Sunday, April 28, 2013

Yas Waterworld - A Review

So this past weekend, my family and I decided to go up to Yas Island and check out Yas Waterworld - The newest addition to the "Things to do" category of the UAE.

Yas Waterworld, managed by the same group of people that manage Yas Island’s other big attraction Ferrari World, is a treat for both UAE residents and tourists. With an entry fee of AED 225 per adult and AED 185 per child under 1.1meters in height. 
The Premium pass, which allows people to essentially ‘skip the queue’ might just be worth the additional AED 160 depending on when you decide to go. The weekend or a good sunny day will lead to a crowded waterworld, meaning longer queues to each attraction. 

Next thing up, what to carry and locker services. A small square locker comes at a cost of AED 35 while a longer rectangular locker comes at a cost of AED 55. Unless entering the park carrying valuables, the locker service proves to be quite an unnecessary one. You are allowed to carry bags into the park, which are checked but nothing is really removed. Carry a bottle of Coca-Cola or water if you wish to and just place it in the bag along with towels. Towels in the park can be obtained for a rental fee obviously. Each towel can be rented for AED 20 which seems to be quite outrageous, especially since you are allowed to bring your own. Try to leave your valuables in the car before coming in and if possible, leave the mobile phones/cameras there too. 

Next up, Food. There’s no limit to the number of small ‘shacks’ where you can buy food. The food/snacks joints include a designated snacks store, an ice cream hut, and sweet store serving doughnuts and muffins. “Chubby’s Kitchen” and “Dana’s diner” being the main 2 joints to pick up filling food such as burgers and pizzas. 

The Attractions: Boasting of 43 attractions, Yas Waterworld has enough to keep one busy for a good 5 hours. The idea of 2 different kids areas for younger kids and older kids seemed to be a good one in comparison to those of Wild Wadi and Aquaventure both of which just have one play-area for children. 
The park classifies its attractions into 4 distinct categories:
  1. Young Fun [For Children]
  2. Moving & Grooving [For the more older category who visit to relax rather than exert themselves]
  3. Exciting Adventure [Categorized as a High Thrill Level with rides to make you enjoy the park]
  4. Adrenaline Rush [The Extreme thrill level for the roller-coaster and adventure lovers] 

Instead of going into details of all 43 attractions, which can prove to be quite long and boring, I’m going to highlight some of the attractions you must catch when there.

The Dawwama - A 6-people-one-raft attraction which includes a 20 meter high open funnel giving the person in the raft a tornado feel. It really is something, though the extremely long line for this one would make you think, “Why didn’t I buy the premium pass?” 

The Dawwama.

The Liwa Loop - A No-Tube-Required lopping attraction which starts with a near-to-vertical-start with a hydraulic floor which opens up unexpectedly. Note: This is not for the faint hearted]
Liwa Loop.

Hamlool’s Humps: An exact replica of Wild Wadi’s older Jumeirah Sceirah. Fantastic nonetheless.

Hamlool's Humps.

Jabel Drop: This one’s an exact replica of Aquaventure’s “Leap of Faith” , [Yes I know my Blog has the same name], without the aquarium to pass through though.

A Near-to-vertical drop on Jabel Drop.

Sebag: A ride where 6 people race down to the finish with watermats. All 6 start together to see who can finish first. A common concept in water-park’s all over the world but a first for waterparks in the UAE.
Race your Friends&Family on Sebag.

Slither Surprise: The first 4 slides are said to be common ones, though i didn’t go on them. The last slide though, you will fall in love with. Not because of the thrill, which it doesn’t really have, but because of the way it has been designed. when inside, you’ll actually feel like you’re in the belly of a snake!

This is the one I was talking about.

Yadi Yas: Your normal Lazy river, with a twist. The waves. Torrents keep coming in sending you into a wave-filled lazy river. Once again, a copy off Aquaventure.
Yadi Yas.

That’s my top 7 rides.

All in all, Yas Waterworld will prove to be a fun-filled outing for both families and friends. Essentially a wonderful combination of both the competing water-world’s in Dubai, it gives one a reason to come here instead. 

The only downside i felt in Yas Waterworld, was the stairs. Each attraction being quite high up and the only way to reach each attraction is by climbing stairs. Initially it’s not such a pain because you’re full of excitement, but later on in the day, it starts to become a real problem. So keep in mind.

That’s all for my review, do check it out soon. Enjoy!

Parichay Swarup, A Bored Ex-Student. 






Friday, April 26, 2013

Poetry at its Best.

So, A friend of mine's too scared/embarrassed to upload her childhood poem. 
She wrote it at quite a young age, so we all understand why she's embarrassed. 

I'm sure you'll all love it :')
Here it is, you be the judge:

"My hair, My hair,
It looks like a square,
Hair Jel, Hair Jel,
Is any Jel There?

Knots, Knots, 
Not knots in a robot,
Knots in my hair, 
They are everywhere,
HUH, Just a dream?
Or could it be? A Horrible Scheme? NO, it was just me." 

P.S. You are welcome.

Oh and do check her blog out at: http://breakingoutofacage.blogspot.ae/

Monday, April 8, 2013

Freedom at Last? Or is It?

Well the ISC Boards ended 21 days ago. Lets just say its been a month since my boards ended. And as expected, they've started..

Yes, I'm talking about the statements which say, "Don't waste your 5 months", "Do something productive with your time", "This time is ideal for some work" etc,

Now what people need to understand is, We don't want to undertake something that will require too much work. I know what most people reading this will think.. "Now that's just being Lazy", but trust me, we want to be lazy. We don't mind the occasional swimming or jogging or cycling or whatever, the exercise is fine. But expecting us to make it a productive 5 months is just way too much to ask for us.

Asking us to "brush up your mathematics", or "take up some courses at a local college to help with your first semester" is just being unreasonable. People manage every year without all this. Infact, I know very few people who willingly decided to undertake any of these ventures. It was all forced down upon them. And its just a buzz-kill..

Here's to everyone having a fantastic 4 months off,
Carefree, Hakunamatata.
Parichay. 

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

The Predicament

So 12th Grade is Over. We're in the transition period between school life and university life. Dependence and independence. Childhood and adulthood. And there are so many choices people in this transition have to make. Where to go for college, what to pick as a major/career, how to spend these 4 months of nothing-to-do; but being the retarded tech-junkie, my toughest decision is regarding the tech I need to pick up for college.

With Several Mobiles/Laptops/Tablets to choose from, the choice just keeps getting harder. Waiting for a rumour regarding a new model to turn into reality, waiting for an announced product to be launched into the market and finding new products at every nook-and-corner. 
In a case like this, ignorance really is bliss. Not knowing the smallest of details can actually be a pain in the decision. 

I guess what's making me overthink this is GITEX- Gulf Information Technology Exhibition. Its the largest Technology exhibition in the Middle East. What it includes is basically offers that you wouldn't really see otherwise. The prices don't necessarily drop, but the same product will be offered with extra items. For instance  a laptop costing 4000/-will still cost 4000/-but will include a hard-drive, printer, etc all worth maybe 500/-free. Now that's worth considering. Items that you'll need for college anyway, getting it for free with the primary product. But then again, if GITEX was in July, I'd be the happiest going-to-college-kid there will be. But sadly, life isn't that easy ;) 

With that this post ends,
All the best with all your respective decisions and choices,
Parichay