Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine April 2019 | Page 76

Travel / Family Travel
 e ride was nearly enough
Th
to put this old lady on her
knees, but I came off feeling
like a teenager again
1. Legoland Malaysia has
something for all the family.
2. The Shark Seas Habitat
contains over 200 apex
predators.
3. Be amazed by replicas
of Asian landmarks at
Legoland Malaysia,
including Thailand's
Wat Arun Temple.
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/ S.E.A. AQUARIUM
The vast aquarium houses
50 different marine habitats.
From Miniland, where true-to-life miniature
versions of Asia’s iconic landmarks such as
Angkor Wat in Cambodia and Pura Tanah Lot
in Bali can be seen, to the fictional land
of Ninjago, built from millions of LEGO bricks,
even non-LEGO enthusiasts will find something
to enjoy here. There are more than 70 rides,
slides, shows and attractions, divided into
themed areas including LEGO Kingdoms,
Imagination, Land of Adventure, LEGO City and
LEGO Technic. There’s also a LEGO-themed
water park, and even a hotel with LEGO décor.
From Malaysia, it’s a four-hour flight to Hong
Kong, the home of Hong Kong Disneyland.
One of the most iconic Disneyland rides for
me is ‘It’s a Small World’, which takes you on
a boat ride through a world of singing children
in traditional dress. Older kids can head to
Tomorrowland and rocket into a Star Wars battle,
dodging blaster fire in a fight between Rebel
X-wing starfighters and Imperial TIE fighters.
Other popular attractions include the Jungle
River Cruise, the Fairy Tale Forest and the Big
Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars. Don’t
forget to get your picture taken with your
favourite Disney character!
Back on what I consider to be home soil,
the island of Bali has so much to offer families.
Starting in Ubud, we spent a couple of hours at
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Bali Bird Park, which has been around since
I was a child. Still well maintained, the park is
home to 250 species of colourful birds from
around the world that are visibly well cared for.
During our visit, some enclosures were being
upgraded, which will mean an even better
experience in the future. The aviary was very
big and the birds, small deer and even bats
seemed to be cohabiting happily. There are
also hatcheries with baby birds on display.
In the afternoon, we headed to one of the
world’s best waterparks, Waterbom Park, which
last year gained the title of ‘Number 1 Waterpark
in Asia’ in TripAdvisor’s Travelers’ Choice Awards.
People young and old come here from all over
the globe to experience its splashing thrills.
This international-standard water park is set in
and among lush tropical gardens, and with its
very helpful and friendly staff, it stays true to
Bali. We spent the whole afternoon here with
our little one in tow, renting a gazebo for us to
rest in whenever we needed respite from the
sun’s tropical rays. While adults and older kids
enjoyed The Climax, a 16-storey vertical-drop
slide, I was happy splashing around at Funtastic
water playground, letting our daughter climb,
explore and get drenched with a huge smile on
her face, giggles abound.
With our toddler all bundled up in a towel at
the end of the day, you could see that she had
had the best time. Once you have children,
holidays will never be the same, and memories
of lounging by the pool reading a good book
seem so alien to me now. I breathed a sigh of
relief knowing we were all going to have an
uninterrupted night’s sleep, and mentally
started planning our next family adventure.
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