I was sitting at a travel agent desk in Chiang Mai, Thailand, just about to sign up to go Bungee Jumping, when I noticed a poster showing a guy Jumping over a lake in the middle of a jungle. I asked the lady, "Is this the one I will be doing?" She said, "No lady, this one on Phuket Island." It hit me, Aunt Margie and I would have to fly into Phuket from Koh Samui on our way to Phi Phi Island! I told the lady I would think about it and walked back to my friends, knowing what I had to do. I told them that I knew Aunt Margie had been skydiving, but that I didn't think she had ever been Bungee Jumping! I had to email her and see if she wanted me to wait for her to get here to do it. My friends all laughed at the thought of my "Auntie" as the Brits call it, actually wanting to jump out of a carriage hung in the air face first towards a lake with Bungee cords attached to her ankles. They didn't know my Auntie Margie! The email I received the next morning said this..."OMG YES! YES! YES! So glad you asked first!! I can't wait!" I told them so...
So after the one hour plane ride from Koh Samui, over mainland Thailand, we landed on Phuket Island (a trip that would have consisted of two ferries, a charter bus, multiple tuks tuks and an entire day in "backpacker" mode of travel)! We quickly found a taxi and explained to him our predicament....we had a little over an hour to get to the Bungee Jump site, do the jump, and make it to the Port to catch our afternoon ferry to Phi Phi! He said, "No Problem!" and off we went!
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| Best Taxi Driver in Thailand! |
We made it to the site just in time to watch the groom of an Australian stag party take the plunge...observing exactly what lay ahead of us. Thankfully, all of the other members of the party had already gone and were enjoying endless Heinekens watching the rest go, so we didn't have much of a wait. First things first...the weigh in! Exactly what a girl wants after traveling for 8 months, consuming large amounts of delicious food and beer with a definition of exercise as a walk to the local 711 to buy more beer...
We then had our calves wrapped excessively tight with Velcro braces that were attached to the Bungee Cords.
and hop over to the basket contraption.
and then we began the 50 meter/164 ft climb to the top...
It was all fun and games at first...We were taking in the beautiful scenery of the jungle that surrounded the lake as we were climbed higher and higher. Then we felt a slight jerk and heard our "instructor" say, "Okay, now you hop to the edge." Our faces dropped and the reality of what we were about to do set in. He says as I'm hopping to the edge, "Whatever you do, don't look down." So obviously, the first thing I did when I got to the edge was look down! I now know what complete and utter terror feels like!! Aunt Margie didn't even need to look down, the look on my face confirmed what she was already thinking...we are doomed! But there was no turning back now...we faced each other, embraced in the tightest hug of our lives, and after he pried my fingers off of the metal bar he began to count..."3...2...1...BUNGEE" Without even thinking we both leaned out and began the plummet straight towards the lake...While screaming bloody murder of course!!
We decided to opt out of the "Lake Dip" since we had a ferry ride ahead of us...
and then were shot straight back up to where we had just came from!
We made a few big bounces before finally coming to a stop, upside down, and still screaming!
They left us hanging there for what seemed like an eternity while we chatted about spasming butt muscles and seeing stars! They finally lowered us down to a little platform where two Thai men were standing with long poles for us to grab to reel us in.
It was then time to celebrate our survival and attempt to steady our shaky hands and nerves with a beer...and receive our "Certificates of Bravery"!!
This was definitely one of the highlights of my trip!! I highly recommend for anyone not completely and utterly terrified of heights!!
Here is the link to the video:
On our way to the port we received a bit more of a humbling experience after asking our driver about the 2004 Tsunami. Turns out, he had just dropped off a lone Australian girl to her hotel the morning after Christmas when the wave struck Phuket. He was still in his car and witnessed the young girl being swept out to sea as his car was taken afloat and slammed into a building. He was somehow able to climb out of the window and onto the roof of the building for his survival. He had laminated photos and newspaper articles in the pocket of the back seat for us to read through as he was telling his tragic story. Nothing like hearing such a heartbreaking story from such a resilient yet happy man to bring you back to earth and put things back into perspective! We said our "Good-Byes" and many "Thank-Yous" and ran to catch our ferry bound for Phi Phi island...for my third and final visit!
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