Our Next Port Of Call Was The Aquarium,

on the Sukhumvit Road,

called Underwater World Pattaya,

we had to have a couple of shots under the sign,

and in the main entrance hall,

next down the stairway,

to one of the 'touch' displays,

that had a viewing window seat,

this was really neat, you could put your hands inside the aquarium without the water falling out,

if you were lucky you could even touch a fish,

there was also a nice pool containing koi,

and a turtle pool,

with a couple of them on display,

Sammy's Adventures comes to life!

the display above the koi pond reminded us both of our trip to Angkor Wat,

there are a few nastys in this display,

like this scorpion or lion fish,

and moray eel,

the family pose by a display,

unfortunately there were not many signs to give information about the inhabitants,

the ones in this aquarium are in fact Lo vulpinus, commonly known as the fox face rabbit fish, no mention that this species is venomous and can inflict painful stings,

a few small Nemos,

we were all admiring the fish in this aquarium, but the flash made the aquarium look empty,

this is a better look at it,

we then entered the first of the tunnels,

this was saltwater environment with flying rays,

and sharks,

this was the first of three tunnels,

another shark cruises past,

for some reason there were a huge number of fish at this end of the tunnel,

then we saw the sign,

at 2.00 in the afternoon the fish are fed,

so we decided to wait to see the show,

not long now!

then a SCUBA diver entered the display,

the fish went frantic,

he had a large bucket of food, that looked like chopped up fish,

every so often you could just catch a glimpse of him as momentarily the shoals of fish cleared,

but not for long,

then Sammy the turtle made an appearance,

all too soon the show was over,

so we made our way to the next exhibits, I hope this young lad remembers today and thinks about making a hobby of fish keeping,

there were few display aquariums between tunnels,

the next tunnel was also a marine environment,

but housing much larger fish like this grouper,

and a shoal or two of trevelys,

some of them well into double figures,

all of the family were fascinated with the display,

we then made our way into the next section that contained individual displays, in this one a mantis shrimp,

also one with a number of seahorses,

with colours from black through to gold,

the last tunnel was for freshwater fish, featuring some of the giants of Asia and South America,

like the giant Mekong catfish, Pangasianodon gigas,

and the giant of the Amazon Arapaima gigas,

this for all of us was a new display, as the sign says Jellyfish World,

the displays were quiet dark,

although easy for us to see the flash made then difficult to photograph, without flash was a little better as above,

so I settled on a close up with flash,

the same for this shot,

the next room was a real treat, each cylinder was stocked with jelly fish,

but if you waited each would change colour, it looked so surreal,

and quiet ghostly at times,

one more quick picture of the family with flash, (if you look closely you can see me taking the shot, it is all done with mirrors!),

we were then back outside making our way back to the truck,

a final look down to the turtle pool,

and touch experience,

past the otter display, and off we went,

to Tesco's for a treat,

we just had to stop off at Swesons for a ice cream,

naturally the menu demanded our full attention,

then our choices were served,

Diana's Mun and myself had a strawberry sundae whilst Sandio picked a chocolate treat, Diana a mango surprise,

whilst Dioshane chose a vanilla sundae,

Sandio needed a longer spoon,

after a shower and a brush up it was off to the Friday night market, we took the truck, the car park nearly empty,

we were still a little early,

I had dropped the family off and parked the truck, just as I walked into the market I spotted the family, they did not see me till after I had taken the shot, 

a bit of cloud, but it did not look like rain,

 a clothes stall and one selling dolls opposite the bar this evening,

the dolls are the type that gyrate when they are switched on,

at 199 baht each they seem like a bargain,

I then noticed another type of fruit that I like, lychee,

it must be the start of the season as these are quiet small,

not too many people in the pet section,

sunset over the market,

back to the bar and who should be sitting there?

none other than Bill who we had not seen for some time, we chatted away about fish for some time, he keeps marine fish as a hobby,

whilst there another group of salespeople arrived on the steps by the bar,

they were giving away samples of Dentyne teeth cleaning gum, soon after Bill said his goodbyes so I waited for Diana,

and here they were, then they were off on another shopping expedition,

it was now getting dark,

I then noticed it was a full moon, well if not very close,

the family returned laden down with goodies,

on the way back Sandio look at this Harley, I think he wants one when he is older,

then we were home, next decision, which 3D to watch next?

so glasses on,

 wine in hand and we were off,

The Ultimate Wave Tahiti in 3D was chosen, nine-time world surfing champion Kelly Slater and Tahitian surfer Raimana Van Bastolaer and a group of friends seek out the best waves breaking on the reef at Tahiti's famed surf site Teahupo'o, we all kept ducking the splashes!

followed by Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, the sequel to 2005's "Madagascar", in which New York Zoo animals make their escape to Africa, after that we were all so tired we were off to bed.