With its mouth agape, the giant lion’s head is frozen in a roar. No water rushes down the log flume that descends from its heights, while at ground level, the vast amusement park stands empty of noise and activity except for leaves blowing in a light breeze. Welcome to Siam Amazing Park, billed as the longest-running amusement park in south-east Asia, and certainly in Thailand.
Up to a million people rush in every year for thrills on rides like the Boomerang, an orange rollercoaster that loop-the-loops at 80km/h (50mph), or to splash around under the tropical sun in one of the world’s largest wave pools. It now stands empty, after being closed late last month when it started raining in Bangkok and did not stop for days. It could take more than six months for the park to reopen.
Managing director Wuthichai Luangamornlert sits in an airconditioned conference room at the park’s entrance. Below his office, rows of turnstiles stand empty where just days before, thousands of tourists and local visitors were eagerly pushing through. He was not too alarmed when the rains began at the end of September.
The area on the outskirts of Bangkok has seen heavy rains before – the megacity itself is built on floodplains and has a network of muddy canals and pumps to drain water. But the next morning came and it was still raining, and the day after, it was still raining. So that’s when we knew that it was not normal.” After three days, the sewers filled up and much of the park turned into a giant lake, with the water level reaching around knee height.
Many of the motors and electrical systems that power the rides were damaged. Buildings around the park are still marked with lines of silt – the markers a flood leaves behind. Wuthichai’s father, Chaiwat, who opened the park in 1980, is famous in Thailand for his rags-to-riches tale, and kept prices discounted so the average Thai family could afford a rare visit.
The son is now managing things, and says it is odd how rapidly his mindset changed from that of little concern to the reality of having the park closed for six months, or longer. This story of unstoppable rising water is one told across the city, where the government declared a flood disaster across all 50 districts. For days, people were forced to use boats to get to their destroyed homes, and those who did not have boats used inflatable pool toys.
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