My First Roller Coaster Ride in Hongkong Ocean Park

Last January, I had my first roller coaster loop ride. Vividly, I still remember my sister and I boarded one of the coaster cars, the kind that has no wall, no roof, or floor. As the conductor fastened the safety harness, I called out to my mom, who was standing, watching across the fence.

Before I could say another word, the car leaped forward like a living thing, and began to shoot ahead . . . upward . . . slowly . . . screeching . . . and stopped at the top.

I felt cold sweat all over me. I was breathing heavily, I held on to the iron bar tightly for safety. Girls screamed . . . we all screamed! Some clung in terror, others have their hands up in the air while dropping and hurtling in space. Screams were in various words, language, volume, and wave as we went around the loop-the-loop.

As we moved around the loop, I saw that the ground was constantly changing, and it was no longer where it should be. At the top of the loop, when we were upside down, my body felt very light . . . almost weightless and all I saw was the sky.

When we were almost at the end of the track, I saw the ground returning to its old position. Then the cars lurched, and then stopped. There was silence. Then loud cries of victory from terribly whitewashed faces broke the dreadful silence followed by cheerful grins.

I stood up with shaking knees, dizzy, and sweating. Why not, in such a short length of track, my body went through different sensations, in a matter of seconds my 100lbs. self was as light as a feather . . . the best part of my first roller coaster loop ride.