Leap of Faith - Bungee Jump Thailand
“Should I jump, or wait to be pushed?”
Today, with the ever-increasing popularity and legalization of this extreme sport, the wide-eyed and crazed leapers of faith can embrace the freedom of flying (aka falling) with less fear of police arrest – the only fear they need deal with is the obvious one, that of ending up as a messy puddle on the tarmac resembling non-vegetarian strawberry jam.
Whilst travelling through southeast Asia’s awe-inspiring scenery the fascination of bungy- jumping finally gripped me when I paid a visit to “Bungy Jungle” in Chiang Mai province, Thailand. Like all bungy jump sites in Thailand, it is fully insured and has been accident-free since opening.
Most people won't consider trying bungy jumping for fear of the chord snapping or of their eyeballs dislocating, but the truth is that there is a very low incidence of bungy-jumping accidents, when compared to other extreme sports.
I was about to join the ranks of adrenaline junkies - those bravehearts or fools who have overcome the entirely rational and reasonable fear of falling with their thrill-seeking fetish. I weighed myself in, strapped myself up and prepared for a heart-stopping rush. Upon reaching the top of the crane I saw a young Scandinavian couple. They were preparing for a tandem jump, where they would plummet earthwards bound together. Through the fog of fear clouding my brain I realized that I really wouldn’t fancy being tied together with anybody, least of all my beloved, whilst bungy-jumping – it seemed a very bad idea to take on the further risk of clobbering her somewhere soft and/or painful with my elbow - I would be in the dog-house for so long if i KO’ed her with an inadvertant left hook.
I didn't pay the couple much attention. Perhaps they were helping me out with some encouraging words but, not wanting to wait for fear of bottling out, I stepped forwards towards the abyss. All I could hear was the voice of the safety crew-member standing next to me saying, "Relax. Breathe deeply. Look at those beautiful mountains in the distance... Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Jump!" Perhaps unsurprisingly his final countdown didn't work at all for me, as 10 seconds later we were still standing there, 165ft above a fresh water lake at Mae Rim Valley. All my heroic bravado had vanished – I seemed to have left it at the registry counter of the shop on the ground where I had paid my money.
Looking down at the ant-like figures of the people below, I realized, "man, it's high up here. Maybe I should just bail out and write off the money - it might be a waste of cash, but at least I’d live”. Then I considered the merciless mockery I would be subjected to if I bailed out – I was accompanied by 3 mates, who would be sure to compare me unfavourably to a girl during every other remaining waking moment of the trip to Thailand. Its not that I’ve got anything against girls, far from it, but I didn’t fancy this prospect at all.
I’m not sure why I finally jumped. Maybe it was the fear-of-mockery macho-bravado or maybe it was stinginess at not wanting to waste the fee (I’m from Yorkshire). Either way, the next thing I did, grimacing like a condemned man, was to close my eyes and swan-dive head-first over the edge.
Although it lasted only seconds, the 60 mph plunge seemed to take forever. I couldn’t believe I had jumped! I felt totally disorientated in an unpleasantly weird way, yet at the same time I was loving the indescribably sublime sensation of free fall, whilst feeling near to death at the same time – it was almost like I was knocking on heaven’s door – very loudly. I started to scream louder and louder in my head but suppressed this internal racket and emitted no sound at all to the outside world. I had already been very embarrassed to linger there at the edge the moment before and had thus to be a bit cool through the whole process of jumping in order to save face. I opened my eyes and realized in a moment of epiphany that I was more scared of embarrassing myself in front of my friends than I was of the up-rushing terra firma. Ten minutes later I watched the Scandy couple plunge earthwards wrapped in each others’ arms and changed my mind about not going bungy-jumping with my better half – it seemed like the Swedes enjoyed it anyway, particularly as they had chosen to have a slightly longer rope than usual, meaning that their heads were dunked into the water at the bottom of the fall. The attendant at the ticket booth had asked one of my friends if he wanted to go for this option and I remember my friend looking at the attendant as if he needed brain surgery for asking such a question.
I idly wondered which of the guys would be the first to prove their superior machismo by now having a go at the head-dunking version. Then I saw Tom walking towards the ticket booth with a somewhat grim but determined look on his face. “Hmmm” I thought, “I’m closer to the ticket booth than he is, there’s no way I’m letting him get there first”.
It’s a great experience, a natural high. It’s also a high-risk exploit. Unlike most sports bungy- jumping allows zero margin for error. In a free fall, a mistake or an equipment failure would almost certainly mean a jumper’s demise. But talk to any bungy enthusiast and he’ll tell you about the chills and thrills of the most extremely exciting entertainment in the world … but he won’t mention the spills (well, if there had been a spill, he wouldn’t be there to tell you about it, would he?).
Whilst in Thailand, why not visit out one of Thailand's currently best three beach destinations
Koh Lao Liang: http://www.andamanadventures.com/kohlaoliang.shtml
Ao Nang: http://www.andamanadventures.com/ao_nang.shtml
Railay/Tonsai: http://www.andamanadventures.com/railay-tonsai.shtml
About the Author
Runs Andaman Sky Co., Ltd, specialising in climbing and diving trips to Thailand’s best beach destinations.
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