I'm not sure if all of you know what a segway is ... but basically its a little platform with two big wheels and a long handle. You stand on it and it takes you around, sort of like an electronic scooter.
I hadn't heard of a segway til a couple of years ago but I travel around Eastern Europe alot where apparently these things are pretty popular. I was first introduced to the concept by Jess, an awesome girl from New Jersey who I met whilst backpacking around Romania. She was on placement in Italy and visiting different European cities whenever she had the chance. We met in Bucharest and instantly clicked (she actually came to visit me in Gibraltar and I plan to visit her in NYC!) and she told me how her next trip involved a segway tour (think it was in Belgium). She explained what it was and I was extremely confused as to how they would actually work without you instantly toppling over.
Those of you who know me will know that although I have many skills and strengths, ability, balance and coordination don't feature on that list. I've fallen upstairs, downstairs, wearing slippers and am the worst sportswoman known to man. I am also a terrible driver and have fallen off my motorbike, driven my car into a wall and am a danger on a bicycle. As you can see I was pretty doubtful of my ability to successfully ride anything that required balancing on two wheels without a catastrophic result.
Earlier this year my friend and I booked a trip to Budapest (an awesome city to visit by the way!). I was researching tours to book and came across a segway tour .... and thought I've gotta try this. I'd just got back from trekking in Peru and attempting to surf in Portugal so was feeling pretty adventurous. My friend was up for it too so we booked it.
We got to Budapest which is idyllic ... but also full of cobblestones, crossroads and pavements - a hazard for any two-wheeled vehicle. Our tour was a 2 hour guided segway tour of the Pest side of Budapest, visiting monuments such as the opera house, chain bridge and Andrassy avenue (Budapest's answer to the Champs Elysee). We had a 10 minute training session before the tour and were given helmets to wear. We were a small group of 4 people, and I decided to go last for training as my confidence wasn't great. I was far from a natural!! I wobbled!! A lot!!! And almost fell .... but didn't :)
Going up and down steps without falling over and taking curves without crashing into the wall was a challenge but I eventually got the hang of it!! It was fun!!!!! I lost my balance a few times and by the end of it my legs and feet ached, and I was wobbling all over the place - think I was too tense so was shattered by the end. I wasn't brave enough to take off the speed restrictors in the main square to play at going fast like the others did as I was too wobbly by that point but I still would recommend trying it. People give you odd looks as you speed past them on the pavement and lots of Chinese tourists take photos of you from every angle lol.
Thought I'd make the post interesting by rating each list item on a number of categories:
- Difficulty: 7/10 (for most people this would be a 4 or 5 but I have no balance or co-ordination so was a struggle)
- Thrill factor: 7/10
- Sense of acheivement/fulfilment: 3/10
- Recommend to a friend: 8/10
I hadn't heard of a segway til a couple of years ago but I travel around Eastern Europe alot where apparently these things are pretty popular. I was first introduced to the concept by Jess, an awesome girl from New Jersey who I met whilst backpacking around Romania. She was on placement in Italy and visiting different European cities whenever she had the chance. We met in Bucharest and instantly clicked (she actually came to visit me in Gibraltar and I plan to visit her in NYC!) and she told me how her next trip involved a segway tour (think it was in Belgium). She explained what it was and I was extremely confused as to how they would actually work without you instantly toppling over.
Those of you who know me will know that although I have many skills and strengths, ability, balance and coordination don't feature on that list. I've fallen upstairs, downstairs, wearing slippers and am the worst sportswoman known to man. I am also a terrible driver and have fallen off my motorbike, driven my car into a wall and am a danger on a bicycle. As you can see I was pretty doubtful of my ability to successfully ride anything that required balancing on two wheels without a catastrophic result.
Earlier this year my friend and I booked a trip to Budapest (an awesome city to visit by the way!). I was researching tours to book and came across a segway tour .... and thought I've gotta try this. I'd just got back from trekking in Peru and attempting to surf in Portugal so was feeling pretty adventurous. My friend was up for it too so we booked it.
We got to Budapest which is idyllic ... but also full of cobblestones, crossroads and pavements - a hazard for any two-wheeled vehicle. Our tour was a 2 hour guided segway tour of the Pest side of Budapest, visiting monuments such as the opera house, chain bridge and Andrassy avenue (Budapest's answer to the Champs Elysee). We had a 10 minute training session before the tour and were given helmets to wear. We were a small group of 4 people, and I decided to go last for training as my confidence wasn't great. I was far from a natural!! I wobbled!! A lot!!! And almost fell .... but didn't :)
Going up and down steps without falling over and taking curves without crashing into the wall was a challenge but I eventually got the hang of it!! It was fun!!!!! I lost my balance a few times and by the end of it my legs and feet ached, and I was wobbling all over the place - think I was too tense so was shattered by the end. I wasn't brave enough to take off the speed restrictors in the main square to play at going fast like the others did as I was too wobbly by that point but I still would recommend trying it. People give you odd looks as you speed past them on the pavement and lots of Chinese tourists take photos of you from every angle lol.
#7 ACHIEVED
Thought I'd make the post interesting by rating each list item on a number of categories:
- Difficulty: 7/10 (for most people this would be a 4 or 5 but I have no balance or co-ordination so was a struggle)
- Thrill factor: 7/10
- Sense of acheivement/fulfilment: 3/10
- Recommend to a friend: 8/10
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