Skiing at Bearstown Resort.

This is a trackback post, an account on Skiing excursion I had in Korea. The build up to the trip was amusing and dramatic, so sharing the experiences in detail.

In first week of Decemeber 2008, the desire to do skiing was ignited from a brochure of Yangpyung Resort kept in the lobby of Co-op Residence. Initially we were planning to opt for 'just enjoy snow' package of 45000 Won. After a few rounds of discussions we thought "Why not Skiing ?". But unfortunately the packages for Skiing mentioned in the brochure were bit expensive (cost starting from 80000 Won per head). So we were about to take a plunge for 45000 package. And also we were not very keen to create embarrassment in the resort, being a 'L-board' in skiing. But with the arrival of Rama on Friday (Dec-12th) equations changed. Since Rama had a prior experience of skiing in Korea at Jisan resort, we got a little confidence and decided to go on our own as the expected expenses were very less compared to conducted trip.

To get there:
- Distance: An hour journey from Seoul.
- Economical mode of transport is by resort shuttle.

Expenses:
- Entry: 29000 KRW for half day, 41000 KRW for full day.
- Equipment: 10000 per head.
* Rates vary according to peak season.

Here are chronology of events happened before we actually step our foot in the resort.

Saturday Dec-13 3 pm: We were bit reluctant to do skiing on our own and were having a brainstorming session. Our confidence level changed when Rama agreed to accompany us. First we called 'Jisan Resort' customer care. A lady picked up the phone on other side. According to her there was no shuttle facility to the resort(Not sure whether the shuttle was not there or it was fully booked). As per her information one had to visit the resort only by personal transport.

3.15 pm: With little disappointment we looked for options. But it was difficult to get details info thru google as majority of content was in Korean. I contacted Norix (co-worker at LGE) on gtalk requesting for alternatives to Jisan Resort. He suggested us 'Bearstown Ski Resort' and gave us details regarding shuttle timings, pick-up points and also contact number of the resort.

4.00 pm: After getting info I had a brief discussion with Santosh and Manoj. The details didn't look convincing as the boarding point was at Euljiro(near Jamsil) at 8 am. It was very difficult to get up early in winter morning and reach a place far from our hotel. Also Santosh was not showing his usual enthusiasm as he was more concerned about booking a 'Tatkal ticket' for a train journey he was supposed to make in India after 6 days.

5.00 pm: I called up Bearstown resort, but unfortunately English speaking correspondent was not their in his/her seat. The person who attended the call, asked me to call after 30 minutes.

5.30 pm: We went outside to Yongsan market. While traveling in the subway, I called Bearstown again and the English speaking correspondent(Su Yang) picked the phone. But due to noisy environment I could not discuss with him properly. And he was not agreeing to give me pick up points of shuttle near our hotel, stating the reason that reservation for shuttle should have been done before 12 noon.

6.30 pm: Shweta who chose to rest at hotel that evening called me asking for the status of skiing trip. I explained her about the situation and gave the contact number of number of Su Yang, to get as much details possible.

8.00 pm: Later at Yongsan train station I tried to get info from a lady seated in the tourist information center. Initially she resisted saying that it's not her duty. Then somehow I convinced her to call the Bearstown resort to get details about the shuttle. But unfortunately she could not get much additional information.

8.30 pm: When we were on the way back to co-op, I called Shweta regarding her enquiry updates. It was very delighting to know that she had managed to get shuttle information including pick up points near our hotel, timings (7:20 am) and also number of the bus. But she had noted down pick up points which were dictated over phone and the names were bit confusing and were not precise.

11.30 pm: We went to co-op reception for help. They called up the resort but no one was there to attend the call. So we thought of confirming boarding points in morning before leaving (around 7 am). Also we requested the reception to give wake up call at 5.30 am

Sunday Dec 14th, 5.30 am: We got up after a wake up call from the reception. But the process of getting up very early in core winter season turned out to be tedious. The energy levels were down to minimum at sub zero temperature.

