Pyeongchang 2018 — Heyling Chan

We’re here! Up on the ski slopes for the first time in decades.

These were heavy!

The view from the top of Yongpyong Resort Dragon Valley Hotel. We didn’t stay here, but we’ll probably try it next year. It’s really close to the ski slopes, you just have to take the lift downstairs.

The view from our hotel, Yongpyong Resort Villa Condominium (they’re related). It was a lot older and more traditional than Dragon Valley, but it comes with a mini kitchen and a big living room if you prefer that over a standard hotel room. Definitely has more Korean charm.

Heytung and I followed Chris up to the intermediate slopes, and I immediately injured myself and nearly flew off the mountain (Note: Those orange stringy bits only tell you where the end of the mountain is. They do NOT prevent you from flying to your death). So after (somewhat) safely making it down to the bottom again, I decided to get a hot drink and see if I could spot them careening down the slopes. I only realised then that the boys had left me with no money. They had both our locker keys and my favourite coffee chain Twosome Place didn’t take Apple Pay, so I decided to build a snowman instead.

When they finally showed up...

It kind of looks like I pasted Heytung on, but he was actually just standing in the only spot that was well lit.

Oh and we took the bus from Incheon Airport to Pyeongchang. It was really fun because we got to stop at those rest stops that we’d previously only seen on Running Man. We didn’t understand the Korean announcement, so we had no idea how long the bus … — Oh and we took the bus from Incheon Airport to Pyeongchang. It was really fun because we got to stop at those rest stops that we’d previously only seen on Running Man. We didn’t understand the Korean announcement, so we had no idea how long the bus was going to stop for, which made us all run for the bathrooms. Then later on, the bus driver said he would wait for us. What if the other passengers were in a hurry? Didn’t he have a schedule to stick to? Anyway, since we had time now, we tried to buy Heytung’s favourite glutinous corn. Once the halmoni picked one up, she told us straight away they had gone off (all communicated through arm gestures). It probably sounds ridiculous to be this excited about long bus rides, but it was actually really comfortable. There was lots of leg room and the seats reclined. I recommend bringing your own snacks though.

Our trips to Korea are starting to become an annual thing now, so this year we thought we’d add on a bit of skiing before going to Seoul. We went to Pyeongchang the week after the Winter Olympics, so everything was really well maintained and organised. Heytung and I hadn’t skied since we were maybe about 10 years old. It was a real adventure, and we definitely want to ski once a year from now on.

Photos by Heytung, Chris and I.