Spotlight

Street slide

A weekend trip with Girl leads to extreme excitement

By Nuttaporn Srisirirungsimakul, Photographs courtesy of EFM

Did You Know : �Scrambled egg� is the term street lugers use to refer to a bad, uneven road surface.

The guys from Girl take to the luge.

What do you like to do for fun at the weekend? Don�t be shy to say reading, watching TV or strolling around the malls � there are plenty of people out there with the same boring pastimes as you.

But not me. Well, at least not the new me. After tagging along with the 93.5 EFM gang on the EFM Extreme Tour, I�ve found a new activity fit for any weekend warrior � street luging.

The tour took 10 lucky listeners along with the four guys from the band Girl � Preyawit Nilachulaka (Palm), Ekachai Chulapamon (Champ), Yutthapon Songwanphet (Joke) and Anugun Chanurai (Por) � out to the Thong Somboon Club in Pak Chong, Nakhon Ratchasima. The club is a haven for extreme sport addicts, offering horse riding, mountain climbing, ATVing, go-karting, kart-crossing and street luging.

Wasting no time on arrival, we all quickly took off for the luge course.

WHERE�S THE ICE?

Before my upcountry trip, the only type of luging I�d seen was the icy, mountainside plunge I saw on The Amazing Race. To be honest, the idea of speeding downhill on a sled with my head about an inch from the ground, though tempting, almost scared me off. But, much to my relief, luging at the Thong Somboon Club is different from what I saw on TV.

Joke and Por ride the cable lift.

The club has special carts with steering wheels and brakes that look like a stripped-down go-kart. This gives riders a bit more control as the sled speeds through twists and turns.

�We are the only place in Thailand and Southeast Asia that offers street luging,� said Kobkaew Polcharoen, a partner at the club. �We want everyone, including kids, to enjoy this new sport, so we decided to make it less extreme.�

While perhaps less scary than the extreme version, Kobkaew guaranteed that the 650-metre ride downhill would definitely get our adrenalin flowing. �You can have a blast as you ride at a speed of 65 kilometres per hour,� she said.

SWIFT SLIDE

With the exception of Champ, who likes to go skateboarding, no one in our group had ever tried an extreme sport. �I didn�t even know what extreme sports were before today,� Palm said.

Needless to say, we all paid close attention when the club�s staff explained how to enjoy a speedy yet safe ride. �Just lean to the left when you turn left and lean to the right when you turn right,� a staff member advised. �And don�t forget to pull the brakes as you head into the bends.�

Heading back to the starting point

Armed with helmets and elbow pads, the guys from Girl were the first to try the high-speed ride, with the rest of us following soon after. After the exhilarating and breathtaking ride down the hill, we hopped on the cable lift for a ride back to the top.

�Actually I don�t drive fast and I�m scared of heights,� Palm admitted. �But today was a great fun. I got to do two things that I have never done before.�

And for anyone craving action and excitement, street luging is a great way to break the weekend monotony.

The Thong Somboon Club is open all year, every day from 8 am to 5 pm. Prices vary for each activity, but street luging is 150 baht per ride. Call 044 312 248 for more information.

Vocabulary

tag along (phrasal v): to go somewhere with somebody, especially when you have not been asked or invited
haven (n): a place that is safe and peaceful where people go to rest or to be protected from something
steering wheel (n): the wheel that the driver turns to control the direction that a vehicle goes in
adrenalin (n): a substance produced in the body when you are excited, afraid or angry
pad (n): a piece of thick material that you wear in some sports to protect your legs, elbows, etc.
crave (v): to have a strong desire for something