Few days in Bangkok entertaining a toddler...

The missus had been hassling me to have a holiday in Bangkok for a while purely on the basis that she wanted to show our 2 year old Siam Ocean World.

I eventually caved in to her demands and booked a few nights at Legacy Suites on Sukhumvit Soi 29. I chose this hotel because it was highly rated on TripAdvisor and wasn't too pricey at about 2000 baht per night.

The room was nice, clean and big enough for the 3 of us...
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First afternoon we took a walk to Benjasiri Park which, although not very big, allows some relaxation away from the busy city. The sprog was happy running around the kids play area and chasing squirrels.

Next day we took the sky train along to Siam Paragorn which houses the aquarium Siam Ocean World. The dual pricing here is terrible - Thai price is about 250 baht and farang price is about 900 baht. I got the 3 of us in for 500 baht (child went free) thanks to me having a Thai driving licence.

It is an impressive aquarium, but I would have felt ripped off if I had to pay the tourist price...

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Day 3 we took a taxi to Dream World which is a theme park out past the old airport. Was about 300 baht in a taxi - I could have driven there myself and found it using my new Garmin GPS toy but I coudn't be bothered braving the Bangkok traffic.... Dream World was nothing special but there was enough there to entertain a 2 year old, even though she was too small for most of the rides. Again, paying Thai price at the gate and then 'pay as you go' for the rides it was a a cheap day out.

Highlight of the place was the Snow World building where they have created a small winter landscape complete with toboggan sliding. They give you welly boots and a quilted coat as you go in.

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Plenty of nice areas for photo oppurtunities also...
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Day 4 we decided to go to Safari World ( why is every attraction something World?) after having seen a brochure for it in the taxi the day before. Took the car this time as going round a safari park in a taxi wouldn't be the same... This was a very good zoo / safari park - I had been impressed by Khao Keeow open zoo before but this place was even better.

The drive around doesn't take long but there is a lot to see...
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If you go there it is worth paying for the walk around zoo part as well as there is a lot more to see there and you can get up close to the animals...

Feed the giraffes...
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Even had polar bears in a cold climate controlled area...
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I thought this was the mother in-law at first glance...
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And we timed it to catch one of the shows... Dolphins doing tricks - probably cruel but entertaining anyway...
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Took a boat ride adventure thing which scared the shit out of the little one...
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Next day we went home but found time to stop off at Seacon Square on the way for one last toddler attraction - Yoyo Land. Good small indoor theme park with loads of rides....

Got home knackered but I think the sprog had been well entertained by it all...

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:)

Nice one Rawlins and good to see a caring Dad at play. :)

Looks good thanks! I'll add Safari Workd to the list for our next few days in BKK.

up ya go bloke ,

time and effort well spent :)

And from the last pic, achieved the desired result!

Nice thread, good on yer.

Great pics and write-up.

Is that thormaturge nibbling your daughter's knee BTW?
Always thought he was a weird one!:)

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^ Looks like him... I shall have to have words.

:-D

Nice thread, Rawlins. My first full time teaching job was at a Prathom school on the way to Safari World. The area is really nice but I never did get to Safari World. I was skeptical of how Thais would treat animals.

Here is a tip for Dreamworld. If you go inside the office and tell them you live in Thailand, (they may ask for work permit or ATM or some proof), you can get a yellow unlimited ride wristband for 435 baht. This will get you into the 4D and Alien Adventure shows which are at least 100 baht each purchased alone and unlimited rides on everything. Only thing not covered is snowworld. This is the cheapest way to do it all at Dreamworld

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Originally Posted by liveinlos

Here is a tip for Dreamworld. If you go inside the office and tell them you live in Thailand, (they may ask for work permit or ATM or some proof), you can get a yellow unlimited ride wristband for 435 baht. This will get you into the 4D and Alien Adventure shows which are at least 100 baht each purchased alone and unlimited rides on everything. Only thing not covered is snowworld. This is the cheapest way to do it all at Dreamworld

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Yup if your kid is bigger, Rawlins did it the right way for a small child. Boy did that bring back some nice memories mate. Wonderful time was seen to be had by all. Well worth all the time and effort you put into it just to see the smiles on her face. Mommy must have been just as happy.

I too use Trip Advisor and it has never done me wrong.

^ Thanks Aging One and all others for the replies.... It's all good really - I can get as much enjoyment out of all these attractions as the little one - but like you say, the best enjoyment is seeing the daughter (and Mum) happy with it all....

The daughter has started at a 'school' now - it's more of a nursery but it is 5 days a week so these holidays away will be less frequent now... We will just have to take short breaks away during the busy times at weekends...

I'll have to give Safari world a go next time, good stuff Rawlins but missing the usual pic of SBF!

^ Cheers Jizzy.... She is just SF now as the braces have finally been removed.. Doesn't have the same ring to it as SBF so I might start calling her by her real name which is Udom (and is apparently a blokes name...).

I'll try and dig out a picture of her for you on my next photo thread....

Wait until you daughter gets older and starts bringing about ten friends with her to Dream World. Thats when the fun really begins!

^ Yeah... won't be such a cheap day out then... Keeping one under control was hard enough - Would need a few milfy mums along to help with the crowd control.

