A Rainy Day at Siam Bangkok
During one of our rainy and cloudy days in Bangkok, Thailand back in March 2013, my buddy and I thought it would be a great idea to spend the whole day visiting Siam which is an area in the Pathum Wan District. There are several large well known malls and some great tourist attractions that will keep us busy all day as we try to take cover from the rain.
street view of Siam area
Getting There
With questionable weather and taxis being so cheap in Bangkok, we thought it would be best to take one from W Hotel to Siam. Since I always travel with strong buddies, we just take regular taxis and I just get transferred to a seat and bring my folded manual wheelchair along. This whole area looks really developed and is quite busy that it reminded me of a big American city. Pedestrian traffice is so busy, by the end of 2018, a huge new Skywalk opened connecting all the major malls. It is similar to how Las Vegas has skywalks linking the hotels.
new skywalk opened in 2018 to ease pedestrian traffic and improve accessibility
MBK Center
MBK Center, also known as Mahboonkrong is a huge 8 floor mall with over 2000 shops and restaurants. This mall is quite busy at it sees about 100,000 shoppers daily. Located on the 5th floor is The Fifth Food Avenue which is a giant food area. We had to get a card from the pay desk and load it with money in order to buy food from the vendors. This was a bit annoying but was necessary. We end up getting some Thai rice dish and a dessert from Mc Donald’s (Closed 2019, and moved to the 6th floor and renamed MBK Food Island).
inside MBK Center
The Fifth Food Avenue has since closed down and moved to the 6th floor
Siam Center/Siam Discovery
My buddy and I were planning to watch a live musical performance at a connector from MBK Center to Siam Center but it started to rain. As the rain got worse, the show was stopped and we fled to Siam Center. This mall has about 400 stores and also has Madame Tussaud’s Bangkok. Instead of wandering around looking at stores, we decided to check out the wax museum. There was even an option to buy a combo ticket with Siam Ocean World to save money.
light rain turned to heavy rain so this free concert was cancelled and we had to go inside
Madame Tussaud’s Bangkok
I have been to many museums and a few Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum around the world and they are usually pretty wheelchair accessible. This Bangkok location is no exception as we were able to see all the life size realistic wax figures of celebrities and famous people. We definitely had a lot of fun wearing some of the props and taking photos with the likes of President Obama, Madonna, Oprah, Tom Cruise and more.
at Madam Tussaud’s with Tom Cruise wax figure
Posing with Barack and Michelle Obama
Siam Paragon
My buddy and I then headed to Siam Paragon which is one of the largest shopping malls in Thailand. Besides shopping and restaurants, this mall has a giant multiplex with 15 movie screens, bowling alley, art gallery, concert hall and an aquarium. We didn’t really browse the mall too much as we wanted to spend more time at Siam Ocean World (since 2014, it is now known as Sea Life Bangkok Ocean World).
inside Siam Paragon mall
Siam Ocean World
Siam Ocean World opened in 2005 and is located on two floors beneath Siam Paragon mall. It was one of the world’s biggest aquarium with over 400 aquatic species and 30,000 sea creatures in exhibits totalling about 5 million liters (1.3 million US gallons). Add-ons to admissions include Glass Bottom Boat, 4D Cinema, Ocean Walker and Dive With Sharks. We did not do any of the additional options.
has been renamed Sea Life Bangkok Ocean World
Exhibits at Siam Ocean World include Shark Walk, Tropical Rainforest, Rocky Shore, Tropical Ocean, Ocean Tunnel and Penguin Ice Adventure. One of my favorite things to see at aquariums is the underwater tunnel. This is always really exciting and immersive as I feel like I am underwater with all the sea creatures. The accessibility of Siam Ocean World was great with an elevator to see both floors and great pathways to all the exhibits.
love the underwater tunnel
We decided to eat at the Mc Donald’s on the 5th floor of Siam Paragon before we left the mall. This international location served some Asian exclusives that we wouldn’t normally get in Canada and we ordered some fried chicken with spicy gravy. It was really good too. After dinner, we then headed back to our hotel.
fried chicken and spicy gravy at Mc Donald’s
Spending a rainy day at Siam Bangkok was a perfect way to experience the mega malls and attractions there. If it was a sunnier day, I would have loved to look outside and check out the streets a bit more. Siam Ocean World and Madame Tussaud’s were both quite wheelchair accessible and both worth checking out if in this trendy and busy area.