7 am: Somehow we got ready and went to reception for confirming the pick up point. The reception lady called up Su Yang and looked in a internet page for shuttle pick-up points. The nearest boarding points were Mopko at 7.10 am and Yendeungpo 7.15 am. Since we had to rush to the pick-up point, I requested the receptionist to arrange a taxi from co-op upto boarding point. I hurried back to the room and asked Manoj to preempt his Maggi preparation.

7.10 am: Taxi was ready. Myself and Shwetha were at the reception but Santosh(i), Manoj and Rama were still on the way. Since we were not sure of making to the nearest pick up point by 7.15 am, we asked the receptionist regarding next pick up point of the same shuttle. She wrote down the details "7.30 am Yeuido" (in Korean) in a post-it slip.

7.15 am: Santosh(i) and Manoj came but Rama went to the basement for withdrawing cash without hearing from us about the hyper time constraint. Whether this blunder from Rama cost us ? Read on ...

7.20 am: Rama came back with two unsuccessful attempts of withdrawing cash. We didn't even have the time to argue. Immediately we got into the taxi and asked the driver take us to Yeuido in 10 minutes! Taxi driver who incidentally was Santosh's friend argued for while for 5 passengers but understanding the situation he didn't raised any major objection. The ride to Yeoudio was extremely thrilling. The thoughts of missing the shuttle already the coming to our mind.

7.31 am: We were at Yeuido bus stand. We thought that the shuttle had already left. But in 1 minute a bus came from behind and stopped at the stand. It was not usual Seoul City Bus so we expected it to be resort bus. Shweta asked the driver is it the bus for Bearstown resort ? Yes was his reply ... We could not believe our luck since we got the shuttle inspite of minor blunders !! Okay enough of emotions and we got into the bus all set for Bearstown excursion.

After 1 hour journey we arrived at the resort. As expected the temperature at the place was less relative to Seoul and infact it was -8 degree celcius. The landscape view of the resort was dominated by slow slopes being prepared by machines(sprinkling artifical snow) and air-lift trolleys besides the slopes.

Now we were at the resort, the million dollar question was "How to proceed ?". We observered many enthusiatic Koreans taking out loads of equipments from their car's bootspace. Without having any clues we went to the information center and explained about our zero skiing skills at the information center. A guy sitting on extreme right responded to our concern and took us towards the ticket counter. And that guy was Su Yang itself. Nice gesture from him as he helped us beyond his duties.

Tickets we had to buy separately for entry and equipment. For Entry ticket there were options too... 29000 for half day and 41000 for full day. Considering our endurance levels we thought it would be too heavy for us spend entire day skiing. so we chose to opt for half day ( 9 am to 12.30 pm). Then for hiring equipment there was discussion among ourselves to hire for only 3 people and share. I overpowered everyone and decided to go for 5 equipments (4 skiing and 1 snow board) why to do "conjusi" of 10K each for equipment when we are already spending 29K for entry. The equipments turned out be more heavier than our expectations. Forgot about wearing, it was even difficult to carry them. Somehow we managed to wear them. But the million won question .. where to do skiing ? Where's the beginners slope ? We called Suyang again for help and he agreed help us in things which were beyond his duties. He took us to snow area and asked to ski :). Santosh asked Sun Yang a basic question. U know skiing very well ? Su Yang replied "I dont know Skiing". What an irony ? We were learning skiing from a person who didn't know skiing :) Next in the line was process of wearing sticks, it turned out to be an ardous task. While wearing stick itself one can experience the slipperiness of the surface. Su Yang assistance was very much helpful as he literally held our hands while wearing sticks.

Now the highlight of the day, our first attempt of skiing. In our group it was Manoj who made the first attempt and as expected he fell down after proceeding ahead for a few meters. Rest of us could not control laughter. Same happened with santosh(i) and he was struggling to get up. Then it was my attempt and obviously I too fell down unable to control the slipperiness. But getting up was even more difficult I tried and tried to get up wearing the sticks. But later took help of a Korean to get up.