They grow up so fast though eh? - think I'll need to make another one soon...

This so called safari park is one which should have been closed down years ago but this being Thailand, and therefore the only thing the cynical chicken headed fuckers care about is money, it hasn't nor has it been prosecuted for its breaches of the CITES agreements to which it is a signatory - no surprise there, remember, this is Thailand and therefore the only thing the cynical chicken headed fuckers care about is money.

In 2004 115 Orang Utans were illegally taken from the wild in Indonesia and dumped in the laughably named Safari World where they were trained to put on boxing shows for the gormless public. Of the 114 found during a raid on these premises 50 were returned to Indonesia but the rest died.

Because this freaks carnival is still operating, remember this is Thailand and all the cynical chicken headed fuckers care about is money, there is still a demand for wild Orang Utans and the illegal trade persists to meet it.

By patronising this obscenity of a business, folk are in effect driving the Orang Utan population to extinction but I daresay some might think it worthwhile just as long as their, and their children's, interest is piqued sufficiently.

So now you know.

The Thai as we all know are the world's greatest hypocrites and nothing, absolutely nothing, they say or claim to do amounts to anything more than a long wet dribbling fart.

If they could teach Tuna to do tricks like this we wouldn't be allowed to eat them either :(

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Originally Posted by thegent

By patronising this obscenity of a business, folk are in effect driving the Orang Utan population to extinction but I daresay some might think it worthwhile just as long as their, and their children's, interest is piqued sufficiently.

So now you know.

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Well, we all enjoyed our day out there and would definitely go again... our interest was sufficiently piqued... I'll try and shed a tear for the orangutans - didn't see the boxing show but it sounds great fun... They also had parrots doing bike rides...

This was about keeping a 2 year old entertained for a few days - Siam Ocean World probably have some inhumane practices towards the fish.... Dream World staff looked a bit unhappy at times.... If I took your attitude we would have stayed in the room for 4 days.

Be as defensive as you like but the fact remains if you and people like you continue to support this illegal trade the chances are your daughter's grandchildren won't have the same opportunity.

Still, satisfying whimsy and the pursuit of ephemera has become the new challenge of the age for people too ignorant to do otherwise.

^ You can choose to boycott these places if you want...

I did a travel thread on things to do around Bangkok for kids...

You have called all the Thai population 'cynical chicken headed fuckers' and you are calling me ignorant. Why don't you fuck off and start your own tree hugging hippy shit thread about all the bad and nasty places in Thailand?

That defensive enough?

Rawlins, thanks for a great guide with photos.

Rawlins, really good trip report. The kid will remember it for a long time. If any animals were hurt then the management should be smacked. It would seem hard to abuse fishes and the Orans are simply fodder for tourists. You share no blame for taking your offspring to see the critters. Certainly wouldn't change anything in the world order if you boycotted the attraction. Tree huggers need to awaken to the real world, that is the reason we rose to the top of the food chain and didn't stop at leaves and grasses.

Shilohjim

nice thread mate lovely lil nipper you got there
ignore the gent

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Originally Posted by thegent

So now you know.

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you twat, so now you know :)

Indeed, I do. The petty amusement of infants and their clueless parents is infinitely more important than the survival of a species.

It's nice that you had a good day out with your family; good for you.

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Originally Posted by rawlins

I'll try and shed a tear for the orangutans - didn't see the boxing show but it sounds great fun...

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This is a moronic statement frankly, even in jest.

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I doubt you will get any thanks for rubbing their noses in the unpalatable truth.

They are, after all, the superior species, allegedly.

^^ Bettyboo... Another one...

What would keep the likes of you & thegent happy?... Should I have repented my sins and vowed never to return to a zoo again?

I do agree with the message that thegent is trying so obnoxiously to get across to an extent... Not to the extent that I wouldn't return to the same place where myself and family had a good day out.

I didn't go to see the shows of animals boxing or birds cycling and I wouldn't have taken my family in to see them... Sorry if my sense of humour offends but I was kind of provoked into that kind of reply.

Now why can't you keep your abused orangutan shite off what was meant to be a simple travel thread?

Thegent - you are truly one class wanker... You wouldn't come the same superior tone with anybody face to face I bet because you know where it would land you.

Go ahead and have the last word....

Oh dear. The final response, as ever, when words fail is the threat of violence.

Rather says it all, don't you think Rawlins?

^ Hardly a threat of violence but if you read it as that, up to you....

I would probably kiss you rather than punch you because you are quite a funny fvcker... Most people might not take you in the same light though and you would probably agree with that...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rawlins

I do agree with the message that thegent is trying so obnoxiously to get across to an extent... Not to the extent that I wouldn't return to the same place where myself and family had a good day out.

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Your funding bad shite, that's the issue; you have a choice to make, if you decide that your fun comes above the other issues at play then that's your choice - mine would be different.

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Originally Posted by rawlins

Sorry if my sense of humour offends but I was kind of provoked into that kind of reply.

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No problem, humour is good; it just seemed out of place, but the internet gap does rather lose humour from time to time; context does that too - as per Lewis Hamilton and his 'is it because me is black' jibe...

The pictures and thread are nice, just a very surprising reply to the information about the Os.