanks think to mut

Just what I wanted to know, not sure what 'the gent' was getting at in earlier post response? unless of course there is some innuendo in there!!

TBWG

[tavarich]

I have heard from friends that they don't have the aquarium fully stocked with fish just yet. Anyone been there lately to verify this. The whole fam damily are waiting my return so they can go see it I'm hopeing it won't be a big disapointment.

[lingyai]

[MBK is hardly comparable, other than expensive shops at the higher floors.

The Siam Paragon is meant to be an upmarket place, and it is.

Just too many non-buyers visit it (students) just having a look.

Enjoyed the place. I'm not concerned about their sales figures.

God sight, many beautiful girls there, shop attendants and young visitors.

The aquarium: if you have been to the Pattaya Sea Underworld, you would have seen more.

Somebody said 1 visit, that's about enough.

Baby and children department: great it was, hope they keep the stock at the same level.

One shop assistant told me they are the same as the Emporium: sell what they have, the stock is replenished quarterly.

The supermarket downstairs is really good.

I might go there again if I have nothing else to do.

Thanks think to mut

Just what I wanted to know, not sure what 'the gent' was getting at in earlier post response? unless of course there is some innuendo in there!!

TBWG

He was surprised you had not heard more about it. There was a ton of publicity around its opening in December. Siam Paragon is some what like Gaysorn but significantly bigger (too big, get tired of walking around) with more eating establishments and a department store. Nearly every sign is in English with almost no Thai to be seen. I believe the aquarium, Ocean World, is the biggest in south east asia (at least that is the claim).

[sylvafern]

The Aquarium is definately one of the better (if not best) places in BKK to take kids to even if it is 10 or 20 times the cost of Dusit Zoo. Went to both in the same week a couple of months ago and my son loved both. And yes, I agree with others that the bookshop is great .... definately the best selection of kids books that I've come across in BKK (better than the one at Emporium).

[Spit the Dog]

The Aquarium is worth seeing once ....

Yes, that's what I thought. It was good to see but once you've seen it then that's really it.

Luckilly I got to visit the aquarium for free as I was on a field trip with the school that I work for.

[jdinasia]

The Aquarium is definately one of the better (if not best) places in BKK to take kids to even if it is 10 or 20 times the cost of Dusit Zoo. Went to both in the same week a couple of months ago and my son loved both. And yes, I agree with others that the bookshop is great .... definately the best selection of kids books that I've come across in BKK (better than the one at Emporium).

I actually enjoy the Dusit Zoo... best 30 baht you'll spend in BKK! If you have wheels the Khao Khioh Open Zoo (Green Mountain) between BKK and Pattaya off the road that starts where the motorway ends .... Fabulous zoo! Can drive through or ride the shuttles. 50 baht ... can feed some animals etc. A very nice day. The Night safari there (100 baht and the info is given in Thai only) is not so spectacular BUT a good chance to see wild deer that come down off the mountain, and a cool way to kill an evening.

ooops .. sorry ... off topic!

Edited February 22, 2006 by jdinasia

[andym528]

Went to the aquarium the other day. Expensive, but very nice. Wife, 5 yr old stepdaughter and I went on Sunday morning around 9:30 and it was not crowded and very pleasant. Definitely fully stocked and all animals/fish active except the otters who were still sacked out.

Food court on 1st floor definitely at least a cut above other food courts and only a little pricier....

[~G~]

Paragon is not one of my favourite spots in BKK. Too big, too "show-off", main features being large size and high price, nothing original really. Retailers seems to have the view that charging more might convince people that the product is of a higher value, or may be they have no choice given the high rent?

I just get an irritating feeling there - with the sales people that try to get you join their club and pay ridiculous "joining fees", with those who try to make you buy subscrptions for everything, with that enclosed "food court" that make you liable for 2,000 baht and quietly charging you extra for service instead of charging your card by an amount you set in advance, with the Cinemas that has all the latest visual effects but no movie descriptions, with some restaurants charging ridiculous prices and serving crappy food, etc. etc.. Greed Greed Greed

I prefer MBK, Siam Center or Emporium any day of the week... (and yes, the K book shop is a pleasant exception!)

Take Emporium for example... so much better. Every time I go there they have a different theme to the main area - harps, stone age, old planes, musical bands and so on... and they've got that nice park just next to it.

Paragon? just a hi-so money sucking machine.

Edited March 21, 2006 by ~G~

[leisurely]

We went about a week ago on a Sunday. I thought the aquarium was very disappointing. I had heard rumours of 1000+ fish a week dying because it had been set up too quickly and hadn't been given time to 'bed in'. I can well believe that. The tanks seemed strangly underpopulated. The price is ridiculous. A top tip would be visit the True internet cafe where they have live video from the aquarium. Mean?Me

[Plus]

If you've been to Underwater World in Pattaya and paid 200 baht, then you'll see a lot more fish for your money in Siam Paragon.

I understand how you can see it all in one go, or from True cafe on their TV screen, and then say ""Finding Nemo" had better graphics", but there's a lot of information about the fish and their habits there.

Definitely a must for the kids.

[bkkjosh]

I went in february and it was very crowded. There were a lot of empty exhibits, but it was quite a bit better then the aquarium at pattaya. The only thing I would not recommend is the glass-bottomed boat ride. It was really disappointing... Such a short ride and seeing exactly the same thing you see when walking through the downstairs part anyway.

[remmy]

i bought a Sony mini DV cassette for my Camcorder at Siam Paragon.It cost me 290 bath compared to 150 bath in photo shops and other shopping mall

[johna]

I visited the aquarium with my wife and daughter in February and was very dissapointed, took the boat ride which I thought was a rip off.

I saw the aquarium in Sentosa Singapore last year and it was much better more brightly colored fish which my daughter licked a lot all in all I would give it a miss.

[BambinA]

i went to the 'siam ocean world' @ siam paragon, alone on my birthday ... it was just soso for me, crowdy and noisy .. good for see just once time,

BTW. i like Thai ocean word more than Hong Kong

[rainman]

i was there yesterday and for me it was worth the 450 baht per person. some people might find this expensive, though ...and i too would have of course preferred a lower entry fee but if you want to see it you gotta pay it, thats just how it is. the tunnel is great for taking photos of/with your loved ones ...just wait for a shark to pass behind/over you and snap a photo (dont be afraid to use flash), they will turn out great.

[rainman]

..and one more thing. the "gourmet market" or whatever the whole food shopping complex is called at the paragon, its a lot cheaper on many products than places like foodland or carrefour. for example, the "scott tissue" i compared, 24 rolls, it costs 192 THB at foodland, 170 THB at carrefour and only around 150 THB at paragon's gourmet market...