Desiland

There is a traveling carnival set up close to our house, and the other night me, MAM, and Jig went to go check it out. Jig warned that it would be 'bogus'. Our cook Aartiben called it a 'circus'. Earlier I was telling Jayeshbhai how I was looking forward to checking out 'Great Ahmedabad' (after my hometown Great America). But Jayeshbhai himself came up with the best name of all: Desiland.

Desiland is a bizarro amusement park. It's amusing, yes, but not so much because it's fun, more because it's fun-ny. As we walked around the fair I found myself constantly comparing it to amusement parks back home. The main contrast was that the experience was nothing like the thrill I had running around Great America as a kid. I really can't put it nicely, the place felt depressing. It was dirty, the rides were rickety and polluting, the attendants were unkempt and lived in tents behind the park. It was the first time I got on a ride and wanted it to end halfway through. On one ride we watched a woman puke, and then the attendant cleaned it up by splashing a jug of water here and there.

And yet Desiland delivered some serious entertainment value. Here's a tour in pictures (w/ captions)