The adrenaline and stress of an adventure are better than a thousand peaceful days
Every year Bali celebrates the Hindu festival of “Galugan” and it just so happens we timed our trip here during the 10 day celebration period (completely unbeknown to us prior to coming here)…
Yes, Bali is now fully submerged in celebration mode and you can certainly feel the excitement brewing amongst the locals as they line their houses with gorgeous Balinese bamboo decorations and proudly display their traditional ceremonial attire.
The festival marks the beginning of one of the most significant religious ceremonies in Bali where the spirits of deceased relatives return to their former homes and the current residents share the responsibilities to be hospitable to those spirits through sacred offerings and prayers (kind of spooky if you ask me).
There have been a few times where we have been caught in the midst of ceremonial dances in the street and felt a little… well, out of place.
After being in Bali for three weeks now, we have really seen just how much religion means to the local people and how they take their faith very seriously. Many people have left their place of work within the touristy areas and have returned home to celebrate with their loved ones.
In fact, over the three day celebration, most places were actually closed and as the two of us did not want to impose on the festivities, we decided to head to one of the only destinations that was open – Waterbom, Asia’s number one waterpark.
It was so much fun to be a giant kid for the day (not to mention, this was Gary’s first ever experience of a water park) the poor deprived human that he is!
The park was fantastic with an array of rides to suit all ages, glorious swimming pools with plenty of loungers, all kinds of cuisines and food stalls to keep your energy up for taking on the rides. There were relaxing spa areas too if you fancied chilling out at very reasonable prices. An artist was set up to draw self portraits to capture the memories of the day- we even saw him draw a picture of a women’s dog taken from an iPhone! – too cute!
We arrived at the park nice and early (a good tip as it gets very busy very quickly – later in the day all lockers and beds were sold out) and got ourselves set up with wristbands that we could top up in order to buy any food or drink throughout the day. A great little piece of technology to stop you having to carry money around with you.
Even our locker wrist band was an NFC sensor so you didn’t even need to carry a locker key! You were also even given a third wristband which enabled park photographers to take your picture and then scan your band. At the end of the day, you could check your band and purchase any pics taken. All in all it was very savvy for Bali.
The rides were so much fun!! They had everything to keep us entertained throughout the day we didn’t even need a lounger (after spending perhaps too long choosing a good spot).
A few of my favourite rides were:
- Twin Racers: Super fun for two people if you want to race each other down a steep slide head first. Annoyingly Gary won both times… I think it’s because of his extreme weight helping him along.
- Python: Longest one we queued for but so worth it. Up to 4 people are placed in a massive yellow ring and thrown into dark tunnels to be swooshed around! They even had warning signs that you may be slightly disoriented when coming off this ride.
- Climax: No queues here as you would have to be slightly mad to ride this one. So we did… Twice… You are placed in a pod standing upright and told to cross arms, legs, fingers, toes, everything you can and then after hearing 3..2..1 you are dropped to your death as the floor disappears beneath you. You go so fast you end up going up in a loop and back down before crashing into the water. So much fun but the hatch at the top of the loop is slightly worrying if you were to ever get stuck.
- Boomerang: Another two person ride and this one was perfect for the Go-Pro (check out our film below). This one you go so fast down a vertical drop and then back up a massive slope almost to the point you may fly over the edge! On the first attempt Gary lost his GoPro! Thankfully it was right at the end and easily retrieved.
- Smash Down 2.0: This one, much like the climax is where you’re placed in another pod like structure only this time there is a glass floor beneath you where you see the water thrashing down a dark hole… (I would hate to think what happened to the Smash Down 1.0…) again, so much fun but not for the faint hearted. We saw many people walk back down the stairs after choosing sanity.
These are only a handful of rides the park offers and you can pretty much spend an entire day or even two here. We managed to capture our day on video however only managed to film a few rides (many were not Go-Pro friendly) Take a look and enjoy…
Book Review: The Girl On The Train, by Paula Hawkins
I’ve just finished reading yet again another gripping and twisted tale to add to my travel book collection. The story is structured through the eyes of three different women, Anna, Megan & the main character Rachel. The book starts off by giving us a glimpse into the Slighty mundane life of Rachel who is no longer with her husband Tom (Anna’s new husband). Rachel leads a rather depressing and repetitive lifestyle where she rides the same train everyday wishing she could carve her way into the lives of the characters she sees in their homes whilst passing by the streets of her former ‘perfect’ life she once had, characters that she has fabricated into perfect people, the way she wishes to be.
Until one day where she see’s something that changes the course of her life forever. She only sees it for a second until she is gone however this alters everything she once believed. She cannot forget it and she cannot help but unravel the mystery that surfaces and impacts her own life too. I read this book within two days and you are enticed to keep reading throughout. I definitely struggled to put this one down!
Thanks for reading
Lots of Love
Xx
