Wednesday 20th February : Excitement at the theme park.

We woke up bright and early with the kids itching to go to the theme park. Andrew thought a day resting at the hotel sounded better and he still had some business to sort out so planned to find an internet café and tie up some loose ends. Naomi knew that the kids would be no fun resting at the hotel pool with the theme park right beside them so she decided to take them for the day. With the thought that she would pike out for some of the time the next day when Andrew took them. The theme park was amazing. In the water area there were wave pools, waterfalls, buckets that filled and dumped on you, water spouts, water play-grounds and huge waterslides of all descriptions.

The theme park was not crowded at all. You didn’t have to wait to go on any of the rides – just go through the rails which are there for the queues on busy days. There are some families and quite a few honeymooning couples. There is a large section of the hotel that is just for couples. We discovered this when we all followed one of the more adventurous children off up an intriguing looking path and were soon ushered out by vigilant security guards. No children allowed – I guess it might put the poor honeymooners off. The clothes being worn were pretty interesting. We had on our bathers and rashies but many of the others were in full suits (men) and full habibs for the women. There were infinite variations – from full length rashies to beautiful light weight swathed suits that looked as though they could be elegant evening wear. Some wore full veils and others half face veils or just their head covered. Way over the top in many cases but it does make you very aware of your own modesty. It kind of made me wish we had brought the girls' boardies or skirts that go with their bathers…and I had a hotel towel slung around me most of the time (I should have packed that sarong after all) I put our things in a locker and joined the kids as they went down the water slides.

On the main chutes you went down in twos so I sent them up together and watched while they came charging down. Michael begged me to go up with him but I couldn’t until one of the swathed girls offered to go with Kate. She was on her own and needed a partner. Perfect. Down we all went. We did this a few different times with different people and it was fine. I got my ride and, except for the thirty seconds when they were going through the covered part of the slide, I could keep track of them.

Then Kate needed to go to the toilet. Michael was most upset. “But I want to go back up.”

I sighed. “You’ll just have to come with us,” I said.

“I am alone,” said a soft voice. “I could take him up.” She was a beautiful young woman in a soft pale grey draping suit. One of the elegant ones.

I was torn. The toilets were just across from the waterslide steps and Michael had already grabbed her hand.

“I am waiting for someone to go up with,” she said.

“Okay. Thanks,” I said. Not sure if I was doing the right thing. I made Kate wait until they were well up the stairs and then I hustled her off to the toilets. I had been up those stairs many times now and I was pretty sure that the only way down was via the slides. We were back in several minutes and I waited anxiously at the bottom of the slide pool to see Michael come out. He didn’t. Tess and Isaac did. And they had headed up after Michael. Although there were about six different chutes to choose from I reassured myself.

“My little boy didn’t come down by the stairs did he?” I asked the assistant. Michael of course had already charmed the assistant by chatting for several minutes so she knew who he was.

“No no.”

“But he should be down by now.”

“Maybe there is a line.” She smiled happily. “Wait five more minutes.”

I was momentarily reassured but then remembered that we hadn’t seen a single line so far at the park. Yeah right. While my trusting son is hustled out of the park. Gone forever. Why wasn’t Andrew here. I didn’t even have a phone to call him.

“Tess and Isaac, you go up again and see if you can see him.”

“Why did you let him go without watching him?” They had definitely picked up on my anxiety.

“Kate had to go to the loo, Now just go.” They looked at me with reproachful stares but charged up with their double tube.

Meanwhile I had Kate starting to worry. “Why did you let him go Mum. You just sent him off with that lady. We might never see him again. You gave him away.”

She actually said that.

“Kate. Be quiet.”

You need to know that I am a bit odd when it comes to parenting (okay, perhaps when it comes to everything). Part of me is laissez-faire and I think everything will turn out fine – and the other part is a bit of a control freak. Only the control freak bit doesn’t do so well because I am not very organised. Just before we left home I had portraits taken of my kids (because a good photo in the first few hours could make all the difference) and I brought copies – which of course were in the hotel room. I also looked into those alarms that go off if your child is more than a certain distance away from you. I really did think I might need one for Michael – he is so interested in people that he thinks nothing of wandering off to talk to them. No clinging vine this one. I quizzed the lady in the toy shop about the SpyZone toy that beeps louder and faster as you get closer to the thing which has been lost or tagged (on special for $26 but I didn’t buy it. And, let’s face it, Michael would not have been wearing it on a water slide). And I lamented the fact that you can microchip your pets but not your children. I happen to have a very vivid imagination and in my mind, Michael was hustled off on secret back stairs and was probably in a taxi out the front already. I would never have another happy day in my life.

