Bat in a cage.

Some people might be wondering, what the hell is there to do in South Korea...?

A lot, I can tell you. Aside from the usual stuff you might do with your friends back home, such as going for dinner, having some drinks or watching a movie (most movies here are shown in English with Korean subtitles) there are several other interesting and fun things that one can do to amuse oneself.

We have taken a particular liking to a certain 'past time' that we just have never encountered back home in South Africa. The thing I am talking about: Batting Cages. More specifically, Baseball batting cages. In SA there is no baseball following ( or maybe a very small one), and so we don't have these great facilities back home (not that I know of or have seen).

Sure we have Cricket nets, but the one problem with those is that you have to bring your own gear and your own bowler (e.g. a friend of yours, to bowl the ball). Carrying a huge bag with the balls and bats and padding is a little tedious if you're not going to spend the whole day playing cricket. And this is where baseball batting cages come in particularly handy. You have to bring nothing. The bat is supplied, there is a pair of gloves you can use, and there is a never ending supply of balls. No stress.

All you have to do is throw in your 1000Won, and off you go. Apparently there are a few smaller cities around Korea where the batting cages cost 500 Won, which is almost nothing. So, after throwing in your money(having put on the gloves and picked up the bat first) you stand ready and wait for the balls to be flung at you at high speeds and try to hit them. I have never counted them, but I reckon that the 1000Won gets you about 20 or so balls, all flung at you courtesy of a 'throwing machine'. Often there will be 4 or 5 different cages, each with varying ball speeds, so you can go from am to pro in just 5000Won, or so.

It really is a great way to spend a few minutes, especially after dinner, or if you just want to blow off some steam. They are a hell of a lot of fun, and I'm already looking forward to my next cage experience!

Post by Oliver