Living underwater...[Entry #10 June 28, 2011]

[Above: A shark approximately 3 feet above my head.]

Entry #10: June 28, 2011

        Well congratulations to everyone following the blog, this is the first double digit post! Today as I had anticipated, I got a much later start and spent the early part of the day resting rather then exploring. I slept in as late as I could before getting breakfast at the hotel, returned to my room for some emailing, more rest and relax and kicked off the day with swimming rather then adventuring. Normally I try to leave the hotel by about 11 AM for my activities for the day, return for a short dip in the pool by about 4 o'clock and recover for more night time adventures to new restaurants or whatever I might find. After catching a little sun and a dip in the pool, I meandered over to the BTS (skytrain) station and made my way over to Siam shopping mall. In the baesment of this luxurious shopping mall "Ocean World". It boasts the title of largest indoor aquarium in Southeast Asia. I must say, it was fun and relaxing but a bit more touristy then I have been recently accustomed to. The aquarium is much smaller then that of the shed aquarium in Chicago, but I think few can actually compare. It was interesting walking around and seeing fish I do not believe I have ever seen before. To me the most interesting fish to watch were the Sturgeon and the sharks. I hope this is not some sort of behavioral statement but both look a bit dangerous and have very menacing appearances yet move through the water so smoothly and incredibly agile. I opted for the second level of pass which costs 1,000 baht = $33 US, which was only 100 baht more then the standard package for an adult. The additional 100 baht gave me access to a tour behind the normal walk through, a glass bottom boat ride, a soda, popcorn and a free DVD.  All in all, the extra 100 baht is worthwhile, but the glass bottom boat ride was not really worth the wait. You really don't get to see anything unless fish happen to swim directly underneath the boat and the line is fairly long. I did not opt to take their diving experience, I believe it is only 2,000 baht more = $66 US. And what this gives you is a tank walk in the main tank where they keep the sharks as well as many other types of fish. They put a diving helmet on you with a pressurized air hose and a guide that escorts you through the tank, plus it looked like a wet suit. Although some people may think I am crazy, that sounds like a fantastic experience, and I would have done it, but I was just so tired from the day before and also didn't go in my swimming trunks. I am still considering whether or not to go back for the 'complete' experience. The sharks they have there only get up to about 6 feet, which is still pretty big, but nothing unimaginable in size. They had a separate tank for some young hammerheads that were absolutely stunning, Their skin was almost like onyx colored and had a silver sheen to it. I have to admit though, the experience seems structured around kids tours as everything is set a bit lower to the ground, brightly colored with guides toting around groups of school children everywhere. All in all a worthwhile experience, and definitely worth taking kids to go see, or maybe to go on a date, but probably not the best place to explore for a really unique adventure.

       After my excursion to Ocean World, I chose to wander the attached mall a bit, extremely high fashion and westernized in style it was a big departure from walking the streets of Bangkok. Everything was incredibly clean and spacious, even MBK shopping center has a Thai feel to it, where as this conglomeration of businesses are for the trendy and wealthy individuals and certainly for tourists. All the major name brands could be found here, from Porsche to Armani and some upper end Thai boutiques. The day ended with meeting with my new friend Ying again for dinner and a movie. This time rather then going to see an american movie, I saw a Thai movie with English subtitles. It was called Small-'Roo' (which means hole) and was about a band that works together to make it as a musical group as well as construct and run a bakery. Although it was clearly aimed at a younger (teenager) audience it was well styled and the antics were certainly amusing. I think the Thai humor is much more slapstick then US humor currently is, circa 1980 style kinda...but I am not trying to label just give a description for those interested. The movie was cute, and worth the watch. This time at a theater more for locals but again extremely nice. I believe any movie theater in a mall complex in Thailand is at the very least a full level above the US equivalent with being around 1/3 the cost. As I love to watch movies anyways, I see no reason why I won't check out all the new movies I want to see, where as in the US I really have to question whether or not it is worth the price. 

        Another interesting thing is that whenever you see a movie in Thailand, just before the main feature there is a tribute to the King. Everyone stands in respect, and  a series of images of the Kings previous good deeds and what he has done for the country is shown. The only time I have ever seen anything like this is on military bases, the theaters would play the national anthem and everyone would rise for that occasion too. I must say though, that there seems to be a genuine love for the king in Thailand, and the message seems very heartfelt. I think this is a good way of demonstrating as well as instilling national pride. I was glad to see the movie, but at the same time can understand why American movies dominate the theaters within Thailand. With the incredible budget and star studded performances, the blockbusters we see back home really shine vs. the lower budget productions of native movies. After consulting with my friend, she explained that she, like most Thai, enjoy watching American movies because it is the same price and the quality is much better. I expressed that this is a totally reasonable response and cannot blame them for doing so, but at the same time supporting locally made movies will help to keep a sense of individual creation unique to their own culture. It has occurred to me on more then one occasion that Culture has become our main export, via movies, music and fashion in clothes as well as home decor. We (Americans) tend not to produce any physical goods but rather intellectual properties and the global consumer market eats up whatever we produce in these fields and then mimics it. I think its an interesting cycle though as most of these creative ideas aren't originally home grown in the first place but are influenced by other cultures, in a sort of feed back loop. Well before I go on any further with this tangent I will stop for the night. Thanks for reading!