Foolishly I thought I was brave enough to take on the biggest attraction at the Aquaventure park in Atlantis, Dubai. Here’s an account of how I ended up with my stomach in my throat and my eyes tightly squeezed shut berating myself for my false bravery. After our previous overdressed appearance at the entrance of the Aquaventure park, the following week saw us back at the Atlantis, appropriately dressed in our swim wear and flip flops. Arriving in the foyer we checked out the prices, the admission was around thirty five pounds per person which didn’t seem too bad at the time as we were in the land of high fashion and luxury which required you to be flexible with finances making the whole experience of being on holiday an excuse not to think about conversion rates.We paid up and asked where the towels were, only to be informed that lockers and towels were available at an extra cost between seven to eleven pounds which did seem a little on the steep side, seeing as we just forked out for three adults and one child to be admitted. On entering the park, we expected to be greeted with a wave of water or a general aqua theme and were surprised to see meandering pathways and acres of trees and shrubs that hid the rest of the park from view.Dotted around us were little kiosks selling refreshments at quadruple the regular price and souvenirs that could easily be purchased at a fraction of the cost from Deira or Bur Dubai.Although the park was heavily signposted, it did us no good as we had no idea what each ride was called, we searched for maps but seeing none we took our chances and waded into a shallow stream like canal to grab one of the many rubber floats that swept by.Jumping on a double float, I pulled my daughter in with me and let the current push us along under bridges and around cleverly disguised corners. I was pleasantly surprised at the number of lifeguards that appeared every few meters, some in the water and some sitting on the side lines watching us bob by. The ride was amazing, fast at times when I had to cling to my child with my legs and gentle enough for me to sit back gaze my fellow riders. Short for time, we waded to the steps and emerged soaking wet and giddy with delight. Spying a tall pyramid we hurried towards it and took stock of the many slides emerging from within. Grabbing my sister’s hand I found the stairs and climbed to the ride that sounded the most interesting, The Leap of Faith, which was situated on the forth level of the Ziggurat, testing our fitness capabilities.Huffing our way to the top we were in awe at the view that was worth the hundreds of steps we struggled up alone. I could see The Palm, the Sheikh Zayed road skyline, the Burj Al Arab and many more points of interest. If you ever find yourself up here, make sure you take your camera, you will not regret risking it get wet on the slide back down!Watching a twelve year old boy sit at the mouth of a slide and scream his way down, we thought we’d give it a go. With my sister nudging me to go first I sat at the top listening to the strict instuctions the life guard gave me. As I inched my way forward I realised I was on the 95 foot slide that only would appear in my worst nightmares so taking a deep breath I looked down, changing my mind at the last second I intended to get off. Then without warning I felt a strong pair of hands on my back that had the balls to give me a swift push kick starting my decent into oblivion.
Had it not been for my racing heart and chaotic breathing I would have found the strength to march back up there and give him a taste of his own medicine by sending him head first down the sheer drop.
