Bangkok Fishbowl

[Rogie]

Bangkok Fishbowl: Exotic species swim free in abandoned mall

 

One for our intrepid Christian perhaps?

 

"A few blocks away from Khao San Road sits New World, a four-storey, roofless, abandoned mall on the corner of Banglamphu Intersection. The building’s flooded basement now serves as a home for thousands of fish and is arguably home to the most exotic underwater species in Bangkok. 

 

How was this new world created inside New World? It’s a long story.

 

Back in the 80’s, Kaew Fah Plaza Company Limited built New World as an 11-storey mall. The company was later found in breach of a building law after it constructed seven more floors on top of the approved construction blueprint.

 

The mall was shut in 1997, and an unfortunate series of events occurred thereafter. The mall was set ablaze in 1999, causing some casualties and in 2004, one person was killed from collapsing debris during a partial demolition.

 

The mall’s fifth to eleventh floors were eventually dismantled to be in line with the original plan and New World has been roofless ever since.

 

With no roof, rainwater unsurprisingly collected in the basement. The pool of static water reared mosquitoes. Mosquitoes annoyed vendors in the neighborhood. To fix this problem, some vendors released a bunch of fish into the pool so as to curb mosquito breeding. Quickly, that bunch of fish reproduced into thousands."

 

"In 2011, New World closed its doors after a huge number of locals visited the mall to sight the unseen, 500-square-meter fishpond… but Coconuts photographer Kajornsak Intarapong recently took a top secret trip to investigate the site . . . "

 

http://bangkok.coconuts.co/2013/06/19/bangkok-fishbowl-exotic-species-swim-free-abandoned-mall

[ChristianPFC]

Thank you for sharing, I will put that on my list.

[pong]

have shopped in that store many times-when it was still open-=pre 1997 financial crisis. You cannot easily go in, and I assume this whole story is mostly tipical newsppr hype. Any water will be stagnant ultra-dirty filth.The store was 9-10 stories high and this was in flagrant illegality,as in this Pra Nakorn area (=holy town, the '''old town'') any building cannot be higher as highest spire in Royal Palace. It has since been torn down partly. Around corner is another abandoned dept.store-Banglamphu store, but there ground floor is still taken by clothes vendors.

BUT; just other side of crossing is a canal (which once has direct boats to Hualampong main station) and there one can often see what most farang think are ''crocodiles'' mid town. They are not, but look like that for unknowing people out for any hype.

Und unsere lieber Christian: ganz nah ist ja, wie bestimmt schon bekannt, Saranrom park, in laufnaehe. Bus 524 bringt dir dort direkt ab Laksi/Chaeng Wattana rd.

[KhorTose]

Und unsere lieber Christian: ganz nah ist ja, wie bestimmt schon bekannt, Saranrom park, in laufnaehe. Bus 524 bringt dir dort direkt ab Laksi/Chaeng Wattana rd.

Bus ist zu teuer für Christian. Kein Zweifel, wird er zu Fuß gehen.

[Guest]

Oder mit dem rad fahren?

[ChristianPFC]

I went there today (bus to Khao San (correct: stop on Ratchadamoen closest to Khao san), then walking). Everything as described in the link, the only thing I would change is "200 to 300 meters" to "about 100 meters".

[Rogie]

Normal service is resumed!