Cinte Everywhere: ski

Tahun ni kitaorg balik kg lagi, patut balik raya tapi sbb semua nk balik, laki kak ton kena take turn dgn org ofc dia. Kesahnye, kitaorg balik sehari lps raya & laki kak ton ambik kesempatan utk join kwn2 dia pegi Ski dkt Alps.

Tempat Ski ni nama Les-Contamines Montjoie, dlm 40min drive dr Chamonix & 1 hour drive dr Geneva airport. So kitaorg pun flew pegi Geneva & kwn Nico fetch us there. Mamat ni anak org kaya, mak bapak ada rumah dkt area ski ni, so kitaorg yg org2 biasa ni pun tumpang la rezeki kawan.

(Dekat nk sampai Geneva airport, excited nampak salji)

Dr Geneva lagi rata2 tempat dh penuh salji walaupun awal lagi sebenarnye utk ski season. Biasa org pegi bln 1 atau 2 bila snow dh banyak. kwn2 Nico ckp, sehari sblm kitaorg sampai tu, semua tempat hijau lagi sbb salji tak banyak, so alhamdulillah la rezeki Nico yg dh 3 thn tak pegi ski and rezeki kak ton yg first time nk try2 ni. Sampai2 umah mlm tu, temperature -15 degree, terganggu mental sket sbb sejuk sgt, ye la kan, kat malaysia dh biasa 30 degree.

(view dr living room rumah member)

The next day pagi, kitaorg pegi sewa ski utk kak ton sbb semua org dh ada diaorg punya gear sendiri so tak yah sewa2. Ski gear ni termasuk la ski boots, papan dia tu nama apa tah, ngan ski pole. Ski renting price agak mahal, so kalau sapa2 nk try pegi ski tu sila buat calculation sbb jgn pegi sebarang. Utk sewa ski gear seminggu, laki kak ton cakap dia bayar Euro100, which is dlm RM400 gitu. Ni dh harga kwn2 yea sbb kwn Nico ni kenal org yg bukak kedai ski kat situ. Price range between 100-200 (euro) per week.

Lepas sewa ski gear kitaorg pegi Ecole du Ski (sekolah ski) utk kak ton blaja dgn cikgu yg terlatih. Ski class ni penting utk beginner especially yg first time and belum pernah try mcm kak ton. Kalau ada kwn2 atau fam yg ckp nk ajar or you simply didn't want to spend money for class, don't do it. Sbb ski ni boleh jd bahaya kalau tak tau. Kak ton memula ingat org poyo je nk ambik duit suruh masuk class berbagai kan, skali apa jd masa ski mmg buat kak ton akan masuk class sampai pandai.

Price for ski classes pun bukan calang2, utk 2 jam kelas laki kak ton Bayar Euro85 atau RM350. Tp ni private class la, one to one bukan group class. Kalau pegi satu family boleh la request for group classes which is so much cheaper tp tak sure harga berapa. Cikgu kak ton org perancis nama Gilbert, kak ton request yg reti speaking english.

(Ni resit yea, bukan ski pass)

Last skali beli ski passes pulak. Passes ni beli sbb karang nk naik cabel car pegi atas. Depends brape hari nak ski, harga lain2. Laki kak ton terus ambik 4 hari access terus tp kak ton top up tiap kali rasa nak naik. Utk beginner harga Euro14 sehari. Tapi gambar kak ton lupa ambik, ski pass ni rupa dia mcm access card or bank card tu. Nnt masuk dlm pocket dkt glove so its easy nak scan masa nak naik cable car.

Sekarang semua dh ada, gear, class & passes. Baju ski kak ton pinjam kat budak2 ni je sbb diaorg banyak baju, kalau korang kena sewa baju utk ski, please bear in mind it will be around another Euro100 kot lagi utk sewa. Tu blom cite korang kena dok hotel, makan luar & kalau2 nk shopping.

What to wear to ski:

Benda ni benda paling serabut nk pikir sebelum pegi. Tanya kwn2 kak ton diaorg ckp tak yah pakai tebal2, nnt berpeluh. Tp pikir2 balik kalau sejuk plak camne? Basically dua2 kita akan alami. Sejuk dan panas. Memula sejuk sbb kita tak banyak bergerak, tp bila dh start, 2 jam tu jenuh berpeluh. Ikut pengalaman kak ton 2 hari kat sana, ni yg kak ton pakai :

(Gambar internet sbb kak ton tak putih lol)

1. Thermal inner wear, this is a must. Lagipun suhu normally bawah 0 degree, siang2 hari dlm -7 gitu. Mat2salleh dh biasa sejuk diaorg pakai baju biasa je satu layer + sweater. Please buy yg saiz ngam2 melekat kat badan, kalau besar nnt payah nk pakai 2nd layer.

