Many of my friends asked me as to how my experience of bungy jumping was. In the beginning, I used to answer this question with great spirit and enthusiasm but eventually I felt that I should write a blog explaining my whole experience.

Where should we go????

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It was Friday the 27th when each of us were frustrated and wanted to do something out of the box. We thought of various things -

Going to Kalahari (well, none of us knew where Kalahari was and what we could do there),

Going to a resort (the boring old fashioned infy-istic and Bangalore style fun)

Going to a disc (resort sounds better now)

At around 1.30 at night, an idea popped up to Sharat that we should bungy jump and that we should go to Gouritz. Gouritz was a place situated 250 kms from where we stay. We decided that we will go to a city called Mossel Bay on Saturday, bungy jump on the same day, Stay in Mossel bay for a night and drive back home on Sunday.

Where do we stay??

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Planning does not work especially with us. The reason I am saying this is because, when we woke up on Saturday, it was already 11 in the morning. We got ready by 2 in the noon and almost stepped out of our houses before we realized that we had not booked a hotel in mossel bay. We had a modest budget in mind. So we decided to book for a bagpackers. A bagpackers is a place where one can hire a bed for a night. Most people here do that cuz it’s really cheap (not in terms of INR though). We spent R120 per person per night.

Which way should we go??

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oh.. and how can I forget to mention that both of us did not know the route to mossel bay. Well, we had to Google it. Frankly speaking, I am so bad at routes that I remember my first day at work .. I had to go to the restroom and when I was done, I had forgotten where my cubicle was :)

Gambling

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Things don’t end here. We found a casino on our way. none of us had been to a casino till date. So we went inside to try our luck. All I wanted was to know how the slot machine works. I had no intention of spending money cuz I always felt that whenever I had left my fate on "Luck", I suffered. To know the slot machines, I choose a relatively cheap slot machine - a 50 cents slot machine. Well, call it fate or destiny or a supernatural event. after some unsuccessful tries, eventually ended up getting a combination "777" which instantly gave me 1000 points. As it’s a 50 cent slot machine, the total money I earned was - 1000 * .5 = 500 rands.

I still refuse to believe in gambling as I feel that there is no definite way of successful gambling. it’s all about luck and hence the most illogical thing to do if u do it for earning money. All I can say is - Saturday was my day!

Mossel bay

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Mossel bay is a nice vacation spot. we felt that we did not do justice to this place. as we reached at 11.30PM. we were expecting a crappy bagpackers as it was really cheap. To our surprise, when we reached the place (bagpackers) we found that it was really amazing. The entire place had wooden furnishings and looked like a 19th century bungalow. it had a living room with a TV and a dining table. The living room was furnished with African congo, masks and chandelier. there was a pretty kitchen attached with all necessary amenities. it had a beautiful garden with chairs and hammocks, and a Braai (south African name for barbeque) section if you wish to. Also attached was a small makeshift kitchen near the lawn which had an electric kettle, coffee, Tea, sugar, milk and a toaster. so that one need not go to kitchen to prepare tea. Optionally, they served breakfast (we had to inform them in advance for that).

The rooms had bunker beds (only 2 levels) and had a night lamp attached to each bed. a Basin was attached to the room and the whole bungalow had 1 bathroom with toilet and a bathtub attached (probably there were more. I just saw this one). Even the bathroom was furnished in a conservative 19th century British style. I had heard about such places in fairy tales. Today, I felt that I was really in one such place. Amazing experience.

Bloukrans

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During our breakfast at mossel bay, we happened to ask the caretaker of the bagpackers regarding the Gourtiz. She informed us that it is closed. Now, the option left with us was to go home like a looser and become a laughing stock amoung our friends or to go to bloukrans.

We chose the latter. Bloukrans was 350 kms away from Mossel bay and that meant it would take us around 4 hours to reach there. After some research over the internet (thankfully I had taken my laptop), we found a adventure club called face adrenalin which sponsored bungy jumps. We contacted them and came to know that it was still open.

We drove to Bloukrans. Standing on one side of the mountain, we could see people doing bungy jumps. It looked awesome. The only worry that I had was the weight limit. When I asked the instructor there, he informed that the weight limit was 160 kgs. I also asked him about any accidents that have happened in the past. He informed that there were no accidents from past 15 years. That was it! I had enough logical reason not to fear the jump and go for it whole heartedly.

I was the second person to jump from the bridge. For the first 4 seconds, its just a free fall. And that free fall makes u understand a lot of unknown mysteries that one always felt. One such mystery was

how does free fall feel like?

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We reach a speed of 120 kmph within 2 seconds when we jump off the bridge. The air rushes on to your face and it feels like someone has pulled the ground under your foot.

What is the maximum adrenalin you can achieve, what happens if u hang up side down for around 4 minutes..

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You actually feel weightless for some time. Well, that’s a great feeling as I am tired carrying my huge body for a long time now. However, the feeling is temporary. After 4 seconds that’s when the rope comes into action. Its 10 times more adrenalin than the “drop zone” ride in wonder la.

How do you come back on the bridge
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They have people who rescue us. No worries.

Wait for the next blog for photos ..................... :)