but then again, maybe not
2005-11-30 7:39 p.m.
well well another exhausting day just passed by.
i went to the miniature world, though it wasnt really THAT miniature. in fact it wasnt even named the miniature world. it was called 'the window to the world' and has medium-sized landmarks of different countries. i thought it would b a boring cultural experience but there were rides and interesting stuff as well, so yea, not a completely wasted day.
we started off by viewing some india stuff like the pankor wat or something, and a whole lot of indian figures and stuff. then we moved off to 'japan', where there was some emperor's palace thing. after the palace we entered this 4D cinema. the show was okay i suppose, though it wasnt as good as the disneyland philhar magic thing. there was the water-and-air-spraying thing, of course. ugh.
well after that came europe, where we saw the mini-fied version of the leaning tower of pisa, the notre dame, caeser's castle, and some other landmarks. boring, boring and boring, until we got to their INDOOR SKI DOME.
i was so SURPRISED to see an indoor ski dome in the middle of a boring cultural place, and what's more it was only S$2 per entry, including winter coat and shoes. it was just so ridiculously cheap that the whole place smelled of rat.
we found the source of the smell soon enough. it was so darn cold in the dome that my hands started becoming numb immediately because gloves werent provided. plus it wasnt really a SKI dome. the only ppl who were allowed to ski were the ones who paid S$20 to hire a professional guide and skies. the rest of us had to make do with sliding down a slope on a rubber tyre.
what's more, we had to DRAG the tires up the slope with our freezing, unprotected hands. the ride down was worth it, though. it was incredibly speedy, and only ended when you bumped against this big cushion which was there for that purpose.
we didnt stay long, though, because our hands started turning a little blue after a while. so we left, and experienced a drastic temperature change from -6c to 25c. sheesh.
next we visited the country where the venezuela mountain, grand canyon, and niagara falls lies. the venezuela mountain and niagara falls were nothing much, but the grand canyon was rather fun. there were two rides there: a log flume ride and an underground roller coaster. i went on the underground roller coaster beceause i didnt want to get wet, but i regretted my choice afterwards. the ride was great while it lasted, all darkness and fake lava and stuff, but the thing is, it lasted only a minute. dots.
i later discovered something even more interesting about the log flume ride. along the way some water jets had been strategically placed so a sabotager could shoot a bout of water at his target when he/she passes, at only RMB1. a group of 30-something people were putting this facility to full use, squirting at their colleagues whenever they passed by. the whole scene was totally hilarious. they should have this in escape!
well afterwards we passed by a huge towering rock wall which looked really tempting since nobody was climbing it, so i decided to have a go. what i didnt know, unfortunately, was that there were seats placed around the wall so ppl could sit and watch the climbers, and that a crowd would gather as soon as someone puts on the harness. hmm.
there were 20 levels on the wall, and of course i didnt reach the top. i fell off at the 13th level, just 2 levels away from a prize!!!! ugh. i actually heard the crowd go 'ahhh' when i fell off, and really its quite fun having your own audience.
2 other guys climbed after that. apparently i was the icebreaker, HA. im so proud of myself. well the second guy reached the 15th level!!! arghh. what a waste, to reach the 13th level and not get a prize.
well we were all exhausted after that, so we decided to head back. but our weariness was forgotten when we passed by another attraction, a sort of go-kart ride except that you cant control the go-kart. it just hurtles through a jungle, past a log that's supposed to intercept the track and then lift itself out of the way in the nick of time, and past a fake, snarling T-rex. the T-rex did nothing but irritate us and the log lifted itself too early. tsk. at least the ride was free.
our weariness came tumbling back as soon as we got off the go-kart. we started walking back, but a dinosaur park suddenly materialized next to us. hmmmmm....well we went in and took some pictures with the dinosaurs, then finally left.
well that marks the end of our 'miniature town' trip. i lost my bracelet somewhere along the way but thankfully a shop selling bracelets appeared along the way, too.
unforunately i didnt buy any presents this time round, since everything is so expensive here and anyway i havent seen any of the magnetic chains yet. but there's still hope because im leaving again on the 9th or 16th or 17th to shanghai or beijing or germany. i'll b back for christmas, before leaving again for harbin on the 26th. ha.
