BarrHouse: Great "Wok" Lodge

If you're not from Oregon, you won't get the joke in the title...the Great Wolf Lodge recently opened in Washington...an indoor water park attached to the hotel. Well, yesterday we went to what I'll call the Great Wok Lodge (cuz I can't remember it's Chinese name!), an indoor water park inside a hotel.

Once again, another trip into the great unknown. Driving with my driver who assures me that he knows where he's going even though he's never been there...taking me to a part of Dalian I've never been to before....taking me farther away from my safe haven of home....it takes about 40 minutes to drive there (feel the fear and do it anyway - every time we get in the car it's crazy driving, but that's a whole 'nother story).

I keep saying that it is easy to do things in China even if you don't speak Chinese, and yesterday was a good example. We go up to the desk (the sign does say "Cashier" in English). I point to me, Kiana and Kevin. She says a number, I give her the money. She hands me 3 keys and points to a door. We try to go in, but then she points to the keys and says something in Chinese and gestures to Kevin....hmmmm....I already know he can't go in the women's locker room, so what's she trying to tell me....hmmmm....one key is blue and the others are red. She's pointing to the blue key and Kevin....got it! He gets the blue one for the boys locker room.

There is a dad there (we were with a group of people and there are 2 stay at home dads in our group), so he can take Kevin in the locker room. Thank goodness!

We walk in the locker room, they point to our shoes and some funky flip flops on the shelf. Gotta change into their funky flip flops.

They kindly escort us to our locker and show us how to use the lock. This service is great! Still, no English, but we're doing fine.

Then we follow the others out the back door to the pool.

Great pool - lots of water slides, lots of fun! We want to rent a raft. The nice girl at the counter manages to let me know (with gestures) that I don't need money, she just needs my locker number - I assume they'll charge me on the way out (yes, that was right).

We spend 4 fun hours there...a few bits of culture shock...people smoking indoors (ugh!), using a squat toilet barefoot (that's why they had funky flip flops outside the door - duh!), and the sleeping lifeguard.

Here are some pics, we plan to go back soon.

Swim caps are required in China (but smoking and spitting are allowed...)