Interesting Fun aCcount

This long weekend was quite a happening one. Some plans suddenly made, some plans equally suddenly cancelled. There was kite flying, roller skating, temple visiting, and a visit to the Innovative Film City. This is a recreational park newly opened on the outskirts of Bangalore in Bidadi. It is built on the lines of the Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad and numerous other such parks all over the world.

So Saturday evening it was decided that we will be going early next morning. We were four of us and we started from out place at 8:30 in the morning in a car. It was a foggy Sunday; ideal weather for a day long trip. The drive on Mysore Road was quite good and we pretty much managed on our own with a little help from an auto driver and a very-happy-to-help bus driver. During the journey we just stopped for breakfast at the famous Kadu Mane restaurant. I say its famous coz all review sites mention this place for breakfast. And boy it was crowded. But just 3 items to choose from and fast service made sure that we did not have to wait long. After a filling breakfast we were ready for some action.

We crossed Wonderla, the famous amusement park (and my next destination for a day long trip) and reached Innovative Film City or IFC for short. The entrance is quite remarkable with Greco-Roman architecture. We purchased entry ticket (Rs 50 per person) along with tickets for some places we were sure to visit thanks again to review sites which all of us had cared to read.

This place is not yet fully functional. Work is going on still mostly at the Main Street and we hear that more activities are going to be added soon. The entrance is supposed to have shops on both sides. Only few of them are open now. After crossing that the fun starts.

Our first stop was at the Mirror Maze. We were given disposable gloves to be worn inside. This was one awesome place to be. On entry all you see or rather don’t see are mirrors and red light illuminating the whole place. We had a whale of a time searching for the exit by running into mirrors, and sometimes people! At dead-ends we would stop and test our photography skills. The environment was nice and cool inside and we did not want to get out into the hot sun. So after deliberately overstaying we finally came out.

Then we went inside the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not. This was one long walk viewing many Believe It Or Not stuff on the walls and some specimens. The best part was the rotating cylinder which we had to cross through a bridge. It sent us all into a roller coaster ride in our heads. It was wonderful! Also the one way mirror had us in splits. It so happened that during the start there is a video about how to roll your tongue. And there is a huge mirror by the side. When we were almost at the exit, we saw there was a one way mirror and we could see people showing their tongues to us! That’s when we realized what it was and we had a great time laughing at the antics of people and remembering that we were also at the receiving end sometime back!

We were tired out after the long stay. So we thought of watching the 4-D movie to relax. But since it was an hour to the next available show, we whiled away our time posing for photos with the video gaming equipment. We got some priceless photos on helicopters, tanks, large scooters, with guns, with bow and arrows. After some refreshing ice cream it was time for the 4D movie.

I had never been to one so was curious as to how it feels. The hall was a very small one and we got glasses for viewing. The movie was set in 2080AD and had a deep sea adventure. It was a ‘different’ experience if I may say so for lack of any other fitting adjective. How would you feel if fish spat on you, mice ran across your face, sharks swam right in front of your eyes and you actually blasted off from the base of the sea with the narrator!! Very interesting but too short :-(
Next was a visit to the Louis Tussaud’s wax museum which was quite a disappointment. The only Indian was Mahatma Gandhi. And most of the other folks did not look the least bit like themselves. But we had a good time taking pictures with all of them namely Forrest Gump, Clinton, Bogart, Harry Potter and Gang, Einstein, Shakespeare and some very interesting ones with Sleeping Beauty, Hitler and Julia Roberts.

Next was the mammoth task of having lunch. After long queues for taking coupons and then for the actual food, patient waits for catching a table to sit, we had a horrible thali meal which tasted heaven after the whole ordeal and the fact that we were famished.

Post lunch we put on our skates and off we went crashing to the ground in the Skating Rink. Only C knew skating and he showed us how we should be actually gliding across the rink but sadly the rest of us were content latching on to the side railing and taking a round of the ring. C tried to teach me the simple technique of keeping your body tilted in front, feet going outside and knees bent. But I fumbled many times falling twice, once taking C along with me to the ground!

Finally his patience paid off and I was able to hold his hand and go round the rink 2-3 times. I could not feel much as I was trying to concentrate on the three step technique and prevent myself from falling over again. But I have to say it felt great graduating from a ‘railing holder’ to a ‘hand holder’ :-). I hope I get to practice skating soon again. It was fun.

After this we were all sweaty and tired. Next we went to the Haunted Mansion. This was a big let down. It started quite well, giving a scary look and feel but it did not have anything which would have at least made us jump. It was just very dark with scary looking dummies and skeletons. Total disappointment and complete waste of 100 bucks a person.

After this we took a round of the places we did not see. We wanted to try our hand at golf on their mini golf course but it was a small place and it did not seem inviting enough to any of us.

So we planned to return. The return journey took longer because of the traffic. After 12 hours of leaving home we reached back, ate the packed dinner we had got on the way and crashed out. I don’t know what we had done there but I slept for most of the next day.

IFC is a place worth visiting only once. It is not even half as large as the map makes it out to be. All the activities are right next to each other. I guess once this is fully functional there would be more to do. In all a very entertaining day.