Queensland - "India's No. 1 Amusement Paradise!"

Another school week done and we are gradually adjusting. To be honest, it was not a full week for the kids. On Thursday afternoon, it was announced that Friday would be a school and government holiday, due to the tragic death of YSR Reddy, the Chief Minister of the province of Andhra Pradesh. Mike had to work a half-day on Friday, but the kids had the full day off and accompanied me to my Yoga class (they even got to participate!). Afterwards, we went to a wonderful coffeehouse called Mocha Mojo, where they serve decadent milkshakes and even muffins and bagels!

Mike also had to work on Saturday at Sports Day (sort of like a track and field meet), so we decided we’d attempt a family outing on Sunday to one of Chennai’s theme parks. We chose Queensland, which was recommended by most of the students and teachers at VM School. I was a little anxious, worrying about ride safety standards and such, but Mike and the kids talked me into it!
It took us about 45 minutes to get to Queensland, in the comfort of an AC call-taxi. The park itself seemed clean and well-run, with the rides in working order (always a big plus!). The entrance fee was only 350 rupees ($7.00) per person, with the caveat that you could only go on each ride once. No problem here, as there were a lot of rides, most of which were like typical carnival rides, plus a section of kiddie ones. The carousel was quite unique – instead of animals, the kids rode on musical instruments! Taz was psyched to ride on a baritone – her band instrument.

The tricky thing about the park was the “Timings.” Certain rides/areas were only open at specific times, which would be announced in Tamil and English on a loudspeaker. Unfortunately, the announcements were incomprehensible even in English, so we couldn’t tell if things were starting or stopping! However, park employees went out of their way to help us. “Cable car closing at 12:30” one of them said to us. “You must hurry. Go there!” OK, and off we went, and had a super long cable car ride with a great view of the park. Later, other employees came over: “Himalayan Water Ride closing at 2:30!” So again we ran over to the ride, which was like a rapids ride (awesome!).

The best part by far was the water park, which included an “American Wave Pool” and a swimming pool. I had read about the water area and wisely brought our swimsuits in my backpack. Once we got there, however, I realized that we didn’t need them. In the “Ladies and Children” section (the men and women are strictly segregated in the pool), all the women were fully clothed! Most were wearing full saris or salwar khameez (long tunic and pants). Rather than put our swimsuits on and stand out even more, the kids and I went in with our t-shirts and shorts on. Once we got over the weirdness of swimming in our clothes, it was wonderfully refreshing, especially since it was 95 degrees out! It was a great area, kind of like you’d find in the Wisconsin Dells, with slides and buckets dumping water. The men’s side was even more exciting, with tube rides and huge body slides, but only Mike got to go on that side! I have no photos to share, as photography in this area was strictly forbidden!!

I have to add, also, that unlike an American theme park, all the food and drinks were super reasonably priced. This photo of one of the stalls shows the kinds of snacks you could buy – all of it under 15 rupees (30 cents): popcorn, cotton candy, ramen noodles, sugar cane water, tea and coffee. There were also places selling ice cream, and a restaurant stall where Mike and I had yummy, spicy Indian/Chinese fried rice and noodles.

In the end, we purchased the kids a couple of Queensland T-shirts (70 rupees - $1.40 each!) to replace their wet ones, and headed for home. It was an exhausting day, but definitely a success, and I’m sure we’ll be back!