Adventure Travel – Snowboarding in Gangwon, Korea
Undergrads@Adventure Travel - Snowboarding in Gangwon, Korea
—————————————————————————————————————————————-
Undergrads@TakeMeToTravel is a special section on TakeMeToTravel highlighting the many adventures and enriching experiences that undergrads and college students have during their travels around the world.
—————————————————————————————————————————————-
Having tried so many other outdoor adventures, such as waterfall abseiling and paintball, Xander goes on to challenge another outdoor activity. This time, he shares with us his painful but fulfilling snowboarding experience in Gangwon, Korea.
Name: Xander Tan Zhi Kai
Nationality: Singaporean
University: Singapore Management University (Information Systems)
Hello Xander, to start this interview, can you share with us why you decided to try snowboarding?
Well, it started with me being part of SMUX Xseed, a school club in my university, which enables everyone and anyone to try out any kind of activities. This is one of the main reasons why I initially joined the team 2 years back and have grown to be part of it. After trying activities like paintball, parkour, ATV and waterfall abseiling in neighbouring countries, I suggested to my team to challenge and explore further lands such as Korea to do snow ski and snowboarding. Soon, it was pulled off. (:
I guess snowboarding involves some risks. What are the key safety tips you would tell a traveller who will be snowboarding in Korea?
Wear a few layers of bottoms. A padded one would do great. You will definitely fall during snowboarding. The pain you get will be legendary when the falls come consecutively. Be prepared to see bruises if you don’t wear enough bottoms!! No kidding!
It sure sounds painful! Did you plan this trip on your own?
Well, for this trip, I collaborated with YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) Singapore for this event, they do have a few interesting overseas trips and activities where their counterparts over there do an amazing job getting the facilities and activities ready for you. Other than YMCA, the World Wide Web is the best place to go and look for help. One way I recommend also will be to plan things yourself as it will definitely be cheaper while being able to customize to your own needs and preferences.
What is the most memorable event/instant from your trip?
Ha, it has got to be the moment when I flew and fell spectacularly. There were three kinds of slope over at the ski resort – Beginners, Advanced and Expert. After learning the basics of snowboarding from the instructors over there, I headed over to the advanced slope and tried a few techniques like forward slide and backward slide. However, when I was executing the “S” slide, a more advanced technique, I tried to something stupid by trying a little jump. Instead of landing nicely on the board, the front side of the board got stuck in the snow and I experienced a spectacular fall and landed real hard.
Wow, despite the pain, I’m sure you had a lot of fun! Would you encourage other travellers to try snowboarding?
It is a must try. Try snow ski like I did at the start to get used to the snow, then go for snowboard which is on a whole new level. It challenges your ability to balance on a board while skiing down a slope hence testing your control of the speed of slide. Don’t just experience it by looking at sports channel on TV, try it yourself. Falls are inevitable, but they are worth it.
Related posts:
