1A few words about SUP boating
SUP stands for “Stand Up Paddle” – a water sport. There players will use a board and a specialized paddle to move on the water. SUP requires players with good health and skillful use of hand force to control the board in the right direction.
SUP is an exercise experience that many young people love when traveling to West Lake
When rowing SUP, you can choose to row solo or row with a team, the more people you play, the more fun it will be. This game is an interesting exercise experience, loved by many people because it helps us increase endurance and flexibility, and is also a way to increase team bonding.
In Hanoi in general and West Lake in particular, SUP is an increasingly hot game and is loved by young people. Therefore, in addition to familiar experiences such as camping on the outskirts of Hanoi, watching wildflowers bloom, experiencing the cold winter of the capital…, the West Lake SUP boating experience is equal to the group’s practical experience. The young people below are also extremely ideal.
2Experience of SUP boating in West Lake from A to Z
Below is the experience of a SUP trip on West Lake of Le Hai Anh – a guy passionate about traveling, with his group of friends. Let’s follow your group with Vietnamtravelio.
Portrait of Hai Anh and her couple rowing a SUP
SUP rental location: Hanoi Kayak Club, 267 Trich Sai Street.
Hai Anh’s West Lake SUP trip started on a September morning. Hanoi was now in autumn, the sun was gentle, and the temperature dropped very cool. A group of friends includes 7 people, 3 pairs of men and women rent 3 doubles games, and one guy chooses a singles game. The group of friends were all carefully equipped with life jackets to avoid splashing water.
The procedure for renting a SUP is quite simple, then the men carry the SUPs themselves to the stairs at the edge of the lake about 100 meters away. Each SUP is about 3 – 4 meters long. Although a bit bulky, it is not heavy and can be easily carried with one hand.
The first unsteady steps when SUP enters the water
The first experience of rowing a West Lake SUP boat is having to overcome the challenge of going down the stairs to the water, especially for girls who “break three meters in half” which is quite difficult. After putting the SUP into the water, the group must immediately find a stable position to get used to the water waves and prepare to paddle the SUP.
With a double SUP, the main paddler will often stand behind to stabilize the board. The person sitting at the head of the SUP will take on the role of steering and navigating the journey. SUP is different from Kalak in that the area in contact with the water is quite large, so it feels more solid and stable. It takes about the first 10 to 15 minutes, you will gradually get used to controlling the SUP and move more smoothly on the water.
Once they had mastered how to control the board, the group of young people boldly went out to the middle of the lake to experience it. West Lake in the fall is very calm, windless, the sky is cool and quiet, extremely convenient for playing SUP. When the SUP reached the middle of the lake, the young people drove the 4 SUPs closer, hovering in the middle of the water to listen to the sounds of Hanoi’s streets echoing on the lake surface. Contrary to all that noise, here there are only 7 young people experiencing this journey together, freely and calmly enjoying the breath of life.
Float your SUP to enjoy the breath of Hanoi’s streets
The walk on the lake continued when the paddle was lifted and the 4 SUPs gradually spread out. With a surge of youthful excitement, a group of friends decided to race SUP together to see who can control it best and reach the finish line the fastest. SUP racing helps Hai Anh and his friends realize that coordinating two people at the same time to make the board rush forward is really difficult. One person must create strong momentum to push the board, the other person must use the paddle to steer the SUP in the right direction to the destination, only then can you win. Experience in West Lake SUP boating shows that if you go with a couple, let the female sit in the front to ensure the SUP is skillfully controlled and the male creates force to help the board go faster.
After the SUP race, everyone was exhausted and let their boards float down the stream
In the end, the group of friends could not remember whose SUP reached the finish line first, but only remembered that they were very tired, so tired that they couldn’t breathe. Because the muscles suddenly had to work extremely fast, the body could not keep up with the rhythm right away, so when the group reached the finish line, everyone had given their all. So they put the paddle up and let the SUP float lazily in the middle of the lake, sitting, breathing and regaining strength after a series of sweaty movements.
The InterContinental hotel area on the river accidentally became a sun shelter for young people to play SUP
When the sun started to shine, Hai Anh’s group of friends brought their SUPs under the luxurious floating suites of the InterContinental Hotel to shelter from the sun. Although it is cool and hidden from the sun down here, it is not very hygienic because of the waste from the hotel. On the head there are many spider webs and insect nests. So the group of friends only rested for a few minutes and then paddled their SUP back out, starting the journey back to the dock.
Experience in West Lake SUP boating shows that when the sun has reached its peak, it is no longer suitable to play this game. You shouldn’t stubbornly paddle your board any further, you’ll end up like a “boiled shrimp”. So Hai Anh’s group of friends quickly paddled back to shore, returned the SUP, and had lunch.
The journey back to shore was against the current, but the young people were still very playful and playful
Because when going against the wave, rowing is more difficult. The whole group had to suppress their hunger and row with all their might to reach the dock as quickly as possible. Even though I’m quite hungry and tired, I’m young, how can I give up because of these obstacles? So it took 30 minutes and the group of friends successfully landed and completed the procedures to return the SUP to Hanoi Kayak Club. Although this journey was quite tiring, it was an extremely interesting experience, deeply imprinted in Hai Anh’s memory.
3Experiences of SUP boating in West Lake
After this passionate journey, Hai Anh shared some experiences to help other young people have the most interesting SUP experience on West Lake:
First of all, you must prepare good health for this journey, especially girls.
Second, you should review the SUP techniques before participating to reduce surprise and get used to how SUP operates faster.
Going with friends will be filled with joy wherever you go
Third, for those who are just playing for the first time, wearing a life jacket is very necessary. This will help you feel more comfortable and confident, avoiding unfortunate situations from happening.
The last tip to have a fun SUP experience in West Lake is to keep doing your best, especially when you have close friends with you. So there will definitely not be a moment of boredom or fatigue, you will freely struggle in the vast waves of water. In addition, you can also experience West Lake fishing and visit Tran Quoc Pagoda to have a wonderful day here.
Above are the West Lake SUP boating experiences that Vietnamtravelio wants to bring to tourists. Wishing you a trip to explore Hanoi in general and West Lake in particular with lots of fun and interesting experiences.
