The thrills of bungee jumping

16 June 2007! Bungee jumping in Bangalore! Well, the moment i heard this, there was a sudden rush of adrenaline. I'd always yearned for an opportunity to try this adventure sport. As a child, I was fascinated by the giant wheel experience, but this I knew would be much more thrilling. So the next day(which luckily happened to be a Sunday), I take my bike and rush to Green Country Public School, the venue of the much awaited event, along with my friend at about 4pm. Well, we weren't the only two adventure seekers! After registering, we had to wait 3 long hours, before taking a jump. So decided to indulge in the other complimentary events. First tried our hands at river crossing over a rope which was too simple. There wasn't any river below :( Then tried artificial wall climbing which was a bit tricky. You need to really plan your moves, choosing the right stones for clinging onto, and also for resting your legs. Well, I managed to climb it without any problems thanks to my skinny structure! Being thin has its own merits :) Then tried jumaring which wasn't as easy as the above two. The hands hurt quite a lot!!!

Finally at around 8pm, did our turn to take a bungee jump arrive. The setup wasn't in a valley or a bridge but consisted of a huge crane (about 50-60m high). To the crane was hooked a small trolley. With our feet tied together, and fastened to an elastic rope, one had to limp towards the trolley which would then take you to the highest point along with the instructor. The scary moment was when the latter told you to stay right at the edge of the trolley. Well, that's not all, you are supposed to hold your hands together in front, leaving all hopes of not falling, into the hands of the instructor, who would hold a belt fastened around your waist. Of course, you are supposed to fall, but the very thought of he letting you go was frightening. Then all of a sudden, you fall off the edge as he lets you go, and then you are left speechless as you just relax and enjoy the effect of free fall, until the tension in the rope starts pulling you back. And then you oscillate vertically in the air for some time, which seems like an eternity. Time just slows down. And then, when the support crew pull you down, you just think, why was the height so less? Why did it end so soon? Why does time seem to just fly??? Well, I think I have enough reasons to indulge in bungee jumping on a frequent basis. Hope to get a chance to jump deep inside a valley someday...