Jeddah's Fakieh Aquarium

We often spend weekend’s enjoying the atmosphere on Jeddah’s corniche.  We usually go to the middle corniche park but a little further north and closer to home there is another section of the which houses some restaurants a planetarium and Jeddah’s aquarium.  I heard about the aquarium on my first day in Jeddah, I was introduced to a very staid and polite member of Mr EE’s staff who shocked me by saying something along the lines of ‘F*** You’.  Shocked for a moment I was relieved to hear he was telling me I should take the children to the Fakieh Aquarium.

Miss EE had been to visit on a school trip a few months ago and raved about her time there.  I had been quite unwell and the older two children had really stepped up, making their own supper, cleaning the house and generally pampering me so we thought they deserved a treat.  They chose to visit the aquarium. 

There are three different types of ticket available, one for the aquarium, one for the dolphin show and a combined one.  The tickets are SAR50 (about £10/$13) per person.  Miss EE had been to see the Dolphin show on her last visit, Mr EE and I are against these shows because of the potential for cruelty, we spoke to the children about the issues surrounding the use of Dolphins and Seals in this way and they agreed that they did not want to go and see it.  Before going into the aquarium itself we took the opportunity to sit by the water and enjoy the sea breeze while eating some rather delicious cakes.

The aquarium itself is small but very well laid out.  It concentrates on life from the Red Sea and the big tunnel (all aquaria seem to have them these days) is modelled on the environment around Elphinstone Reef off the coast of Egypt, a dive Mr EE and I had done a few (more than 10!) years ago.  Sadly, like most of the aquaria we have been to recently, there is not a lot of information about the fish themselves, the signs concentrating on one or two species per tank.  We should look out our old Red Sea Fish ID slate.  All the favourites are there, sharks (mostly Black Tips), Turtles, Parrot Fish, Clown Fish, Eels, Seahorses and Jellyfish.

At 21/4 and having ditched the buggy completely Mini EE thought the aquarium was the most wonderful experience.  She walked from tank to tank taking in the different fish and watching with a huge grin on her face.  She has been to some before, the spectacular KLCC Aquarium as a baby and the offerings in Dubai last year but this time she really took everything in.

Half way through you have to walk through a sweet shop, beautifully designed to maximise pester power.  After many years’ experience Master and Miss EE know that any requests are futile but we did see a number of parents succumb.

After the shop there are some smaller exhibits including octopus, an eel garden and the (again now ubiquitous) illuminated Jellyfish.  There was also another huge shark tank with a number of impressive specimens including a rescued Bull Shark that looked like it had had a run in with a propeller. 

The aquarium tour over we took the chance to walk along the corniche and watch the sun set to the sound of the athan before grabbing a bite to eat when the restaurants opened up again.  

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Things to do in KL - the KLCC Aquarium

Malaysia’s capital, KL, is not far from us, no more than 2-2.1/2 hours in the car so it is a viable day trip for us.  My husband has regular meetings down there, if they take place in term time we leave him to it but occasionally they happen in school holidays and then we join him for a short break.

KL is full of interesting things to do and see.  On our last trip down we went to the KLCC Aquarium.  The children love fish, our son recently completed his PADI Seal course and can’t wait until he can dive with us in open water.  Our older daughter is fascinated by the fish and the baby just loves seeing the shapes flit by.  The aquarium is located within the KLCC complex which includes the famous dancing fountains, the Petronas Towers and the huge KLCC mall.  The entry is quite expensive, particularly for foreigners although there are discounts for residents and nationals.

Hello....

The aquarium visit starts with a well laid out touch pool.  Here it was possible to see sea stars, horseshoe crabs and a bamboo shark.  The information panels were well laid out but sadly the staff member, though friendly, did not seem able to answer the questions we asked.  Shortly after the touch pools there is an exhibit devoted to electric fish  and then a jungle exhibit which included snapping turtles and my favourite, Otters!  Sadly the otters were not in residence during our visit.

The very best section of the exhibition was devoted to shipwrecks highlighting not only the sea life  that flourishes on wrecks but also provides extensive information on the various famous diveable wrecks around Malaysia. 

Welcome to KLCC....

A little further on the exhibits concentrate on jungle and forest fish around the world including fish native to Malaysia.  The centre of this exhibit is a two story cylindrical tank showcasing the larger fish – absolutely stunning.  The stairs around the tank are difficult to negotiate with a buggy but there is a lift provided for those with very small children or who use a wheelchair. 

Come and see the beautiful fish....

The oceanarium  with its 90m glass walkway is absolutely stunning – huge rays, friendly groupers and hideous eels are joined by a variety of sharks including white tip reef sharks, sand tiger sharks and tawny reef sharks.  There is a moving walkway but this takes you through the exhibit far too quickly to really enjoy it.  We stood to the side and took about an hour to enjoy this wonderful exhibit.

And friendly turtles...

Finally, after leaving the oceanarium  the display turns to some truly weird and wonderful exhibits including pinecone fish and, of course, jelly fish before disgorging visitors into the inevitable souvenir shop.  

enjoy the weird and wonderful

While the aquarium is not the best I have seen (my vote would go to Montery Bay in California and my husband’s to the aquarium in Osaka) it was certainly better than the Astana Aquarium (although given the challenges of running the aquarium that is furthest from the sea I thought they did a pretty good job) and probably superior to the London Aquarium where although the exhibits are stunning the infrastructure looks pretty tired and in need of a face lift. 

Goodbye....

The KLCC aquarium is well laid out, the staff friendly and the information provided pitched to a fairly decent level.  It also takes advantage of the excellent parking facilities at KLCC (public transport or walking with a buggy are a no no in KL) and the chance to pick up a snack in the many restaurants in the area.  Like all aquaria the lighting makes photography very difficult, I am sure that they would do a roaring trade in specialist photography sessions with an expert - I know I would be interested.  Nevertheless all in all the KLCC Aquarium is very worth a day trip into town as a special treat for the end of term or a birthday.

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