Paradise in middle of the desert

THE spectacular water park family attraction ‘The Lost Paradise of Dilmun’ has opened this week.

One of the largest and most hi-tech entertainment attractions of its kind, the  eagerly awaited $50 million (BD18.9 million) project is set to attract tourists from across the world after an 18-month-long building endeavour.
“This ‘fabled Dilmun City’ is most technologically advanced and is a first of its kind in the Middle East,” said Paul Blunt, general manager of the Lost Paradise of Dilmun. 
The park is situated next to the Bahrain International Circuit and is part of the $1.3 billion Al Areen mixed-use development.
Spanning a total area of 77,000 sq m, the park has 45,000sqm of built-in area and 20,000sqm covering free shaded car parking for 570 vehicles and further expansions.
Malaysian Sim Leisure Consultants, the designers and developers of the project, have extensively themed on the historical Dilmun period of Bahrain.
More than 150 jobs have been filled in with 40 per cent Bahraini staff.
There are 14 slides, pools and other water wonders across the park to ensure visitors enjoy a day to remember.
The total water consumption for the park is 10.5 million litres. Each litre is fully recycled by a fully automated water treatment system with high standards of hygiene, say the engineers.
“Every ounce of the park’s fresh water is fully recycled to World Health Organisation standards and we have up to 70 lifeguards on duty at any one time,” said Mr Blunt.
Currently, the park shares the water supply from the surrounding Al Areen area, but plans are on track to set up an individual RO (Reverse Osmosis) plant solely for the park.
‘The Souq’ area at the entrance sells all sorts of merchandise for visitors from swimwear to souvenirs.
Ticket counters at the entrance provides hi-tech wristbands that are flashed across a sensor at the entry.
Tickets are priced at BD12 for visitors above 1.2 metres in height, BD8 for those below and free entry for babies. This is inclusive of all the parks rides, slides and other attractions.
The park also provides a locker and towel facility that can be hired at a cost of BD2 per day with a BD3 refundable deposit.
“There will be promotions all through the year for special packages for the local community,” said Mr Blunt.
The park is open for the public from 10am to 10pm, seven days a week, from March to November.
The park also contains a food and beverages area with dine-in and coffee shop sections. An ice-cream parlour next to the pools provides visitors with a chilled treat.
Speakers across the park provide non-stop entertainment and a special attraction is the stage above the wave pool that can be transformed into an arena for live entertainment.
There are no stringent rules on swimwear at the park.
“Visitors can wear anything they wish, except jeans or denim. It has to be a sensible swimwear. The Souq provides swim apparels including specifically Islamic-designed swimwear,” said Mr Blunt.
“What makes the Lost Paradise of Dilmun unique is that in addition to the unrivalled attraction of ‘Dilmun Artesian Spring’, recreating the idea of Bahrain’s ancient springs, Lost Paradise has the largest wave pool in the Middle East and the only one with a sandy beach – an attraction for visitors of all ages,” said Mr Muhannad Hamad, chairman of the Lost Paradise of Dilmun. 
But the success of the project will be solely down to the fun-factor and its toughest critics … the visitors.
Amongst the attractions are three open flume body rides that whip you down slippery winding slopes from a 40-foot high tower.
“I’m not scared. It’s wet, wild and wonderful!” declared eight-year-old Imogen Szecowka who only just passed the 1.2-metre height test.
Without a backwards look she was off, leaving behind a less hardy group of journalists.
At another hair-raising ride called the Boomerang, Lyndsey Steven, from Qatar Airways in-flight magazine, said: “It’s amazing. You don’t realise that you’re going to leave the ground at a 60-degree angle. It’s an amazingly unusual ride.”
Undoubtedly one of the scariest rides, the Boomerang thrusts you out of a tube into midair, where you collide with giant vertical quarter-pipe which spins you into splash pool below. 
Sana Al Saazi whose husband is a reporter for Al Manara magazine in Abu Dhabi, said: “It’s gorgeous here. It’s the first time I’ve seen something like this in the Middle East.”  
The most raucous zone, however, is the Kid’s Rain Fortress specially designed for under-10s, with three storeys of wet fun – complete with tipping buckets, water guns, small slides and wheel pipes.
Zaina Lefebvre, whose sister works for a magazine in Dubai, brought her two children Isabel, two, and Jeremy, five, to the press preview event.
She said: “For parents the most important thing is that the kids have a good time. In Dubai we have the Wild Wadi which is nothing compared to this.”
Hadil Najdi, 13, whose father is a journalist with the Kuwait Times, said: “It’s a great place. I’m afraid of the big rides but of course I’ll go on them!”
Languishing in a rubber ring, Ajit Kumar Jha, editor of the Qatar Tribune, said: “I think this place is simply amazing, it’s awesome. The very fact that this attraction is in the middle of a desert is incredible. There’s a small water park in Doha but nothing that comes close to this.”
Completing the water park is a wave pool, with waves reaching up to a meter high.
“This place is beautiful, it’s something really good for Bahrain,” said Isa Al Alwani, 19, a student from Riffa. His little sister, Amina, 10 added: “It’s a great place. My friends were so excited when I said I was coming. They wanted to join me. I can’t wait until they can.”

By -RdS- and Shilpa Chandran