Welcome to the New World Fish Pond
Long ago in the Banglamphu district of Bangkok, the store operators of the New World shopping center built an extra seven stories on top of the four that had been approved by the city administration; 20 years ago, the city demolished those seven stories, leaving four roofless stories, which after a few years of rain became a 500-square-meter pond. Mosquitos started gathering in the stagnant water, so in 2003, residents of the surrounding area brought fish to the pond; for years a small group of 10–20 regulars have visited the New World Fish Pond frequently, raising their carp.
Now everyone has cottoned onto the New World Fish Pond and it will probably be condemned by the public works department, but how lovely must it have been for those weirdo regulars? A gutted, rusting, ruined building sustaining life and order. From the Wall Street Journal:
“We’ve been feeding these fish vegetables and bread for seven years,” said Sommai Chuanpak, a 62-year-old who owns a coffee kiosk near the entrance. “The government can stop visitors entering the building, but it can’t stop us feeding the fish,” he said.