Pati and Beebee are returning to India. Follow them at iBallonIndia2014.blogspot.com
Friday, September 12, 2014
Monday, April 22, 2013
Wonder la a.k.a. Veegaland a.k.a. Wonderland
On Friday, March 22, 2013, Pati and Beebee went to Wonder la to escape the March heat in Fort Cochin. There are two amusement parks in India named Wonder la, one in Kochi (Cochin) and one in Bangalore. Their internet website is http://www.wonderla.com/ and there is a facebook page at /wonderla that seems to feature the park in Bangalore. According to the brochure given to each visitor, they have had "150 lakh happy visitors." (A lakh is a number used in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and elsewhere in South Asia to mean 100,000, so read the claim as 15 million happy customers.) Wonder la has changed names a few times; it has also been known as Veegaland (still printed on the receipts) and Wonderland.
And speaking of the brochure, every man, woman and child pictured (and every one pictured has typical Indian features) is wearing Western-style clothing. That is to say, jeans and t-shirts. Yet no one in the park on that Friday was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. On the other hand, the brochure did not show anyone in a typical Western bathing suit, and that is quite accurate. Indians dress modestly, even at amusement parks, and enjoy the dry rides and water rides fully clothed in everyday clothing. The only concession Beebee saw to accommodate the rides was that the ladies left their dupattas (long scarves) at home: this is a common-sense compromise for safety. The only bare knees at the park belonged to infants and to Pati, who did wear Western-style swim trunks but with a modest t-shirt. Beebee wore calf-length fast-drying pants and a t-shirt. Photography of the water rides is absolutely forbidden in the park.
Among many hundreds of visitors, Pati and Beebee were the only non-Indians. The park staff and other park visitors seemed genuinely happy to see them. Standard admission is about $10 USD but for twice that you can get a band (the Fastrack: No more Queues!) that lets you go to the front of every line - even the food lines. They bought the front of the line passes for themselves and their driver of several days, Simon (there was no way they could have lived with themselves if they had frolicked in a water park while he sat in a 100 degree parking lot waiting for them). As it turned out, that was a good decision in another way, because Simon had been to the park before with his family and knew where the best rides were and the best order to visit them. He rode a few dry rides with them, but skipped the water rides, probably because he hadn't come prepared with a change of clothes.
The park is fun, but like the people of South India, very gentle. One of the most interesting things Pati noted was how terrified people were on relatively tame rides after arriving via roads whose traffic may be the most terrifying in the world. Most of the rides could be found in the kiddie section of a US park, but the riders screamed as if they were riding the Anaconda at Kings Dominion. On the other hand, Beebee was very happy to get off of the Spinning Coaster, which is, as its name suggests, a roller coaster with cars that spin as they move forward on the track.
After riding quite a few dry rides, they all went to the Vintage Kitchen for lunch. Fortunately, Simon did the ordering for them. Although a restaurant manager came up to them as they waited, saying "this is vegetarian only, " they replied that they did eat vegetarian and soon found themselves seated at one of the communal tables with their trays of food. The meals were like thali, with a large mound of rice and smaller bowls of chutneys. Since there was absolutely no silverware (grab pinch of rice, dip in side dish, stuff in mouth - neatly!), Beebee had a flash of insight into what the manager meant by "vegetarian only." They washed their hands at a large sink, and Simon (at least) dug in to eat. However, it was obvious to the restaurant staff that help was needed, so two large spoons were produced and the meal was consumed. The staff even brought napkins at the end, as well as a user survey, which Pati happily filled out.
After another hand-washing, they headed to the water rides.
Pati and Beebee were surprised to discover that some rides were segregated by gender (which Simon also did not seem to be aware of): at least one "Play Pool" was sign-posted "Gents" with another play pool apparently for women and children only. Of the dry rides, Simon, Pati and Beebee also rode the Dashing Cars (bumper cars) together; Beebee noticed at the time that she was the only female on the track, and afterward noticed another bumper car ride (with only 3 riders) beside the first one for women and children only.
The water rides are a huge part of the park, with many slides and pools for floating. While safety is clearly important in this park (apparently some scarier rides have been closed), the slides seem less safe than in the US because, for many of the slides, the riders are expected (required) to go down them head-first. Beebee opted out of these slides.
