Abandoned Shopping Mall Becomes Koi Pond In Bangkok

The abandoned shopping mall in Bangkok, Thailand hides an incredible secret hard to guess. In 1997 the shopping mall was forced to close due to building infringements and later in 1999 a fire destroyed the roof and allowed rainwater to slowly overwhelm it. But with the fire and flood there was a mosquito problem created and the inhabitants of the area found the best way to overdue the problem. They brought freshwater tilapia fish in order to eat the insects and to rid themselves of the pests.

The mall was originally built in 1987. It was an 11-storey building which did not manage to get the needed construction permit for the 7 upper floors so it was forced to close in 1997. Two years later, the mall became the target of arson by competitors and in2004 the 7 upper “illegal” floors were demolished, but drift to death a man who was killed by the debris of the demolition.

When the debris removed from the mall and since there was no roof, rainwater created an artificial lake inside the mall which was about 1600 square feet. But this meant the shopping mall became a breeding ground for mosquitos leading local residents to protest strongly.

The solution was finally found when the locals brought species of carp in the lake that was created in the mall so mosquitoes slowly begin to fall and the fish begin to rise. The rapid increase in the population of carp in relation to the artificial lake created as well as the large area of the shopping center, created this incredible, yet strange aquarium.

All this beautiful creation began to cause the interest of the world as many websites, blogs and magazines began to deal with this and many photographers began circulating pictures with the wonderful result that had been created. So more and more tourists visited this point to admire the strange aquarium and local vendors began to sell food items for carp.

Of course from one point onwards, the city authorities began to worry about the safety of the building since turnout of tourists was great, so they decided to set up roadblocks to keep visitors out of the building. If the building is found safe everything will remain as it is. If the building is found not to have adequate safety for tourists, then it will have to be demolished and the fish to be removed from there. Until then the interest of the world remains undiminished and more and more websites and blogs are dealing with the topic.

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