I began asking everyone who came off the slides, “Have you seen a little boy. He’s four. This high. Blonde. Have you seen a little boy? With a lady in grey?”

They just shook their heads and laughed and headed back up. They probably didn’t understand a word I said. I began to sound frantic and even the assistants started to look worried. Kate was close to tears. “Michael’s gone. We’ll never see him again. You told him to go,” she accused.

I did. I could never forgive myself.

“Shush Kate.”

And finally I saw them. My darling boy and his excited escort. Laughing as they splashed down into the pool. Tess and Isaac emerged moments later.

“You took so long,” I said to Michael as I hugged him and the assistant smiled at us.

“There was a line,” said the beautiful lady in grey. “Thank you for the chance to ride with your boy.” And she half bowed and nodded towards Michael. He did the same back and tugged at my hand to go up again.

The lady was joined by a man in a full suit who had been standing behind us the whole time – within a couple of meters of me as I panicked. What was he thinking not to tell me he was with the lady. He must have realised. They headed off together and I found a chair to sit down on as I redefined the rules of the day for the kids. Five minutes before I thought I would never have another good day in my life and now I thought that nothing bad could ever happen compared to what had happened in my imagination. Good days forever. Because I still have all my kids.

Okay, after that horror story, the rest of the day was a walk in the park. Literally. We went up to the rides section of the park and rode in the pots that spun around and then the ferris wheel. For all the rides the seemed longer than you would expect and not quite as safe in some cases. And if the ride finished and you wanted to go on it again, you just stayed on and they ran it again for you – because there was never anyone waiting … Walking up to the next level we came across two enormous and beautiful Bengal tigers. They were in a fairly large enclosure with a waterfall and stream running through it and they seemed pretty happy. They were very active compared to tigers I have seen in zoos before. Maybe it is because they like this temperature. Off to go on a velociraptor ride and some rolling boots. Merry-go-round and a roller coaster. For the next roller coaster you had to sit in logs – and you weren’t even strapped in. It took you up through a mountain in the pitch dark (like Rocky Rapids at Disneyland) and then charged down through the mouth of a giant cobra. Waaay too scary for Kate and I but Tess, Isaac and Michael went on it again. We took a photo. Next we went through a cavern of stallectites and stallecmites collected from all over the place. They said it was the biggest collection of “Scholars’ Rocks” in the world. They were lit up and also had a whole lot of other interesting looking stones and roots that had been carved into animals. Lovely. There were a couple of rides the kids couldn’t go on (Pirate ship and Tomahawk)– one because of bare feet and the other because they weren’t tall enough. And several others that were closed for repairs. Next we walked across the rope bridge slung across the park. It was several hundred meters long – meant to be the longest in the world. From there we got a good look into the Zoo section of the park as well as some of the extreme rides. We swam and played in the water some more and then went to find Andrew in the hotel as the park was closing (6pm).

Andrew had had a pretty good day. After leaving us he went and had an hour long foot massage – lots of reflexology with a bit of pain thrown in – but he said it seemed to be doing some good. He has a neuroma under one of those toes – hope it is still okay. Then he went to Starbucks and had a coffee and connected to the internet for a while. He also found a safe looking local food hall for us to have dinner at. Cheap but delicious. A bit too spicy for the kids who either filled up on white rice or sushi. We also explored the local supermarket. Very interesting to see all the different foods. Green tea chocolate, very spicy Twisties, live eels and critters (in a place like Coles) and lots of other bits and pieces. I ordered some new prescription glasses.

Back to our room with the kids chattering excitedly about which rides they wanted to go on with Dad and me resolved not to let Andrew go in there alone. It was a huge challenge keeping track of them all and much better with two than one parent. I decided I could do without the rest, relaxation and shopping I had planned for the next day. I did however head out to the place where Andrew had had his massage. It was called Fizio. I had a one hour full body massage but mostly she massaged my back. She kept tut tutting about the tension and then digging those fingers in again. I foolishly thought it must be doing some good and gritted my teeth … fine until it was finished and she gave me my cup of chinese tea. She waved me over to a mirror and showed me my back. It had deep bruises from my shoulders to my waist – seriously. Broken capillaries that looked as though the blood would burst through the skin at any moment. She got one of the other workers to translate that I should drink ginseng tea the next day – for tissue repair. Great.