A 67-year-old Norwegian man “roller skied” across Thailand for charity, beating his planned arrival date in Pattaya by nine days.
Wearing rollerblades and using ski poles to propel himself, Kalle Kristensen and team members Kjell isak Sundbo, and Peten Fagerlund arrived at the New Nordic Resort Oct. 27 having rolled 1,000 kilometers from Chiang Rai in 12 days. His planned arrival date had been Nov. 4.
Kristensen has been roller-skiing in Thailand for eight years and came up with the idea for a cross-country trek four years ago after moving from Pattaya to Chiang Rai. His initial idea was to support a school in the small village of May Siwalai in Chiang Rai, which needed renovation. However, flooding in northern Thailand over the past two years hampered those plans.
Kalle Kristensen (center) and team members Peten Fagerlund (left) and Kjell isak Sundbo (right) arrive at the New Nordic Resort after having rolled 1,000 kilometers from Chiang Rai in 12 days.
When he finally got underway this year, he gathered sponsors to provide help and donations for those affected by floods. He traveled through Lampang, Tak, Kamphaengphet, Nakon Sawan, Ayuthaya, Bangkok and Pattaya before arriving at Pratamnak Soi 4. Through Oct. 30, he’d raised more than 160,000 baht.
“I have lived 11 years in Thailand and I love the country and the people very much,” Kristensen wrote on the ski tour’s Facebook page. “Everywhere I am doing roller-skiing I am getting a lot of attention. For most of the Thais this is something new and exciting and I believe that by doing this tour we will draw a lot of attention. I want to use this chance to do something to help my Thai friends.”
https://www.facebook.com/thailand.tour.de.ski
