Richard Bannister

VinWonders is an island resort located three kilometres off the coast of Nha Trang in south-eastern Vietnam. It features a water park, an amusement park, an aquarium, a camp site, a hotel, and a shopping mall. Visitors have three choices for accessing the island; a cable car, a ferry, or a private speedboat. We decided to go with the latter, as we didn't fancy waiting almost two hours for the next ferry, and the cable car was out of commission due to maintenance work. Our driver helped us find two other visitors to split the cost. I'd never taken a speedboat before, and I enjoyed the experience far more than the slow, noisy, and foul smelling ferry we used for the return crossing.

On landing, we headed directly for the Compact Coaster (#1858), one of the last coasters to be built by L&T Systems before the company went out of business. Though badly in need of a fresh coat of paint, this ride was running very well indeed. We took three laps in various different seats. It was surprising to see engineers tinkering with the braking system on the ride even as we rode, something that would definitely not be allowed elsewhere.

With the coaster complete and light rain beginning to fall, we elected to go exploring, stopping for a meal break and also visiting the aquarium. It was interesting to see that all signage within the resort carried text in three languages; English, Vietnamese, and Russian. The vast majority of guests we saw in the park today were from Russia, probably because they are one of the very few nationalities that does not require a visa to enter Vietnam.

The most interesting ride in the park was the Alpine Coaster, a particularly long ride from Wiegand that was added to the resort this year. In sharp contrast to similar rides, this layout featured some sharp drops, severe turns, and a head chopper effect that made it feel very much like a real roller coaster. I was lucky enough to manage two full speed runs without any slow moving riders in front of me, and I'd have done a third given more time.