Later Su Yang took us to actual beginners slope and took a leave as he had to continue regular duties. We had carried our camera so were regularly having photo sessions. Slowly and steadily we got used to slipperiness. But the difficult part was getting up after a fall. Also I turned out to be unlucky many a times to get an obstruction either from a kid or some girl and once I was skiing rhythmically without any obstruction, but the stick itself came out.

The major highlight of the skiing session was Santosh giving Chiranjeevi style poses during photo sessions. Rama was regularly taking breaks as he was very flexible using snowboard. wearing skiing equipment it is difficult to move around normally. At 12.30 pm we wound up the session finishing of our first date with skiing.

After returning our equipment, we spent half an hour in front of heater, just to dry our wet clothes. Then for lunch there was a food court. Being lone veggie in the group I was in trouble as usual. I had no option had to eat only french fries at KFC. Then after so called lunch we thought seeing places around the resort since our shuttle was at 5 pm. We didn't find anything amusing. Since the shuttle was 5 pm. In order to do timepass we had photo sessions here and there and we got bored with that too we came back to the food court and sat at a place doing chatting n chatting. Rama narrated his one month dramatic story w.r.t onsites and visa rejections.

At 5 pm we came out saying thanks a ton to Su Yang. Just imagine if a person in India had helped liked this how much would have been his expectations regarding monetary tips. The shuttle started the return journey on dot at 5 pm. All of us had a nap to overcome sleep deprivation due to early rise. At 7.30 pm, we got down at a drop point near to Yangpyeong and walked upto our Co-op hotel concluding our fun-filled skiing excursion with pinches of dramatic moments.

Skandagiri: New year day episode

So here is the detailed narration on Skadagiri episode regarding which I had mentioned in HNY 09 post.

"What are you doing during New Year's Eve ?" the question Hemanth asked me a few days before Jan 1st. My immediate response was .. "let's go for a moonlight trek ". The obvious destination came to my mind was Skandagiri(Kalavarahalli Betta), the place favorite among trekkers and photographers in recent times for breathtaking sunrise views. We thought of celebrating the year switch at the peak itself. After basic planning and deciding Hemanth's car as the transportation, we looked for enthusiastic people. First person to agree was Sundeep Gupta. We refrained from calling many people as there was restriction w.r.t transportation (only 5 ppl can be accommodated in the car).

On 31st Dec afternoon, when we were still hunting for remaining members for the trip, I got a from Harsha. He showed interest in our Skandagiri plans but there was a sudden exclaimation from him. "Did u read TOI today? There's restriction for new year celebration at Nandi Hills and Skandagiri. General public will be not be allowed after 6 pm". It took a while for me to digest the news. Then we tried to look for alternatives. Hemanth enquired various clubs around Bangalore. The events at the places were not so interesting that too with an investment over thousand rupees.

So we decided to spend the year switch roaming randomly on streets of Bangalore and simultaneously doing street photography. At 9 pm Hemanth picked me from home and after getting everyone on board we discussed about places we can go. Firstly to fill our stomach we went to Food Street in VV puram . There we had usual stuffs Masala Puri, Pani Puri, Idly, Bonda etc. The exciting place in the street was famous VB Bakery. In order to attract the crowd (esp children) the owners had kept two clowns at the entrance, who were dancing to various tunes . Occasionally a few enthusiastic customers used to join them to have a dance session. It was amusing to see that one of the oldest bakery of Bangalore doing all possible stuffs to woo customers. Also there were some passerby giving a embarrassed glance at the bakery "What's happening here ? ".

