Thai aquarium gets surprise Santa visit for Christmas amid pandemic

Niloufar Saleem, Gulf Today

Life amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has changed a lot.

Especially for children all over the world who are struggling to stay as normal as possible while staying indoors and masked.

Christmas celebrations amid the coronavirus pandemic have taken a rather big twist this year.

 A diver wears a Santa Claus outfit as part of Christmas celebrations while feeding fish.

One of Thailand’s aquariums had a big surprise for little children visiting during Christmas, as Santa Claus swam by with a sack full of food for the fish.

The basement aquarium in the Bangkok shopping mall was the last place families were expecting to see Father Christmas, equipped with fins, oxygen tank and a dive mask.

Children hopped up and down and pointed excitedly, mesmerised by a Santa in a floppy red hat waving while floating above the coral and circled by angelfish.

 As part of Christmas celebrations a diver feeds fish at the Sea Life Bangkok Ocean World aquarium in Bangkok.

"She been running all the way down here to see the diving Santa," Frenchman Jean Baptise Richard said of his 4-year-old daughter, Maya, a frequent visitor to the aquarium.

"Normally, she never stays here more than 30 seconds, so today it's already five minutes," he said.

The fish eat from the hand of Santa, who interacts with visitors and poses for pictures from the other side of the glass.

 Santa Claus dives at Sea Life aquarium in Bangkok.

The woman in the wetsuit beneath the Santa outfit is Nichakarn Sariwong, an employee of the marine life centre, whose job is normally to look after the fish and clean and maintain the aquarium.

"It's Christmas time, so I dress as a Santa for about three or four days to feed fish. The kids love the show so much," said Nichakarn.