The Rhythm Truck Pulled Me Onstage

I planned this day for the long-anticipated Universal Studios Singapore. Before boarding the train, I grabbed a waffle near Kallang station, but it’s too hot to eat so I put it in my bag and waited until I reached my destination to eat because eating and drinking are not allowed in metro premises.

An Indian woman helped me find my way when I got lost during the transfer. After exiting the station upon arrival, she even waited for me to tell me which way to go to the Sentosa Express station since I went to a wrong exit. Following the instructions, I got to the third level of VivoCity and bought the tickets of Sentosa Express and Universal Studios Singapore together.

The train of Sentosa Express was pretty short with only 2 carriages. The train, full of passengers, ran slowly on a bridge for about 10 minutes and reached the first station, Resort World Sentosa (RWS), where I got off.

Aside from taking the train, bus is a more cost-effective option. Taking a walk on the Sentosa Boardwalk is not only free, but also can enjoy the gorgeous view of the water, cable cars, architecture and greenery.

Sentosa is a big island with many attractions, food stalls and resorts. I felt like I could spend many days having fun here, but since I only got one day and had decided to visit Universal Studios Singapore, let’s go! When I tried to use the ticket I bought from the ticket center before Sentosa Express, I was denied entry and told to redeem valid ticket at a customer service kiosk. Why is this extra step necessary?

After getting into the theme park, I was a little bit confused about what to do next, since I hadn’t been to any amusement park or theme park for a long time. What activities can I do here? I strolled along the main avenue right after entrance leading me to Hollywood, but all I could see was rows of blockbuster movies themed stores. Hmm, not interested in buying souvenirs. Keep walking, I saw that there’s a show of Trolls Hug Time Jubilee, which grabbed by attention but it’s not started until 30 minutes later. Continue walking, Sesame Street Spaghetti Space Chase. Hadn’t seen Sesame Street, but many people were entering, so I followed them, and it turned out to be a ride. Not thrilling, not understanding what’s going on, and not understanding the stores spoken in English…

After the overwhelming ride, I heard a big noise nearby, went close to see what’s going on. Oh, Rhythm Truck 2.0. A DJ shouting thunderously, 4 cool men dancing cool moves. 2 tall and handsome drummers drumming enthusiastically. Very cool, very infectious, but not understanding what they are talking about. Performing for a while, they stopped, and invited 2 people to join them. One brave man volunteered, but no the other volunteer. So they asked a few audience, but none of them were brave enough to say yes. And then they pointed at me, asked me if I wanted to play with them. I was like, me?? But for whatever reason, I walked up, put my bag down, and took a stick and a hard stuff for the stick to hit to make sounds. I was very worried since I couldn’t understand what they were talking. Once I was prepared, the DJ asked me “What’s your name?” I answered. He continued “where are you from?” I answered again. Then one of the drummers instructed me to follow his rhythm, and surprisingly I was able to understand it and did what he told me to do. And it was super fun! And we took a group picture at the end! What a special experience to be able to join the cool band and perform together for even a short period of time!

My experience after this point was not very fun any more. I was enjoying Transformers the Ride which made me feel like I was an AUTOBOTS fighting alongside OPTIMUS PRIME in a battle field. It’s so real that everybody on the ride gave a big round of applause after the ride. However, the ride vehicle accelerated, stopped, turned, spined, climbed and dropped suddenly and dramatically, which made me very dizzy and uncomfortable afterwards. In the afternoon, I watched a 4D movie of Shrek and a pirate show, but not understanding what they spoke made me really frustrating and discouraging, so I didn’t enjoy them very much. After trying on 2 roller coaster rides, which I didn’t quite enjoy, I was so dizzy that I almost vomited.

Generally, my experience in the amusement park was not very good. For one, my English listening is not good enough to understand the audios or conversations along each ride or show, preventing me from immersing into the storyline. For another, I may have slight motion dizzinessand giddiness, so I feel uncomfortable after riding those that have sudden drop and rise, such as roller coasters. Also, it’ s weekend when I visited the park, so queuing up before each ride was very annoying as well.

After leaving the park feeling very uncomfortable, both physically and mentally, I didn’t take the return train. Instead, I took a walk on the boardwalk, along the peaceful water shining under the setting sun. the soft breeze, the scenery, the relaxing atmosphere. I felt like I enjoyed this more than being in the amusement park. Then I had a self-discovery – perhaps I am more of a nature lover than an amusement person. Roller coasters are simply not my cup of tea. Nature is my real escape.

As for dinner, I went to Marks & Spencer Food, a UK grocery store, and ate some cookies and coleslaw. Then I joined the long line at Yole, and tasted the signature frozen yogurt that tasted like ice cream, but heathier.