Later we decided move to heart of Bangalore's new year celebrations i.e. Brigade road. As expected the place was brimming with revelers. In order to maintain law and order policemen were keeping strict vigil at the location and were not allowing people to stand at a particular place. The vehicular traffic in Brigade Road was stopped, in order to provide free movement for pedestrians(revelers). Roaming here and there we moved towards Fame Lido mall and had a coffee session at a CCD outlet there. Then when it was about to year switch we started walking back towards Brigade Road. On the way itself year we realised it's 2009 ! Bunch of revelers started dancing randomly in celebration mood and wishing everyone "Happy New Year".

Now the year switch was over. We witnessed more celebrations at Brigade Road and also group of people doing exaggerated stuffs in front of media cameras. For us somehow the disappointment of not going to Skandagiri was still lingering in our minds. We continued our walk on MG Road and walked further upto UB City. From the building many hi-fi people were coming out and getting into their luxury sedans after finishing off their new year party formalities. Proceeding further we thought of having of one more round of coffee at Coffee Day Square. But unfortunately the cafe was full and there was no place to sit. In addition a police constable came into the outlet ordering the owner to close the shop as it was supposed to be closed by 12.30 am.

When it was time head back to our homes, Hemanth got very much optimistic about making it to Skandagiri. He was confident that local police may not raise objection in early morning. So at 2 am, we started our journey towards Skandagiri. The route was simple i.e. take the road towards BIAL, go to Chikballapur and from there seek local people's help for directions. The ride upto BIAL's trumpet interchange was smooth, beyond that it was full of hiccups. Adding to our trouble were defective headlights of Hemanth's car. There were many notorious speed breakers making the drive miserable. Slowly and steadily we proceeded towards Chikballapur.

As were not carrying any food items our other task was to find a shop to buy some basic items. Almost all the shops on the highway were closed. Fortunately we found a tea shop where we bought biscuits and further ahead before Chickballapur we got a dhaba by name 'Friends Dhaba where we bought mineral water and cool drinks. Since we didn't know how to proceed from chickballapur, we stopped for a tea break in the town and asked the shopkeeper for directions. The route was pretty simple according to him go straight and take a left after bus stand.

Moving ahead we discovered that there were many prominent left turns. We took a left turn at one of the prominent junctions (towards Gowribidanur) looked around for humans to enquire directions. We found one small shop and in which carpentry renovation work was going on in full swing. We asked one of carpenters for directions. He didn't even had a slightest idea about Skandagiri and instead he started explaining route to Nandi Hills. We looked around for more help and found a security guard type of person sitting in front of building with structure similar like lodge or a hostel. We striked the gate to wake up the person and to our surprise the man turned out to be a police constable and in fact the building was police station of Chikballapur.

As soon as we mentioned the word Skandagiri, the constable replied "No entry". Since it was already 4 am, we requested it's anyway going to be morning in a few hours and new year celebrations are already over. Our reasoning sounded convincing to him and he immediately replied with the route. He asked us to go straight and after APMC market take left on a tar road.

Following constable's instructions and with help of one more local person on the way we reached base of Skandagiri peak. To our surprise there were dozens of people already at the place with optimistic thinking as ours. All had come up with an opinion that entry restrictions won't be there in early morning. After getting down from the car we immediately started the hike. Along with us one more group started the hike. We proceeded for 10 minutes, but later on we didn't had any clue about moving ahead. Absence of moonlight made the job more difficult. Then somewhere from dark an old man appeared saying "you are on a wrong track, give me money I will take you to the peak". Realising our helplessness, we decided hire him by fixing an amount of Rs. 300 (shared b/w two groups).

The ascent in the dark was a different experience altogether. Intially we faced problem as we were carrying only one torch but later on the other group shared one of their torch with us. The trail was easy to moderate and thanks to the darkness we didn't really bothered about steepness of the terrain. With 3-4 pit stops we managed to reach the peak at 6 am, just in time before the sunrise. We sat at a comfortable location getting set for viewing and shooting sunrise. At 6.15 am, the ultimate, breathtaking first sunrise of the year 2009 happened. Almost 50 people on the peak celebrated the signature moment by shouting aloud "Happy New Year".