While the park is not spectacular on a US scale, the people watching is world class. They are nice, friendly, and having a good time. It is pretty easy for Western visitors to have a good time too in that environment. The best example of this occurred in the Wave Pool where Pati and Beebee stayed for their last 45 minutes in the park. The Wave Pool is divided by a floating line several feet wide into the Gents on the left and the women and children on the right; the Gents side is larger. As the pool filled with people waiting for the waves, Pati was surrounded by a group of young men who engaged him in conversation. They cheerfully encouraged him to cross the line and join Beebee on the ladies side, knowing that that there would be trouble if he did so. Pati refused, but diplomatically. After about 30 minutes, Beebee was surrounded by a group of six curious teenage girls who asked the usual questions: What is your name? How old are you? Is that your husband over there? Do you have any children? And one question new to Beebee: What are your qualifications? (apparently meaning education) The girls were there with a (male) teacher and were celebrating a 15th birthday for one of the six. The girl who first addressed Beebee spoke the best English, and one or two could manage handshakes only.
After the Wave Pool, Pati and Beebee were ready to call it a day. It was a very good day. And even better because Simon was there.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Home Again
Pati and Beebee are home again.
It is cold at home, especially compared with where they have been for the last month. There has been an abrupt change from 40 degrees Celsius to 40 degrees Farenheit. Well, that's only a slight exaggeration: the temperature in Phuket was 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) while the temperature at home is 42 degrees Fahrenheit (5.5 degrees Celsius). (For the record, they had experienced 40 degree Celsius temperatures during the trip.) While they were in India, Pati and Beebee had mailed home their winter jackets to reduce the amount of luggage to carry, so walking out into barely-above freezing weather was somewhat bracing.
They were met at the airport by their makal (daughter), whom they had missed a lot, and and quickly stuffed into the car for the trip home. (Yes, they had taken too much luggage!)
Their first meal after the flight was grilled chicken tacos at Cafe Rio in Sterling, Virginia. They had not seen tacos on any menu for two months, and that was the immediate craving.
They have been forgiven by the kitties for their long absence.
They are trying to remember what their normal routines were before the trip. They are estatic to be able to use the WaterPik again and to use regular tap water for brushing teeth, without worrying about stomach problems from swallowing the water.
They are pleasantly surprised by their blooming flowers (daffodils and hyacinth) and by the green shoots on the climbing rose.
They plan to look at the thousands of pictures and videos they took during the trip. Surely there will be a large subset of very good images!
They had a very good trip, but they are also very glad to be home again.
Posted with BlogsySaturday, March 30, 2013
Timeshares: Phuket Style
Pati and Beebee were walking to the beach when a guy on a motorcycle called to them ("Do you speak English?"). They stopped - dumb idea. He said he was working for the Thailand department of tourism and wanted to ask them questions about their vacation in Phuket. This led to Pati and Beebee holding scratch-off cards to try to win a prize for answering the questions (there was the faint whiff of rat in the air).
Pati scratched his card and it revealed that he had only won a backpack. The survey guy seemed a little sad for Pati. Beebee then scratched her card and the guy's eyes went round as saucers (he wasn't native Thai). He said "Oh my gosh, you have won the grand prize!" He shook Beebee's hand and said this was great news for him too. Apparently anyone who discovered a grand prize winner got a prize himself.
Beebee had definitely won one of six prizes: (1) an iPad 2; (2) a luxury cruise; (3) 20,000 Baht in cash (a.k.a. $600 USD); (4) a laptop; (5) a dream holiday; or (6) an iPhone 4s. The survey guy then apologized and said "People just won the cruise and the laptop so those prizes aren't available." It sounded like Pati and Beebee had better act fast! He also wanted to make it clear that the iPhone was not the latest version (only version 4, not 5). Boy, that luxury vacation was looking good. Because of Beebee's good luck, he said it was urgent that they attend the "90 minute holiday presentation" and collect their prize. Gosh, where did that come from?
Pati and Beebee told the salesman they couldn't go immediately because they had an activity scheduled (they really did). The survey guy thought this was unwise but Pati and Beebee held firm. He then wanted to schedule a time the next day to pick Pati and Beebee up so they could collect their prize. Strangely enough, they were busy that day too (possibly because the rat smell was getting pretty strong). Try as they might, Pati and Beebee could not think of a time that they were free. The survey man was vexed! Finally, because it was getting really hot, Pati suggested that the survey man give them a number to call when they were free to be picked up. The survey man didn't think this was a good idea because prizes were slipping away and his boss was "a pretty busy man." However, this seemed to be the best Pati and Beebee could do so he relented. (The number [called from the US] is 011 66 84820134 and The TripAdvisor web site has a list of hotels for anyone who would like to be picked up. For example, lobby of the Indigo Pearl would be a lovely place to have them pick you up. Tell them Kishor sent you).
Pati and Beebee thought this was just another time share scam but learned that there is a special twist in Phuket. It seems that the scammers rent buildings for a couple of years that they present as their timeshare. Then they disappear with the money and the real owners of the building retake possession. The timeshare purchasers find themselves out of luck (and they say you can't get rid of a timeshare). To offset this problem, the scammers offer amazing deals!
