Dream World

The alarm clock shook me out of a dream early one morning. It was 5.30 am, and I needed to get up right away or I would be late for Dream World.

To continue w/ the tradition, my company was set to celebrate an anniversary in a grand style. This year was her 40th.

There are two reasons why I agreed to part w/ my Saturday morning, precious idyllic time that makes up my day off. 1) I wanted to please my boss by joining the event and 2) I needed something to lift up my spirit after being so disturbed w/ another deadly clash in Bangkok a few days ago.

Dream World could be the place.

A few thousand employees and their family were given a free ticket and food allowance to descend upon and enjoy Bangkok’s Disneyland. Too bad, I couldn’t bring my husband along. It is clearly said in the conditions that the spouse has to be recognized under Thai law. Well, this is what happens when the laws are yet to acknowledge your bedroom behavior and mating preference.

But, it’s good that there is someone my age in our small department. And, it’s even better that most of my colleagues have past their “theme-park prime,” and yet their children are still too young for many sections of the park. So the assistant accountant and I teamed up and explored the place before it is too late for us as well. Our only hope before the game started was that we wouldn’t come to the realization that our time also had already been. If only Dream World could promise more hope for two 30 year olds.

Hurricane, Haunted Castle (which was lame, lame, lame), Vikings, Snow Town, Raptor, Mountain Space (for which we queued for an hour but which last 2 minutes), Grand Canyon (where we got thoroughly soaked), Super Splash (which wasn’t planned at all before we got wet,) Sky Coaster, Bump Car (very reminiscent of those junior high years), and the Giant House, inspired by Jack & the Beanstalk (much to my surprise, I really enjoyed seeing such overscale things).

But, my personal favorite was Snow Town. It was not the thick ice and artificial freezing temperature sending a chill down my spine. It was the slide board that did it! I kept thinking about the consequences if the board capsized and my face slid against the ice. I know…..very morbid indeed.

If my eyes didn’t lie or my sense of perception still functioned, I would say I saw at least 20,000 revelers yesterday. The vast majority were Thais, and tourists couldn’t possibly have exceeded 500. So, if you want a break from those international tourism sites and happen to travel w/ kids, this is the place!

The only downside for me was the food. But to be fair, good food is never the domain of most fairs, is it?

Dream World may be nothing compared to Disneyland, but you’ll definitely witness and be part of something Thais are especially good at – having fun.

On a side note, maybe my company should buy a ticket and food coupon for PAD protesters as well. It is high time they realized that something else matters as much as “democracy,” and it’s spelled w/ an F, U, and N.

How to get there:

From the centre of Bangkok, take a direct van from the Victory Monument. The fare is 35 Baht or about 1 dollar. You can easily get to Victory Monument using the BTS Skytrain, getting off at the station of the same name.

From Don Muang Airport, take the outbound Bus No 538. The fare is surely less than 1 dollar.

From Suvarnnabhumi Airport, take the Bus No 559. The fare is also a non issue.

See also their site (if you read Thai) at http://www.dreamworld-th.com/

Joe