Then for next one hour we dedicated time of photographing people on the peak and landscapes around the peak. One of the major stuff was shadow of the peak formed on west side. Finally at 7.30 am, we decided to get down. The descent was different psychologically. While ascending as it was completely dark, we didn't even had a slightest idea about the trail. Whereas the trail was completely different while descending in daylight. The obvious question constantly coming to our mind was "did we really ascended from the same route?".

At 9 am we were back to the parking lot and started return journey. Being sleepless overnight for Hemanth the drive turned out to be very tedious . Sitting besides him in the front seat, I was constantly chatting/arguing with him on various topics, in order to keep him awake. Slogging to our physical limits(w.r.t sleep) we were back in Bangalore safe concluding our adventurous Skandagiri expedition that to on a new year day!

Find more photographs in the album embedded below.

Bangalore Photowalk 6.0

The Sixth Bangalore Photowalk was on new year day and unlike previous photowalks this one was conducted in evening. The idea of conducting an evening photowalk was suggested by Sam Saternal one of the partipicants of fifth Photowalk especially brigade road or commercial street in places illuminated with flashy signs.

It took a long time for the sixth of edition of photowalk to materialize. I was out of Bangalore for a three-month-biz-trip and others members of the group didn't took sufficient initiative to have a walk.

But a few days before the new year day Anita initiated a thread in the group for bringing life back into the group and discussion switched when & where to have next photowalk. Subsequently Prasad chipped in with an idea of having a walk on new year day preferably at Brigade Road in evening and finally I added Sam's suggestion to the discussion.

After having brief discussion with Anita, I came with a route starting at defunct Opera theatre in Bridage road and ending point at Woody's commercial street. The major purpose of the walk was capture light decorations at brigade road for new year.

The walk started at 6 pm with six particpiants myself, Anita, Prasad, Deepak, Deepa and Phalgun. I was very much enthusiastic about the walk in order to try out my new Nikon 50 mm lens which delivers pretty well in low light and is ideal for tack street photography.

The shooting went on pretty well and as usual there were some passerby asking curious questions, Is this a photography competition? Are u from a news agency etc. I also met a few of my friends who had come to Brigade road for shopping. The very first expression was ... What arrrreee youuuu doing here ?. Also I met one of the member of Bangalore Weekend Shoot group and discussed about the events their group had recently.

Regarding photography I shot the various glow-sign boards and some shops brimming with customers. In particular, I was looking for a composition with a person carrying 3-4 bags in his hands. But surprisingly, I could not find a single person carrying so many bags. Seems all had come to the place just for just for a hang-out or window shopping.

After completing the Brigade Road stretch we moved towards Commercial Street by crossing MG Road. While moving on Kamaraj Road, there was lean patch besides Manekshaw ground as we didn't had any flashy stuffs to shoot. However Phalgun tried out some long exposure shots keeping camera on compound of the ground.

Proceeding further we entered commercial street. The ambience was different and compared to Brigade road there were no light decorations. But to shoot there were different subjects such roadside bangle shops and footwear shops.

Then we entered our final destination Woody's. It's not really a low brow eat-out but one of the oldest eat-out in commercial street and serves variety of south Indian fast foods. From the menu I chose to have Ragi Masale, a combination which I never had before. After having food we discussed potential locations for next photowalks and finally decided to conclude the walk. Thanks to all participants of the walk and special thanks to Anita and Prasad.

HNY 09

Happy New Year 2009. So how you welcomed the new year. My celebrations this time were unique and adventurous, with my friends (Hemanth, Sundeep and Harsha). We hiked Skandagiri peak early hours of Jan 1st and witnessed first sunrise of 2009 being atop the peak. It was an absolute breathtaking experience. Will be posting more on this episode later.