2. Second layer kak ton pakai legging + sweater. Seluar apa pun boleh ikut selesa masing2. Kak ton tak suka pakai jeans, tu yg pakai legging.

3. Socks pulak kak ton pakai thermal + thick socks. Itu pun rasa mcm nk tercabut kuku sbb sejuk.

4. Last layer pakai baju ski, Ski glove, face mask, hat, sunblock & goggle. Sunblock penting juga utk mengelakkan kita dr kena sunburn. If you are beginner, jgn gediks2 nk pakai sunglasses sbb kalau jatuh and patah, habis nangis. So sila rent goggle utk mata anda, ini wajib kalau tak nak buta. Helmet tu tak payah la sbb biasa yg terer2 & stock terbang2 je pakai helmet for safety.

So skang boleh la start ski. Basically kalau korang pakai extra pun takpe, bawak beg pack pastu kalau panas bukak & masuk beg. Mat2salleh ni buat camni la. Even food tapau dr rumah, masuk beg, bawak ski skali sbb makan luar mahal.

(So ini la rupa kak ton, jgn risau takde sapa pun yg nampak hot pakai baju ski ni ahahhaah)

(Kat belakang yg bebudak dok naik tu la nama tuba)

First day kak ton ski, kak ton tak pegi class lagi. Just followed bebudak ni & laki kak ton janji dia yg bg tunjuk ajar sebelum class the next day. Pengalaman dgn dia ni la yg buat kak ton agree yg org baru nk blaja ni jgn blaja dgn kwn or family. Kesahnye camni, sampai2 kat atas lps naik cabel car, semua org start hook kasut ski dgn board. Kasut dh pakai awal2 sampai2 kat parking, punya la berat. So kak ton pun pakai la, yg ni takde masalah. Dh tu, jln kedek2 ada satu slope semua org trus turun & ski kat situ. Bebudak pun buat, sbb tak tinggi. Yg kak ton kat situ mcm nk nangis sbb tak nak turun takut jatuh & tak tau nk break. Laki kak ton plak bising2 paksa turun no matter what, takkan nk tunggu situ je kan. Nak tak nak turn je la dan akhirnya jatuh & siap langgar sorang budak lagi which coming from the right side. Ni la sbbnye patut ambik class dulu sebelum pegi ski. Ni tak habis lagi ni cite first day aku yg seram ni...

(First cable car dkt atas, keluar dr sini semua org trus ski turun pegi station cable car lain pulak)

(Ni 2nd Cable car utk naik atas gunung, of cos la kak ton yg beginner ni tak naik. Gambar laki yg ambik)

Dh turun dr first slope tu kitaorg kedek2(aku yg kedek2) pegi 1st phase, kat situ ada lagi 2 cabel car. Satu slope rendah utk beginner and satu lagi utk yg dh terer. So laki kak ton stayed with me the whole afternoon & tak join kwn2 dia, takkan nk tinggal bini dia yg tak tau pape ni sorang2 kan. Kitaorg pegi 1st slope utk beginner & naik benda ni nama "Tuba" kot. Dia mcm pole, pegang je pastu dia akan tarik korang naik. Kak ton try benda ni 2 kali, dua2 kali jatuh berdebuk. Last2 laki aku tarik pegi slope terdekat & gedik2 je la kat situ. Dah penat dia tarik dia ajak lagi naik si tuba tu, kak ton of cos la tak nak kan. So dia pegi tanya org yg jaga tuba tu kalau boleh naik skali 2 org. Org tu ckp boleh tp dia kena berdiri belakang, so kitaorg pun berjaya la naik sampai atas.

