dominican journal

I’m having a wonderful time in the US of A.

We flew to Miami last Friday and drove all the way to Orlando in our rental car. Before I go on, allow me to describe this so-called car. It is in fact a very spacious van that, from the outside, looks like your average American gas-guzzler. The inside, which is more like a small living room than the interior of any car I’ve ever seen, further confirms it’s greed for fossil fuels.

It comes equipped with leather seats (that look like they came out of the first class section of an airliner), a 25″ widescreen TV, a DVD player, heated seats, a vaccum cleaner (!), two head phone jacks per seat (TV or car radio/CD/tape deck – shame about the lack of vinyl and MiniDisc), and a back seat that reclines into a bed. It is also possible to plug a video iPod into the TV which – to get back on track – is what we did for most of the four hour trip to Orlando. We didn’t actually make it to Orlando that night as it was getting late so we checked in to a motel.

The next day we were up bright and early and got to Orlando only to find that most hotels were fully booked. We went to a travel agent that phoned 40 hotels and eventually found us the one and only available hotel in the area, needless to say that it was the most expensive five star in the whole of Orlando.

Once again I was astonished by the size of the place. The drive from the main road up to the front door of the hotel was a few hundred metres. The hotel itself was enormous – but enormous on a ridiculous scale. The kind of need-to-stand-on-the-moon-with-a-wide-angle-lens-to-get-it-all-in-one-shot ENORMOUS.

Moving on, the rooms were pretty roomy and stunning. Ours came with a 40″ flat panel widescreen, IP phone, two double beds, A/C, black-out curtains and an impressive view of the city.

I realise that so far I’ve hardly mentioned anything about my trip apart from the size of things and the technology I’ve encountered along the way but that’s really what I’m trying to emphasize. Everything is so big and so vast over here, especially when compared to the Dominican Republic. Roads, cars, rooms, burgers, theme parks, TVs, drinks, buildings, people. You name it, it’s at least twice as big as anywhere else in the world. So that’s really the first thing that struck me upon arrival in this country.

Since then I’ve been spending my days shopping and going to theme parks. We went to Busch Gardens where I took a ride (or three) on the most amazing roller coaster I’ve ever had the good fortune to go on. It is called Sheikra (although I’ve been calling it Shakira because that’s easier to remember) and has two 90 degree drops. Here’s a clip of it that I found on YouTube (ignore crappy music).

Sheikra

I also went to Epcot which is less of a theme park and more of an interactive learning experience but still a lot of a fun. There I had the chance to fly in to space on a virtual mission to mars. I also went on an attraction called “Test Track” which takes you on a simulation of a car road test. These tests are supposed to be very close to the real thing except that the car travels on a rail. The last test, in which you are driven around a circuit in excess of 200km/h, is definitely the most impressive. We stayed at Epcot until 9pm that day to watch a very impressive firework display.

I’ve also been a to a few other places where I’ve tried a number of adrenaline-pumping activities including go-karts, airboats, and three particularly impressive rides called G-Force Drag Race, SlingShot and SkyCoaster.

Drage Race is a race between two cars on a rail. When the light goes green you press the accelerator and “wooosh”, you get thrown forward and accelerate to 270km/h in two seconds. The first person to hit the accelerator wins. I did it twice. Lost the first time, won the second. Here are two clips of the the ride; one from the outside, the other from the inside.

Drag Race – from outside

Drag Race – from inside

SlingShot is fairly self-explanatory. You are strapped into a seat that is attached on each side by two hefty looking cables. These cables are in turn connected to two large masts/cranes (whatever you want to call them). You are pulled down then released at high speed. It is the equivalent of putting an elastic band between your thumb and index finger, attaching an ant, pulling the elastic down and then letting go to see what happens. Very exhilarating. And here it is. (God bless YouTube, eh!)

Sling Shot

SkyCoaster is very similar to an attraction that already exists in Walibi (for those who have been in the past year or so) and which I’d already done before trying it over here but it was still an experience worth noting here.

It is like a bungee jump in the sense that you are released from a considerable height (roughly 100m) with a harness attached to the industrial equivalent of an elastic band. The difference is you are strapped in at ground level then pulled up. You then pull a string on your harness which releases you (much like on a parachute). You free fall for 20 or 30 metres until the elastic kicks in and you swing between the two cranes to which the elastic is attached.

SkyCoaster

Driving back to Miami tomorrow and flying back to the D.R. on Friday. Will keep you posted.