When they realized their vacation would end before they had time for their "90 minute holiday presentation," Pati scratched the space on Beebee's card that told exactly which of the grand prizes she had won. It was the "dream holiday!" With a little research, they learned that this holiday was in the actual timeshare. They also learned that whenever someone tries to collect their prize the timeshare is fully booked. Those places must be great!
Pati scratched his card and it revealed that he had only won a backpack. The survey guy seemed a little sad for Pati. Beebee then scratched her card and the guy's eyes went round as saucers (he wasn't native Thai). He said "Oh my gosh, you have won the grand prize!" He shook Beebee's hand and said this was great news for him too. Apparently anyone who discovered a grand prize winner got a prize himself.
Beebee had definitely won one of six prizes: (1) an iPad 2; (2) a luxury cruise; (3) 20,000 Baht in cash (a.k.a. $600 USD); (4) a laptop; (5) a dream holiday; or (6) an iPhone 4s. The survey guy then apologized and said "People just won the cruise and the laptop so those prizes aren't available." It sounded like Pati and Beebee had better act fast! He also wanted to make it clear that the iPhone was not the latest version (only version 4, not 5). Boy, that luxury vacation was looking good. Because of Beebee's good luck, he said it was urgent that they attend the "90 minute holiday presentation" and collect their prize. Gosh, where did that come from?
Pati and Beebee told the salesman they couldn't go immediately because they had an activity scheduled (they really did). The survey guy thought this was unwise but Pati and Beebee held firm. He then wanted to schedule a time the next day to pick Pati and Beebee up so they could collect their prize. Strangely enough, they were busy that day too (possibly because the rat smell was getting pretty strong). Try as they might, Pati and Beebee could not think of a time that they were free. The survey man was vexed! Finally, because it was getting really hot, Pati suggested that the survey man give them a number to call when they were free to be picked up. The survey man didn't think this was a good idea because prizes were slipping away and his boss was "a pretty busy man." However, this seemed to be the best Pati and Beebee could do so he relented. (The number [called from the US] is 011 66 84820134 and The TripAdvisor web site has a list of hotels for anyone who would like to be picked up. For example, lobby of the Indigo Pearl would be a lovely place to have them pick you up. Tell them Kishor sent you).
Pati and Beebee thought this was just another time share scam but learned that there is a special twist in Phuket. It seems that the scammers rent buildings for a couple of years that they present as their timeshare. Then they disappear with the money and the real owners of the building retake possession. The timeshare purchasers find themselves out of luck (and they say you can't get rid of a timeshare). To offset this problem, the scammers offer amazing deals!
When they realized their vacation would end before they had time for their "90 minute holiday presentation," Pati scratched the space on Beebee's card that told exactly which of the grand prizes she had won. It was the "dream holiday!" With a little research, they learned that this holiday was in the actual timeshare. They also learned that whenever someone tries to collect their prize the timeshare is fully booked. Those places must be great!
Zorb a.k.a. Rollerball a.k.a. Hamster Ball
Pati and Beebee became giant hamsters on Saturday March 30 when they rolled downhill in an even bigger hamster ball.
Rollerball (Zorb to New Zealanders) is a specially-designed double-hulled plastic sphere which rolls down a hill with two passengers floating on 40 liters of water inside. "Zorbing at Rollerball" in Kalim Bay, located "just two minutes from Patong Beach" in Phuket, claims to be the world's longest zorbing experience at 190 meters. At 950 Thai Baht ($28.50 USD) for a single roll or 1600 baht ($48 USD) for unlimited rolls in one day, how could they not spend several hours rolling down a hill? Everyone did it as kids when there was only grass to roll on. This is lots more fun!
The rollerball company website at www.rollerball.co shows pictures of their rollerballs.
There is also zorbing in the USA (www.zorb.com) in case Pati and Beebee just have to do it again after they get home.
And now the faithful readers of this blog know why its subtitle is Gods, Temples, and Hamster Balls.
Rollerball (Zorb to New Zealanders) is a specially-designed double-hulled plastic sphere which rolls down a hill with two passengers floating on 40 liters of water inside. "Zorbing at Rollerball" in Kalim Bay, located "just two minutes from Patong Beach" in Phuket, claims to be the world's longest zorbing experience at 190 meters. At 950 Thai Baht ($28.50 USD) for a single roll or 1600 baht ($48 USD) for unlimited rolls in one day, how could they not spend several hours rolling down a hill? Everyone did it as kids when there was only grass to roll on. This is lots more fun!
The rollerball company website at www.rollerball.co shows pictures of their rollerballs.
There is also zorbing in the USA (www.zorb.com) in case Pati and Beebee just have to do it again after they get home.
And now the faithful readers of this blog know why its subtitle is Gods, Temples, and Hamster Balls.