Dh naik skang nk turun pulak. Laki kak ton plak tak ajar camne nk break, camne nk pusing, nk belok, nk gi straight tu senang je, tp takut masuk gaung pulak. Ttba dia nampak mak bdk ni ajar anak dia ski, ski skali. Kak ton kat depan, laki kat belakang, ski parallel, kira dia mcm peluk dr belakang la tp tak peluk. Sepanjang hari kitaorg buat camni & tak tau la brape kali jatuh. Siap one time kena marah sbb bdk2 keliling takut kitaorg langgar budak kan. Dok banyak kali jatuh, after one point kak ton nangis sbb takut & rasa tak fun at all. Ye la, dh la laju turun, tak tau break, tak tau nk cilok2, mmg rasa takut sgt2 tp kak ton gagahkan juga sbb pikirkan laki yg excited mengajar tah pape. Last2 drama kat situ, kitaorg berenti ski. Nasib baik la jugak masa tu dh petang & semua org pun dh ready nk balik.

(Ni gambar jatuh dh hari ke 3)

The next day laki kak ton bawak kak ton pegi class & leave me there with the teacher. Dia join kwn dia ski, lps 2 jam dia dtg ambik kak ton balik. First thing cikgu cakap, jgn takut. Masa tu mcm payah la kan sbb smlm dh bad experience. Semua org blaja ski start kat sini, ada taman kecik utk kanak2. Cikgu ajar camne nk jalan dkt slope, camne nk jln kalau licin, camne nk break & camne nk belok. Ini je kak ton blaja dlm masa 2 jam tu. Dh dia rasa kak ton ok, dia bawak kak ton pegi higher slope. Kat sini pun rasa dh tinggi dah tp kalau tgk bdk2 bawak 6 tahun ski, rasa malu sangat.

So kat sini dia berdiri kat depan, pegang ski pole & kak ton pegang the other side of the pole. Dia direct kita apa nk buat & kita follow je, alhamdulillah takde pun jatuh2 & it was fun. Masa ni la yg rasa panas tak hengat sbb class 2 hours straight, berpeluh-peluh dlm baju ski.

Alamak, dah panjang sangat rupanye enrty ni...ingat nk sambung lagi, apa pun ni la pengalaman kak ton first time pegi ski. Next time kalau pegi lagi mmg confirm ambik kelas lagi sampai pandai. Pada yg nk pegi tu, jaga diri baik2. Mat2salleh kat sini takjub kak ton balik malaysia takde patah2 sbb normally org pegi ski first time akan patah kaki, ke tangan ke lutut. So thats why, hire a teacher.

Apapun, it was a very nice experienced. Walaupun takut ski tapi cantik betul tempat ni bila penuh salji. Bila snowing tu rasa best sangat sbb tak pernah rasa sblm ni kan. So sapa2 ada chance pegi ski tu, pegi la. At least merasa dr dgr je org cakap kan :) So gambar2 kat bawah ni gambar dr depan rumah je..cantikkan?

Its been a week since we came back from France and i've been busy ever since. But today, since i got nothing much to do except filing i decided to make myself busy here :)

It took us almost 5 hours from Brittany to Paris and another 6 hours from Paris to Grenoble. We decided to stay for one night in Paris and hangout with Nico friends. It was so cold in France this spring and it felt like winter to me. Its something common for everybody to speak about weather here in France or maybe everybody in Europe. Weather can be unpredictable, it can be sunny for 5min and immediately raining after that for another 5min before sunny again. So its not easy to plan something with this kind of weather.

We arrived in Grenoble around 9pm due to heavy traffic in Paris earlier in the afternoon when we suppose to be there at 8pm to meet my friend Marlies and her boyfriend. We are fortunate to meet each other again after 4 years since Marlies went there for rock climbing and we decided to stay for the night in Grenoble before proceed to Torino for our trip to Italy.

(I was more excited with Geneve sign..lol)

(Marlies & Steven, they are Dutch and i called them giant for being so tall :p)

After dinner we went directly to our bed & breakfast place after being delayed for an hour. The owner of the house seems upset that we arrived late but nothing we can do about it. Bed & breakfast have been our choice of stay for this trip. Its cheaper, easier way and nice to see how local live and decorate their place.

(mistress of the house aka fat cat)

(we had homemade bread, blueberry jam and honey for breakfast)

Since we are still in France and both Nico and the house owner are French, they speak a lot during breakfast and it was then house owner (which i didn't know what her name was) suggest to skip highway and go to Torino through Briancon. She said the view is nice and there was snow one week ago. After discuss with me, we agreed to go through Briancon for its view especially when we are on holiday and doesn't feel the need to rush to get to Torino.

The journey was longer but we didn't regret for choosing Briancon especially when we still can see snow in May. It was amazing, it wasn't cold except when its windy, one part already green and another still covered with snow. This is the first time i saw real snow on the mountain so you can imagine my excitement :)