Release pandemic stress with Xtreme sports

My day at the X Centre did me the world of good and I can’t recommend it all enough

By | Mon 17 Jan 2022

As a Citylife intern during a pandemic, I believe that my experiences have differed greatly from my many many predecessors. We work from home most of the time, sending our submissions to our editor every few days and meeting perhaps once or twice a week. We don’t get to interact with many staff members and like most of you cooped up at home, I also need to get out and let go of some tension.

So, this weekend I headed to X Centre in Mae Rim for some adventure and I couldn’t have had more fun! Check out some activities bound to get your adrenalin pumping, heart racing and stress released.

Drift Karts

This was some of the most fun I have ever had in 15 minutes! At 800 baht per person per quarter of an hour, you get to whip and zoom around a race course at full speed. Because of the safety standards I felt as though I could go as fast as I wanted, making me feel as though I was a professional racer. As I drifted sideways around sharp bends, screaming at the top of my lungs, all the tension and stress accumulated seemed to have also drifted away. This is supposedly the first drift kart course in Thailand and the largest in Asia. I thought 15 minutes was a bit stingy at first, but frankly it was just about all I needed to really indulge in the full experience. Sometimes going sideways is just what the doctor ordered!

4-seat buggy

At 6,500 baht per 4-seat buggy per hour, this is not a cheap toy; but it was definitely one of the most fun! It is all about going off-road and into the (for me anyway) unknown. Taking the road less travelled, going off the beaten path…all that. There is something liberating about it all, filling me with such a sense of adventure and somehow also allowing me to feel a certain power, control.

It certainly required some level of courage from me as the dirt roads we had to navigate were filled with potholes and deep ruts. With this lovely winter weather, the air was cool, the sun bright and exploring our mountains on an all terrain vehicle feels as far away from the city as I could have hoped for.

Thankfully this was winter, as I can imagine how muddy this experience would have been during the monsoon rains! But we were all issued very smart looking jumpsuits, making us feel like true intrepid explorers! We were led by very professional guides and while it was exhilarating, we always felt in safe hands.

Bungy jump

Having never bungy jumped, I wasn’t sure I could go through with taking a leap off a ledge 165 feet above the ground. And I was right! I just couldn’t bring myself to do it…sorry!

But if you are braver than I then take the leap and apparently you will not just have your entire body infused with shots and after waves of adrenaline, but you will also receive a ‘certificate of courage’ and a t-shirt!

For 2,000 baht, you can test your bravery (or madness)…as for me, I have decided that I am going to give it another go when I can muster up my bravery. When I do, I will send a full report.

My day at the X Centre did me the world of good and I can’t recommend it all enough.

Group photo by Chiang Mai X Centre

X-Centre Chiang Mai
WWCF+QM Mae Raem, Mae Rim District
Open Daily: 9am – 6pm
Tel: 053-297-7700
GPS: https://goo.gl/maps/2so7DyVVGx4trxHd6
Facebook page: https://web.facebook.com/extremesportscentre/?_rdc=1&_rdr
Website: https://www.chiangmaixcentre.com