AMUSEMENT PARKS ARE THE COOLEST WAYS OF BEATING THE SUMMER HEAT, IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE. THAT'S WHAT I DISCOVERED ON
A RECENT VISIT TO BANGALORE
Wasn't really gung-ho about amusement parks in general, that is, not until my recent visit to Bangalore, the eternal garden city and capital of Karnataka. In Delhi, one wasn't exactly spoiled for choice as far as amusement parks went-for me it was Appu Ghar zindabad, from adulthood to adulthood. And as far as childhood went, one had to get one's thrills watching Hollywood idols as they screamed and roller-coastered their way up and down dizzying heights.
Several names-the Koramangala Hippocampus, Crazy Waters on the Banerghatta Main Road, Wonder La on the Bangalore/ Mysore Road, Fun World in Palace Grounds, and Jawahar Bal Bhavan in Cubbon Park are famous destination in Bangalore.
BAL BHAVAN AMUSEMENT PARK :
This lush, green area, of about 250 acres, is one of the reasons that has earned Bangalore its famous epithet of Garden City. It is named after
Sir Mark Cubbon, Bangalore's longest serving commissioner. The grassy expanse was fringed with flowerbeds, shady bowers and trees, and the trees were all neatly labelled with their scientific names and their ages-quite ingenious, this learn-as-you-walk idea.
There was also a doll's museum, which the brood ignored, so made a beeline for the major attraction of the park-the toy train. We piled in en masse, and as the train chugged along the 1.5-km track through the park, the varied cross-section of people-there were kids, young couples, the old, teenagers, business executives, working girls, students-and how it just didn't seem crowded in spite of the many, many people.
There were swings, horse rides and tree houses. There was also an activity area that held craft and hobby lessons for children.
There was also a theatre Vijaya ranga Theatre-that stages plays and screens films for kids.
The park boasts such interesting sights-a 20-million-yearold tree, signages that look like foliage, waste bins with dry-leaf motifs, and lamp posts that look like trees, open pavilions with teracotta roofs, which were activity huts. And there was this incredible stone fort, designed for kids to run up and down its steps and to play peek-a-boo in its turrets. Up front, there was a life-size chessboard, on which my brood took on the roles of pawns, kings and queens. Alongside, was a life-size hopscotch patch, with the noughts and crosses done in stone. The other great attraction here-the watering hole of the park-its restaurant.
After food and drink, anyone raring to go, so do the biggies-the amusement parks with the jumbo rides, water parks, et al. parks worldwide.
NEELADRI AMUSEMENT PARK :
Neeladri Amusement Park is spread over 30 acres of a beautiful landscape and has 45 mind-boggling fun rides, besides being the only amusement park in the city with a water park. There's a Roman-style amphitheatre, restaurants, chaat stalls and ice-cream parlours.
There are locker facilities for visitors as well.
Naturally, doing all 45 rides was a no-no, even physically impossible, given the time limits. So, settled for the water rides, by common consensus, and for the next hour, raced through the Mini Twister Water Chute, the Zoom Zoom Wave Pool, the Water MGR Family Slide and the Telecombat Circular Slide. These were just a few of the many other rides available here. One thing common amongst all the games at Neeladri was the thrill factor.
WONDER LA AMUSEMENT PARK
located on the Bangalore-Mysore Road, billed as India's biggest amusement park. The reasons for this are many. It CCI incorporates the newest
technologies in its water rides and the latest imported land rides ever seen in the country.
It proved to be a blast! As soon as you reached the park, you went into the two Wave Pools, Lazy River and the water slide. Then, there was Maverick, Y-Scream, Drop Zone, Insanity and the largest Indoor Musical Fountain and Laser Show. There was also a virtual reality theatre 'that had a multi-sensorial movie experience.
It's ideal for families, and guess what, the water is heated during the winter months.
Wonder La was built at a cost of about Rs 77 crore in its first phase. Of the 82 acres of the park area, 45 acres are developed. The focus of the park's attraction is the 80-metre-high sky wheel building. We were assured that the highest levels of safety and hygiene were maintained, and that the water used in the park undergoes a multi-level purification process, with regular maintenance and inbuilt safety features of the various rides.
