Snowboarding

I was recently introduced to snowboarding. One resort can be reached in an hour by train and another provides a free shuttle bus straight to the door. There are several more resorts within a day’s reach of Seoul.

Snowboarding has got to be the most painful sport to learn. Apart from Sumo wrestling maybe. I defy anyone to learn how to snowboard without falling over. Just standing on the board on a slope was hard enough but as soon as I started moving I was all over the place. Sliding downhill facing downhill turned out to be the easiest way but then came the fun of learning to turn, and facing into the slope (uphill). That was much harder. I lost count of the number of times I went over but, after 3 days of pain, a few bruises, and a thumb I thought I might have broken (when I did it, it really hurt and I found myself sitting on the slope, inspecting it and wondering where I could get some ice only to realise I was sitting in the stuff),  I found that I could get down a slope facing both ways and could turn the board round on the move.

On the first day, I chose an all-orange suit but was told I looked like a bin man. 

So, the next weekend, I went for a cool yellow, patterned snowboarder’s jacket. This time, I was told I looked really 80s. At the very least, it meant I was easy to see, and hopefully avoid. The biggest risk on the slopes is the other skiers and snowboarders flying into you. It was a whole lot of fun. We’ll get back there a few more times this season I hope. 

Apparently, if you’re a snowboarder and wear stuff like this, you’re supposed to have attitude and look cool, so I had a go.

Might not try that again.

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We’ve had a load of really cold (eg. -12C) days in the hills (getting down to as low as -18C at night) and two of my buddies (Dominic & Rachael) and I got out on a day that froze the streams and even the water in our bottles. We met Santa that day too, no doubt enjoying his off-season. Most days have had clear blue skies to go with the cold weather. 

The Koreans love walking. The mountains are rarely quiet and it’s easy to find your way to the start of any walk – just follow the line of walkers, rucksacks and walking poles off the tube. They make the day an event – picnics are carried to the top where kimchi, gimbap and who knows what else comes out … (more about food in future blogs). Makes my sandwiches look pretty feeble. 

There are plenty of ‘characters’ out there. This chap – complete with snake stick – is one of them.

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On only one day recently has the cloud come down. It made for a good photo.

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There is a lot of public information around Seoul and they take care to make sure it’s accurate too. Here’s an example – it’s not 90m, or 95m to the next platform. Nope, it’s 93m. This is particularly useful if you’re one of those people who clearly won’t make it 95m.

However, they don’t always get the translations right. I’d like to see the bikes removing themselves …

The most information though, is in the hills. In the British hills you’ll find the odd signpost and might even be able to make out a path if you’re lucky. Here, the paths are very clearly defined and signposted. They even go to the trouble of signposting where the paths aren’t.

I love this photo – taken at a point where there’s a mountain view that would obviously make a great picture but, just to make sure you know, there’s a poster telling you it would make a great picture…

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I never thought I’d see an example of Hanoi-style bike loading, but this guy has made a jolly good attempt and deserves the title of Honarary Vietnamese Biker.

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This warmed my heart. In a public park, there’s a cabinet with kids’ books and a space for reading them, all in perfect condition.

   

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It was touch and go for a while, but the tree pulled through and will be back home soon …

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No doubt you’re desperate to learn some Korean phrases, so here they are:

Hello              안녕하세요  (ahn yong ha seh yo)

There are two ways to say goodbye:

If you’re leaving                            안녕히 개세요       (ahn yong ee keh seh yo)

If someone else is leaving          안녕히 가세요    (ahn yong ee kah seh yo)

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Food photo of the month

Here is the staple of all Korean meals – kimchi. Every Korean meal has a side dish of kimchi. It’s as Korean as fish and chips is British. Now, don’t be put off by the looks – it’s just seasoned, fermented cabbage in chilli. OK, that might not sell it either but, speaking as a fussy eater, it’s really quite nice and can be part of many dishes. There are loads of recipes but the one in the pic is quite common.  However, the Koreans love spicy food and I don’t. Therein lies a problem. I’ve learnt to say ‘not spicy’ when ordering food but that just means it comes spicy rather than really spicy. Luckily, I can manage that.

Here’s a typical meal in a restaurant – the main dish surrounded by lots of side dishes (one of which is kimchi). Usually, the waitresses just leave us to get on with it but in this restaurant they were sticklers for doing things correctly. I made the mistake of serving myself some soup in the brown bowl. The waitress came over and made a big fuss, took it away and then served me the soup in the smaller white bowl. Oops.

A short while later, while were eating the main dish, a waitress came over, removed the dish from under my mate’s nose, and served him some soup. He was doing things in the wrong order. Terrible.

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When I had my snowboarding fall, there was minimal bruising and no swelling so I convinced myself it was OK, would get better in time, and went climbing. Well, three weeks have gone by and I decided the thumb hurt enough to go to a hospital. It’s fractured. Ho hum.