In the most inhabited cities in Asia, enormous shopping malls and giant corporate towers gain more attention for tourists than centres for recreation like parks. It is too bad for those who want breathtaking adventures, right?
It is not if one knows where to put his or her eyes on and explore.
Would you be surprised if you learn that there is a surfing sanctuary dwelling in the urban jungle? Not to mention the action in nature escapades you can visit to catch some fresh air, which is a few minute drives away from the centre of the busy cities. Make yourself belief because they are next to the metropolitan cities in Asia.
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Whitewater Rafting – Philippines
Riding the rapids has never been as fun as in the Philippines. An hour away from Cagayan De Oro City, this water adventure is perfect for those who seek legitimate adrenaline outbreak.
As a group, you will get geared up with life vests, helmets, and paddles. The challenge here is not to fall off from your rubber boat as you go through the powerful rapids in the stretch of a long river. If your group is strong enough to withstand it, you may show your team spirit with a paddle high-five. Your group will be assisted by guides who are not just strong and experienced rapid riders but also a stand-up comedian and a walking encyclopedia. He would tell you everything there is to know about your adventure – may it be the species of birds flying, or the species of plants crawling, or even what minerals comprise the rocks you might bump onto when the tides get wild. You can also swim in the areas of the river far away from the rapids.
If you are imagining yourself in such wild and crazy activity and thinking a way of how to get these memories captured in your camera, worry not – an awesome rapid rider with his canoe shall ride along with you in your adventure and find a spot on the wild river, like a big stone or whatever, wherein he could stand up and take your pictures!
All these amazing experiences are included in your payment of 1,200 pesos or approximately 55 US dollars per person and prices would adjust if you go in groups
Surfing – Bangkok
To spend an awesome and beautiful weekend in Bangkok, visiting the Flow House is a must! Opened in July, it boasts their attraction the “Double FlowRider,” a wave machine produced in the United States. Unlike other wave machinery, it generates strong and rigid waves wherein you can do lean and do some serious body-boarding or stand up and surf! You sure will fall for several times but the experience is worth it!
Do not worry for there are instructors present for lessons. You can avail sessions which are an hour-long from 8 AM to 11 PM; but during Fridays and Saturdays, the Bangkok wonder is open up until midnight! Prices range from 550 baht (18 US dollars) an hour during the weekdays before 6 PM to 650 baht an hour at times after 6 PM and during the weekends. To compensate for the excitement for their announcement that restaurants and bar will open soon, there are food and refreshing drinks for sale in their simple and plain outdoor barbecue.
Rock Climbing – Shanghai
As continuing industrialization and globalization induced an enormous amount of stress to office workers, rock climbing has been a popular stress-relieving activity in China for the last 10 years.
Rock Climb Sports Center of the Shanghai Stadium is the most enormous indoor rock climbing gym in China. With its 80-meter high wall (having a total area of nearly 1,200 square meters) and elaborate cave system, one might definitely think this rock-climbing wonder is exclusive for your friendly neighbourhood Spiderman!
To cater to all types of climbers with unique abilities, they boast over a hundred routes for climbing. It includes a bouldering segment, which is 4 meters high and has an area of 240 square meters.
Obtained certification from the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation, their facilities are important both from the United States and Europe.
Deposit charge for the rental of gears is added to the payment for the whole rock climbing experience. Deposits will be returned after the end of one’s session.
Skydiving – Singapore
Almost every child has dreamt to learn how to fly! This world-class attraction would definitely make you feel like flying and falling from the sky but without vertigo. With the opening of iFly Singapore in 2011, people can fly like a boss – yes, without hands, parachute, and even fear! Singapore, as they claim, holds the largest skydiving wind tunnel in the world.
The 25 million Singaporean dollar-worth machines allow anyone who is above three years old, who is not pregnant, and who weighs not more than 109 kilograms to be able to fly for an hour. But before anything else, there will be pre-flight sessions made for training! Once you are inside the wide tunnel which is 17-meters high and 5-meters wide, you will experience air resistance as strong as 300 kph wherein you can hang loose, do somersaults and other acrobatic tricks, strike high fashion and even yoga poses, without any limitations.