Friday, March 29, 2013
Two Long Days
Pati and Beebee leave for home just after midnight local time on April 2. There are two flights in their itinerary, the first from Phuket, Thailand to Seoul, South Korea, and the second from Seoul to Washington Dulles. The first flight of 5 hours 45 minutes completes entirely within April 2. The second flight of 13 hours 40 minutes is a different story, beginning in April 2, then back to April 1 at the International Date Line, then back to April 2 as the flight enters the time zone just to the west of Hawaii. Including the layover in Seoul, the total travel time is 20 hours 55 minutes.
Some fun facts about Pati and Beebee's travel through multiple time zones:
Some rough calculations indicate that April 1 will be 27+ hours long (24 hours in Thailand plus 3+ hours after crossing the date line) and April 2 will be 44+ hours long (20+ hours before reaching the date line plus 24 hours after passing midnight of April 1 again). However, these times are misleading; it is better to look at all the times expressed in a single time zone, in this case, EDT.
For example, on a recent crossing of the same flight from Korea, the airplane crossed -165 degrees longitude at 10:54 pm EDT (3:54 am local time) and then crossed -150 degrees longitude at 12:47 am EDT (4:47 am local time). (These longitudes are approximately time zone boundaries.) The time spent in the time zone appears to be 1 hour 53 minutes (based on local times) but it is actually only 53 minutes (looking at the equivalent EDT times).
In addition, when traveling across time zones, very few hours are 60 minutes long. In the time zone example above, the aircraft reached the eastern boundary (-150 degrees longitude) of the time zone at 11:47 pm local time, at which point, the time jumped to 12:47 am local time. The hour beginning at 11:00 pm in the time zone from -165 to -150 degrees was only 47 minutes long as far as the flight was concerned.
From Phuket to Washington, Pati and Beebee must cross 12 time zones: since the US is observing Daylight Saving Time, the difference is actually 13 time zones. And since the earth is turning toward the East at 60 mph, the airplane is chasing its destination instead of just flying toward it. Each time zone is crossed in about an hour, plus or minus, calculating from time zone boundaries crossed expressed as EDT local time.
For reference:
Phuket local time = UTC + 7 = EDT + 11
Seoul local time = UTC + 9 = EDT + 13
International Date Line = UTC + 12 = UTC - 12 = EDT + 16 = EDT - 8
Washington Dulles local time = EDT = UTC - 4
Some fun facts about Pati and Beebee's travel through multiple time zones:
Some rough calculations indicate that April 1 will be 27+ hours long (24 hours in Thailand plus 3+ hours after crossing the date line) and April 2 will be 44+ hours long (20+ hours before reaching the date line plus 24 hours after passing midnight of April 1 again). However, these times are misleading; it is better to look at all the times expressed in a single time zone, in this case, EDT.
For example, on a recent crossing of the same flight from Korea, the airplane crossed -165 degrees longitude at 10:54 pm EDT (3:54 am local time) and then crossed -150 degrees longitude at 12:47 am EDT (4:47 am local time). (These longitudes are approximately time zone boundaries.) The time spent in the time zone appears to be 1 hour 53 minutes (based on local times) but it is actually only 53 minutes (looking at the equivalent EDT times).
In addition, when traveling across time zones, very few hours are 60 minutes long. In the time zone example above, the aircraft reached the eastern boundary (-150 degrees longitude) of the time zone at 11:47 pm local time, at which point, the time jumped to 12:47 am local time. The hour beginning at 11:00 pm in the time zone from -165 to -150 degrees was only 47 minutes long as far as the flight was concerned.
From Phuket to Washington, Pati and Beebee must cross 12 time zones: since the US is observing Daylight Saving Time, the difference is actually 13 time zones. And since the earth is turning toward the East at 60 mph, the airplane is chasing its destination instead of just flying toward it. Each time zone is crossed in about an hour, plus or minus, calculating from time zone boundaries crossed expressed as EDT local time.
For reference:
Phuket local time = UTC + 7 = EDT + 11
Seoul local time = UTC + 9 = EDT + 13
International Date Line = UTC + 12 = UTC - 12 = EDT + 16 = EDT - 8
Washington Dulles local time = EDT = UTC - 4
Phuket, Thailand
Pati and Beebee made a mistake going to Phuket, Thailand. There isn't too much wrong with it but there just isn't that much right with it either. Itis over developed and everywhere you look something else is being built. All the wonderful things on the covers of travel guides are an hour away by high speed boat. It takes an hour to get almost anywhere even though Phuket is a small island and the taxi prices are at Miami Beach levels. The beaches themselves might be beautiful if you could see them but they are entirely covered by rental chairs. This was probably a nicer place to visit last year and even nicer the year before. It is just overbuilt, overpriced, and overcrowded now.
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