Slip slidin’ away: Record-breaking Malaysian water chute unveiled
One of the world’s longest water slides was unveiled in Malaysia yesterday, a kilometer-long chute that starts on a hilltop before twisting and turning through dense jungle and splashing into a pool. The blue and yellow chute at the ESCAPE theme park runs for 1,111 meters and has been awarded the Guinness World Record for the longest water slide where riders use an inflatable tube. It is three times longer than the previous record-holding slide in Germany.
The watercourse in northern Penang state starts on a hill, at a height of some 70 meters, with riders transported to the top by a specially constructed chairlift. It takes four minutes to slide down the chute, which passes through a rainforest inhabited by exotic creatures, from birds to monkeys, before passing over a road and ending in the park.
“The idea of this water slide came about over frustration that most fun rides and water slides last merely a few seconds, and having the water slide start on a hilltop at a 70 meter elevation would make this ride last a good few minutes,” said Sim Choo Kheng, boss of park operator Sim Leisure Group. It is expected to open to the public next month.
Building the 488 piece slide was mostly done manually, without using heavy machinery, to avoid damaging the natural environment, the operator said. China is home to an even bigger water slide, a 2,720 meter ride that winds down a hillside in Lishui. Guinness this month named it the world’s longest mountain water slide.—AFP