Starting from 89 Singaporean dollars for adults and 79 for kids, customers can enjoy the training sessions and two flights!
Ziplining – Tokyo
Before going for the zip-lines in Tokyo, you might better prepare your voice box for some serious Tarzan-yelling.
Just an hour away from Tokyo’s centre, a sanctuary of haughty cedar trees, clusters of fearless adrenaline rush seekers organize an adventure in the hanging labyrinth of ropes, lines, and ladders with international titles like Tarzan Swing and even Tibetan Bridge.
All lines lead to Forest Adventure, which is a non-profit union of French people. Their adventurous mix of zip lining (wherein you ride tension wires with a harness fastened to a pulley) and tree climbing escapades has taken the world by storm.
The non-profit organization is bested with half a thousand areas in France. Arriving in Japan way back in 2006, it has already 11 courses running crisscross around the country. These include the most accessible Forest Adventure Odawara, which is about an hour away from Tokyo.
Forest Adventure Odawara achieves winning sold-outs from participants incorporate teambuilding activities, people living about military bases of the U.S., adrenaline-rush-seeking locals who are also searching for nature’s feel. If you want to experience this crazy adventure, you might as well arrive early to max out the fun. It is priced 3,500 yen or 42 US dollars for one adult.
Snowboarding — Hong Kong
Bested with a couple of indoor ski and snowboard gears, Hong Kong would let experience snowboarding even if it’s not the winter season. The freshest and flamboyant one is the Play, which just opened in Kwun Tong the previous year. It is a large warehouse that is comprised of two massive slope simulators for skiing. It can hold up to 100 guests. And skiing is not just the thing in the Play, it is definitely party-ready with its enormous sound systems, stage, and a café, managed by Zambra.
First-timers learn the art of skiing or snowboarding on a stationary artificial slope and will soon take on the challenge posed by the simulators. Those who are experienced can utilize the slopes to stretch their office-beaten muscles and warm-up for the real thing elsewhere – it does not snow in Hong Kong.
You bring your own gears and boots, but Play also provides them! However, boards should be left home for the boards used in Play are specially de-waxed for their dry slopes. Aside from skiing and snowboarding adventures, Play has also indoor softball and baseball, with batting cages, upstairs. For other dry slope wonders in Hong Kong, you could also try one in North Point, the Slope Infinity. They were the first one to bring and establish slope simulators in Hong Kong way back in 2002.
It is like learning how to ski in a very short time! The Slope Infinity’s coaches believe that a single hour enjoying and training in their slopes is equivalent to several hours of coaching in the real mountains. Why? It is because when learning in training decks could magnify one’s mistake, and thus, they are forced to perfect on a technique much faster. But it does not hurt to make mistakes because it is indoor, safe, and fun, all at the same time.
However, the soft snow on the actual mountain slopes would tolerate more mistakes that are integral to learning the art of skiing and snowboarding.
Car Drifting — Kuala Lumpur
If ignited rubber turns you off, then drifting is definitely not the adventure for you! With the series maintaining Vin Diesel’s Hollywood stint, the “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift” is precisely the most unforgettable film. However, it did give way for the strange racing style to get recognized.
“Drifting” is the physical phenomenon when a driver over-steers deliberately. With that, the lost grip in the back wheels would not just make the car turn but also swerve and then slide; however, the driver sustains its control over the vehicle.
To those who are brave enough to try it, Oxbold, a Malaysian sports company, offers car drifting. The would let you experience it by giving you lessons and the opportunity to ride next to the professional sports car drifter. However, it is strict in compliance, that students who would want to solely run the wheel and practice their skills are required to learn about the history of its art and the trick that would make them execute autosport’s funky schemes.
The price for a full-day session costs 2,990 RM or around 982 US dollars. Sessions would take place from 9 AM to 5 PM.
