A Nice Surprise

by Mary Christine PUJOL YOUNG (United Arab Emirates)

A leap into the unknown United Arab Emirates

I always enjoy riding not knowing what's coming. A nice little surprise is what i would call it. One time in Abu Dhabi Ferrari World with my husband and sister in law, we just fall in line not knowing what the ride is about. Of course you can always check what it is online. Just google the name of the ride and voila! It will give you thousands of reviews of what to expect and what NOT to expect; What to wear and what not to wear; What to bring and what not to bring with you while riding. You will even see different videos of the whole thing which will in my opinion, ruin the nice little surprise. I reckon, this can even sadly break your decision to push through once fear comes rushing in. So, should we take a peek from the map with the adrenaline washing photos they are distributing at the entrance (which by the way, you end up losing ALL OF THE TIME)? Well... we decided not to look at any clues about this ride - mostly to keep the thrill and just enjoy the slow steps to this "nice little surprise". A lot of people are excitedly waiting for their turn - mixed ages but mostly children and teenagers. This made me guess that the ride is for children. There are walls all over decorated with big artificial colorful stones you cant help noticing while waiting for your turn. Noticeably, there are four to five doors in front of us and I finally decided to ask one of the staff which door should we go into. She said "door number 1 is the best". We followed her advise. We selected door number 1. Door number 1 opened. We entered and sat as we should. Safety harness ON. We are ready! In front of us is a sliding door which is now slowly opening only to find out that we are in the front seat of the world's highest rollercoaster loop called flying aces. Closed walls all gone! What an amaaaazing experience! We were shouting our lungs out and laughing at the same time. Laughing at the initial thought that this maybe a children's game. Definitely one experience i will never forget nor will i ever regret. Another unforgettable experience I would like to share with you is my last travel in amazing Sri Lanka. In life, you will find a friend who shares the same interests with you. Oh how lucky and blessed I am to have found her (Especially because she is better in researching than me). She would carry a travel book reading it on a moving train while I enjoy and just relax looking at the lovely view. Our passion for travelling keeps us closer. We learned to appreciate countries with different yet interesting and rich culture. We also don't mind travelling solo. If some people can't travel alone, we just don't mind. We laugh at the silliest and shallowest jokes. Did I tell you she is Japanese? We would talk about how we call different animals in our own language and just laugh about it...in public! We like dressing up. We would rent a bike. We appreciate the locals. We lived like one - taking trains, public busses, tuktuk; Meeting sri lankans and eating with them. Taking photos of and with them. We enjoyed dahl curry! This friend of mine works and lives in Japan. I live and work in Dubai so we decided to meet in Colombo and start a joyous and memorable journey together. Joyous seemed to be a perfect adjective since we were there during Christmas season under the rain. One place stood out for me. It is called Sigiriya. It is a world heritage rock formation in the town of Dambulla which literally challenged my patience and physical strength. We had to climb so high under the rain before reaching the famous site. One thing is for sure. I wouldn't be able to reach the top without my friend's encouragement. That push was necessary (although not literally!) I was happy to wait for her downstairs when she finish the climb but she didn't let me. So there is the other nice little surprise. It surprised ME that I am able to make it! I'm glad I went. 😁