wuhoo!!! ‘tried karting last thursday with several colleagues after office. we have this group/friends (or maybe we could make it a club? haha) at the office that regularly do sport activities or just anything new to experience. it’s nice to have officemates that are interested and keen on joining events of similar interests. it was my first time to kart and i’ve been wanting to try this for so long. since it’s a bit expensive, our group tried cheaper adventures first like wall climbing, ice skating, going to the beach, and badminton.
karting is a bit scary at first. unlike driving a car, you drive a small skeletonized frame kart (we tried funkart), bare of any protection that a modern car provides (airbags, side impact beam, abs, and the likes). i did not avail any racing suit, so i only have my normal clothes with me. the only protection that i have is a balaclava (protection more of against germs rather than physical injury hehe), and a helmet with a broken lock (that i had to manually tie to secure). the kart’s engine is on my right side, and i was warned not to get too close to it because it could get blazing hot. it’s literally like sitting on a moving plank with 4 wheels, a steering wheel, gas pad, and a semi-comfortable seat. it has no power steering as well, but there is no gear. just gas and brake…which to my opinion, the brake is too weak to even consider it of any use. initially, i was trying to get a grasp of the machine’s technicalities, and the track course; checking on the brakes, acceleration, and how to handle the sharp curves of the track. about mid way the track during my first lap, i had a minor collision with carmi and both of us were stuck in one corner unable to release our karts because there is no reverse. then all of a sudden, i saw this full force speed kart aiming right towards us! our boss (sir bing) hit me right on target! that particular moment was a bit scary, i’m just sitting on my obviously flimsy kart waiting for the impact because i can’t move! the jolt caused a slight bang on my knee (and i have the bruise now). nevertheless, i continued the race and after a while, i get used to it.. it’s a bit easy getting the hang of it, and then it’s all fun!!! we were overtaking each other, going sideways, and slight clashing. pretty amazing experience!
when you are having fun, you wouldn’t notice time is so fast! we were then signalled to proceed to the station as our 12-minute is up. i didn’t really count how many laps i did, but i guess it’s about 9 or 10 laps. they don’t monitor time so it’s more of fun karting rather than time challenge. since it’s at night, it’s hard taking decent pictures. 
i’ve yet to invest on a speedlite.
unfortunately, several among us have slight injuries after the event. sorry!!
all of us were starving, so we head to macapagal for some seafood dinner. as none of us had the energy to pick our own fresh seafood in nearby market area, we settled for orders in an indoor restaurant (’was really hot outside). food was not bad, (although abit pricey) and bad timing, i began to have migraine, probably due to the exhilarating-high-level-action karting experience!!
Venue: Kart-Trak (Boomland, at the back of Star City)Fee: Ps 300.00 for 12 mins (Funkart+Helmet); Ps 10.00 - Balaclava; Ps. 100.00 - Overalls
