The fact that you're not at any old local park becomes
obvious when you drive up the six-lane access road to Mala
Bay and encounter what is touted as the island's biggest
parking lot, capable of holding thousands of vehicles and
divided into numbered sections to help you locate your car.
Walk up to the entry plaza and buy your one-day ticket (prices
below). A note of warning to visitors: in keeping
with US standards, outside food, pets, cigarettes, betelnut
and sophisticated video equipment are NOT allowed inside.
However, there are storage lockers by the entry and construction
of an outside barbecue area for visitors is reportedly being
considered.
Once inside, the best thing to do is head for Sunshine
Plaza, at the heart of the park, where you can find changing
rooms, lockers (which can be accessed by renters all day)
and rentals of life jackets (optional) and cabanas, which
are each equipped with four beach chairs and are available
for NT$500 to NT$1,000 per day, depending on location in
relation to the 'beach'. Do what water park visitors
typically do in America--jump into a swimsuit and stay in
one until you leave. The emaculately-kept grounds
are fine for walking around barefoot, too.
To save swimsuit-clad, usually-wet visitors the hassle
of grabbing their wallets every time they want to purchase
a drink or hamburger, Mala Bay features another Taiwan first--the
E-band. This waterproof electronic wrist band can
be 'charged' with credits worth NT$300 through NT$2,100,
which are electronically deducted when one wants to purchase
anything. Unused credits can be redeemed for cash
at the end of the day or used again for up to a year.
As all the water amusements are free to visitors, the only
things to spend money on are the food and beverage outlets
scattered throughout the park, as well as a few shops and
a video game arcade. Eating places include the Luau,
Mafe and Coco's, with decent prices for items like burgers
and pizza (NT$100), hot-dogs (NT$50), large soft drinks
(NT$35), barbecued pork spare ribs, roasted Malay-style
chicken and satay sticks and--for those connoisseurs of
Taiwanese dining--char-grilled octopus. A good selection
of swimsuits, swimming gear, hats, toys, souvenirs, snacks,
sun tan lotion and various other items are also available
at the Hosa store, which looks like something one would
find along Waikiki beach.
The biggest draws for the water park are the the wave pool,
the A-Chu water tubing ride, and the Aumuhu water slide.
The wave pool, one of Asia's biggest, measures 110 by 33
meters and can create breakers up to 2.4 meters high.
The shore area, complete with real palm trees and framed
by cabanas and real white sand, is fairly mellow but one
can paddle out into deeper waters for some wave action.
The A-Chu tubing slides are in a fun-looking tower about
five stories high with various routes provided. An
extra bit of fun is provided by a huge roof-top bucket,
which periodically fills up and dumps its contents on everyone
below. For real thrills, however, head for the Aumuhu
water slide, which is even higher and allows the choice
of taking either the blue, red, green or yellow tubes to
the bottom. The red tubes take sliders up to 50 miles
per hour in an adrenaline-pumping ride.
If you get worn out on the slides or in the waves, the
best way to relax is to grab a tube and take a leisurely
float around the Lazy River, which encircles the park.
A smaller version, Little River, is also available for the
kiddies. Other available activities include a beach
volleyball area with white sand and several nets and the
Beach Stage for performances.
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