YOU can enjoy the atmosphere of an ancient Mayan temple built atop a volcano - but you do not have to go to South America.
The 'temple' is one of the features of Fantasy Island, the water theme park which opened at Sentosa in Singapore last December.
Located next to the Sentosa Gourmet Centre, the park design is inspired by ancient Mayan architecture, and the names of the rides are given a kind of 'Mayan' ring.
One of the fastest rides in the park is 'Kyag'. You get into your swimwear, lie on your back and slide down an O-shaped closed flume buried in the ground. Within moments of entry, you experience a sheer drop in a pitch black tunnel, and in seconds you shoot out of a tunnel like a cannonball and drop two metres into a splash down pool.
A similar ride is 'Black-hole'. Riders lie on their backs and slide feet first through a 100-metre O-shaped closed fibreglass flume.
Visitor Ashly Lee said the rides were thrilling, and left such a vivid impression that she would see herself sliding down the black-hole whenever she closed her eyes.
'Subarashii' (Japanese meaning wonderful) is the most popular ride among visitors, says a park spokesman. The total length of the ride is 92 metres; riders lie on their stomachs on top of a rubber mat and slide downhill through a flat channel. The effect is said to suggest surfing, and may be described as a water roller-coaster.