To most visitors, Thailand is best known for its ancient temples and beautiful scenery, but there are those who might want to balance their Thai experience with entertainment of a more novel, innovative kind. For those fun seekers, a growing number of world class theme parks offer all kinds of excitement for the whole family.

Many of Thailand's larger and more sophisticated parks are within easy reach of Bangkok, while others are located in popular tourist spots like Pattaya and Chiang Mai. The bigger parks, like their counterparts in the West are entire cities by themselves, combining world class water parks, amusement parks, and cultural attractions on sprawling premises of several hundred thousand square meters.

Magic land at Lat Phrao, just northeast of Bangkok's Central Plaza Hotel, is the capital's major amusement park. The complex offers a wide range of exciting rides and other amusements including haunted houses and side shows.

Similar facilities are found in the eastern suburb of Minburi at the Siam Water Park. This water theme park features an artificial sea replete with authentic waves, waterfalls, water slides, whirlpools, and other numerous water related activities.

The adjacent Safari World features a collection of African and Asian mammals, including lions, tigers, giraffes, zebras, and bears, who live in natural surroundings. The sprawling complex also contains Asia's largest aviary with over 4,000 birds.