Another special attraction in AQWA is the Mettam’s touch pool.  We can touch starfish, stingray and fish here.  This is the first time we feel the skin of these water creatures.

This is the fat and short star fish with orange dots.

This starfish is thinner and longer.

Both of them can be touched.  First I was reluctant to touch them because I was holding a camera and was afraid that my camera will get wet.  Later, SiewPeng asked me to touch them, and I didn’t want to miss this chance.

This is how the pool looks like.

Oh no… !!!  How could someone pull, poke, sQQuEEze or bite the animals in this pool?

There is a signboard for this pool not far away.  :D I was surprised and happy to see that it is using Chinese and Malay language besides English and Japanese.

In Malay language it says, “Di pertunjukan yang interaktif ini, anda boleh saja menyentuh semua mahluk-mahluk laut.  Kami hanya menyarankan anda memperlakukan mahluk-mahluk tersebut dengan lembut dan selalu membiarkan mereka di dalam air.

We have touched the stingrays too!  They looked tame, and we could feel that they were happy to be touched by humans.

When I touched the stingray, I found that their skins were a bit rough and thick, not as smooth and soft as I have imagined.

Side view of the pool.

Wow, this fish looks huge, do you dare to touch it?