Saturday, May 01, 2010

Up in the Air

The next set of my First things have one thing in common- heights. After doing these, I had a sudden realization that I might have been more of a bird than a fish in my past life. Other than the fact that I do not know how to swim, maybe the reason why I'm more comfortable in the air than underwater is that I love the adrenaline rush! I just love that funny sensation I get in the pit of my stomach when I lean over the edge of a building or how my knees get a tad bit weaker when I imagine myself falling off a cliff. I don't know, I'm just crazy that way.

Anyway, here are the blood-pumping things I've done lately, in chronological order and degree of difficulty, hehe.

First Thing #10 - Do the Skywalk and Ride the Edge Coaster.
These two attractions have been here in Cebu for like two years or so already, but I have not really gotten around to doing them until last month.

My friend and I went there in the evening, which I think is a good idea if you're a bit of an acrophobe because you don't see much down below and you're distracted by the beautiful night lights of the city.

Between the two though, I prefer the Edge Coaster because it gave me more thrill (and more laughs too, because my friend kept shrieking the whole time!). In Skywalk, you basically walk along a glass path on the side of the building and pose for some pictures. That's it. But with the Edge Coaster, you're seated in a coaster at the edge of the building (I wonder where the Edge Coaster got its name) and you can tilt this to like 55 degrees or something so you can see the busy streets below you. Exciting!

Good thing I did these before the next two things. Else, I would have been sorely disappointed. You'll see why.



First Thing #11 - Ride the Suislide.
A few friends and I decided to go to Bohol last weekend to go on an extreme adventure. We've planned this trip for months and the 3 main activities on our agenda would be the Suislide, the Plunge and caving.

I have tried the zipline before so I wasn't too keen on taking the Suislide. I mean I didn't get scared or anything, I just wanted to try something new that's why I had my eyes set on doing the Plunge. But when we got to E.A.T. Danao, I found out that it's not like the usual zipline where you're in a seated position and hold on to something that looks like a bike's handlebars. Instead, you'll be hanging facedown and travel from one hill to another (think Superman). Now, who would resist the chance to be able to 'fly' for even just a few minutes? Not me!

The ride was more relaxing than scary. Since you're just lying facedown, you get a bird's view of the hills, trees, and the river below. I think anyone, even the faint-hearted, could do this. If you're really scared, you can do this with someone since it can allow 2 riders at the same time. But I suggest you do this alone. Superman trumps the Wonder Twins, right? ;)



First Thing #12 - Take the Plunge.
All I can say is, this is the best ride yet! Nothing beats the heart-pumping and head-throbbing adrenaline rush you get from being dropped from the edge of a cliff with just a harness stopping you from falling to your death.

Okay, okay, that was a bit of an exaggeration. The Plunge is safe as safe can be and the operator guys look like they really know what they're doing (thank heavens for that, right?). So, if you can get past the fact that you'll be hanging and swinging from a few thousand feet above ground, then this ride's for you.

The Plunge is some sort of version of a bungee jump. They put the harness on you, and then you're asked to walk to the edge of the plank and sit down (pretty much like how the pirates make their captives jump off the ship). Then you're slowly lowered to a couple of feet (you can do this in a seated position or head-first and upside down), then dropped to a free fall, and finally swung like a pendulum.

I must say, this gave my lungs the much-needed exercise and I was able to finally release some pent-up emotions. The free fall was the best part for me because for a split-second you wonder what would happen if the harness broke and you actually fell down to the ground. But before you can push the image of your mangled body out of your head, you find yourself already swinging and shouting like Tarzan. Aaaah-aaah-aahhhh!!!



Hopefully these four things are just warm-up for my ultimate goal: skydiving! I'm really praying that the universe (and my wallet!) conspires with me on this one, and let me do this before I get too old or too scared.

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