Have you ever tried something beyond your comfort zone? Going out on a vacation without doing any extreme and unusual outdoor activity is a bit boring for me! So I usually pick places where I can try something new. An example is surfing and skim-boarding , the 2 water sports that are gradually becoming popular in the Philippines this past years.
Way back few years ago, I tried both surfing and skimboarding but eventually stucked in just surfing as I cannot appreciate and learn skimboarding - not sure if either because I had bad teachers (knowing they don't even know how to skim well) or I'm just scared to fall down and get injured. Though I'm not a good swimmer too and so I cannot go-pro in surfing hahaha! Stucked in being a beginner at everything huh?!
Well , you can do both and I can say they are both extremely fun to try! It depends on your mood. If waves are bad or too big for beginners in surfing, then there's always a choice to play on shallow waters without waves - there's skimboarding.
The Equipments:
Skimboard is much cheaper than surfboards. It is also much easier to carry around because their sizes are smaller compared to surfboards. You can choose either a wooden or foamie board. (I tried both and I kinda liked the foamie board more!) . And for surfboards, I'm used to using long boards and fun boards as of now (I'm still struggling in catching waves on my own...) .
In the Philippines, only few stores supplies both these equipments. One of my favorite is the Aloha BoardSports located at random malls and R.O.X in BGC, Taguig. Some other board-sports supplier stores includes Mad Kahuna Surf Shop in Cubao Expo and J & S Surf Shop in Makati.
The challenge:
Skimboarding and surfing both requires a lot of skills in terms of timing and balance. You have to be sure you can run and ride on a board you're ready to trip off and get fall.
For skimboarding, wait until the last waive come into sucking back to the sea from the shore then throw your board and get into upon running. Lucky if you were able to ride and go until you'll stop and fall off .
For surfing, you have to paddle your way to the place where the wave is not crushing. Turn the board facing the shore and paddle as fast as the wave at its crest and of course stand up fast when you can feel that it's already pushing you.
Both has it's own kind of challenge but definitely the gives you the adrenaline rush and the fun!
The danger:
Skimboarding is associated with common falls the can lead to serious injuries if bad enough.
Surfing is dangerous if you're not good in swimming upon getting wiped out by waves. For me, I'm scared to paddle far to get waves. Fearing I might drown any moment because of panic.
Here are my top nearby places in the Manila to try these sports:
1. Sabang Beach, Baler Aurora
2. Urbiztondo Beach, San Juan La Union
3. Liwliwa, San Felipe Zambales
4. The Park, Real Quezon
Way back few years ago, I tried both surfing and skimboarding but eventually stucked in just surfing as I cannot appreciate and learn skimboarding - not sure if either because I had bad teachers (knowing they don't even know how to skim well) or I'm just scared to fall down and get injured. Though I'm not a good swimmer too and so I cannot go-pro in surfing hahaha! Stucked in being a beginner at everything huh?!
Well , you can do both and I can say they are both extremely fun to try! It depends on your mood. If waves are bad or too big for beginners in surfing, then there's always a choice to play on shallow waters without waves - there's skimboarding.
The Equipments:
Skimboard is much cheaper than surfboards. It is also much easier to carry around because their sizes are smaller compared to surfboards. You can choose either a wooden or foamie board. (I tried both and I kinda liked the foamie board more!) . And for surfboards, I'm used to using long boards and fun boards as of now (I'm still struggling in catching waves on my own...) .
In the Philippines, only few stores supplies both these equipments. One of my favorite is the Aloha BoardSports located at random malls and R.O.X in BGC, Taguig. Some other board-sports supplier stores includes Mad Kahuna Surf Shop in Cubao Expo and J & S Surf Shop in Makati.
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| R.O.X Philippines (photo from ROX's official facebook page) |
The challenge:
Skimboarding and surfing both requires a lot of skills in terms of timing and balance. You have to be sure you can run and ride on a board you're ready to trip off and get fall.
For skimboarding, wait until the last waive come into sucking back to the sea from the shore then throw your board and get into upon running. Lucky if you were able to ride and go until you'll stop and fall off .
For surfing, you have to paddle your way to the place where the wave is not crushing. Turn the board facing the shore and paddle as fast as the wave at its crest and of course stand up fast when you can feel that it's already pushing you.
Both has it's own kind of challenge but definitely the gives you the adrenaline rush and the fun!
The danger:
Skimboarding is associated with common falls the can lead to serious injuries if bad enough.
Surfing is dangerous if you're not good in swimming upon getting wiped out by waves. For me, I'm scared to paddle far to get waves. Fearing I might drown any moment because of panic.
Here are my top nearby places in the Manila to try these sports:
1. Sabang Beach, Baler Aurora
2. Urbiztondo Beach, San Juan La Union
3. Liwliwa, San Felipe Zambales
4. The Park, Real Quezon
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