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Image
source: Snow City official website
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Discounting Snow City, the nearest
and most budget ski vacation should be to go to KOREA imho. You ask me why? Read on to see how I justify my opinion.
Budget Flight to Korea
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| Image source:FlightGlobal.com |
First, Singaporeans are lucky we
have a new kid on the block Scoot to jump on the low-cost carrier
bandwagon.
Buy a no-frills (simply meaning no tv, no meals, no free blankets) return flight ticket from
budget carrier Scoot for about $600 including 15kg check-in luggage. How much
savings is that?
Easily a whopping $300 cheaper than
normal carriers ceteris paribus!
The catch? A humble 1-hour transit in Taipei for you to stretch your limbs although the seats are quite roomy for me (im taller than the average girl)
Look
out for discounts on Scoot's facebook
page if your vacation period is flexible since they do have really
fantastic deals at times!
I got my tickets to Korea at $198
(all in-return with 15kg luggage) during their last promotion while my friend
got it for $454 in another promotion.
No gimmicks but you have click fast
and F5 regular enough to fight off other budget travel-wannabes for a byte of
Scoot's servers.
Ski Charges
No entrance fees- just rent the ski gear which includes a pair of skis and ski boots which cost you from 25,000 ~ 35,000 won ($30 ~ $45). Rent a ski jacket if you are afraid of the ice-cold weather like me because they guard you from the cold absolutely well compared to our normal down jackets. However, my siblings and I ended up perspiring in 0 degrees C climate because of all that climbing (not the slopes, but after falling...) and controlling our legs (from widening too much. you'd know what I mean after you try it out :p)
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| Image source: intersportbansko.com |
If you are skiing till late yet don't wish to dig deep into your pockets to stay over at the resort, be sure to check out the bus timings of the FREE (yes FREE!) shuttle buses provided by Bears Town which takes you to and fro the heart of Seoul. Otherwise, spend the night at the ski resorts overlooking the white slopes to complete your perfect winter skiing vacation.
Check out Korea Tourism Organisation's (KTO) official guide to major ski resorts.
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| Image source: KTO |
My Ski Experience
Where? Gangwon Province (aka 강원도 Gangwondo)
Where exactly? Oak
Valley ski resort
When? January 2011
Why? Thought I should ski once in my lifetime
Think
you'd be skiing like this?
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Think
again...
Image
source: AsiaTravelCare.com
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I went to Korea during Chinese New
Year which coincides with Korean New Year so the ski resort was packed with
young and old visitors, foreign or natives. Don't worry that you'd be stranded
alone after falling at some corner because it's hard to find a corner with no
one :)
Skiing or snowboarding?
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| Image source: skijapan.cn |
Skiing requires one's boots to be
locked to a pair of long runners. One glides on the snow usually after picking
up speed first by walking. Although I tried skiing since I am a
beginner, some Korean friends beg to differ. They recommend snowboarding to
beginners commenting that it is easier and pumps more adrenaline than
skiing.
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| Image source: kids4sports.files.wordpress.com |
Snowboarding is the sport where
one's boots are bound to a snowboard before they maneuver with coordinated movements of the body and the legs in wave motion (that's what I think).
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| Image source: blog.naver.com/nexyleep |
Ski resorts also offer
snowboarding and skiing lessons pricing from $80 for 2-hour classes with a 1:15
teacher-student ratio.
What to look out for
All in all, I think skiing is not an expensive sport for us foreigners. Think about it. Less than a 50 bucks for a whole day of fun and this will probably happen once in a few years or even once in a lifetime for most of us. Even if you are not ready to break some bones, just hop on to the snow grounds and have some fun building snowmen while eating a hot snack:)
Beware of pro and especially the
non-pro snowboarders or skiers descending the hill as they tend to swerve right
past beginners who are (for goodness sake! trying to keep our balance..) at the
flatter terrains to slow down or stop.
All in all, I think skiing is not an expensive sport for us foreigners. Think about it. Less than a 50 bucks for a whole day of fun and this will probably happen once in a few years or even once in a lifetime for most of us. Even if you are not ready to break some bones, just hop on to the snow grounds and have some fun building snowmen while eating a hot snack:)
In case you already forgot that you might win a chance before 8 Dec 2013 to go to KOREA with your family this winter for FREE...Below's the KTO event link again ^^;;
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