On our first morning in Chiang Mai, January 1st 2013, we went on a Flight of the Gibbon ziplining tour. what a way to start a new year!
Mum and dad took time out to hire a motorbike and tour the surrounding area that day. It took us an hours drive out to the hilly jungle (but we got to watch Mr Bean so that was fine!). When we reached we were greeted by the friendly faces of our ziplining instructors. The one who helped us put on our harnesses was very funny and quick with wit. They both went through the safety precautions and finally we could start. Rules to ziplining:
1) never touch your own clips
2) don't grab onto the cable whilst moving
3) listen to the signal "legs up"
The first zip line was abt 25m long and abt 10m off the ground. The next was abt 120m which felt pretty big yet the guy said "this is only the appetiser"!
The next zip line, the biggest in the world, was 800m long and over 100m off the valley floor. You pick up speed about 3/4 of the way in and I felt my stomach lift into my chest. The instructor didn't catch me properly so I flew into the safety catch net.
We saw some gibbons at the top of the 800m zipline. They are the fastest tree-dwelling non-flying animal. They are sometimes referred to as 'lesser apes' because they are so small.
One of the zip lines had an extension that clipped to your back. You had to jump off the platform to ride it. While in midair you feel like you hang there for ages before the chord tightens. I did the superman "faster than a speeding bullet" pose as I hung there as I was wearing my superman tshirt! :)
Another tree had an 'abseiling' line where you are lowered down a line. Then we had to abseil down the last 45m.
We were a exhilarated by the end of this action and were hungry for lunch which was pork curry and chicken. We then were taken to the waterfalls and had to climb hundreds of stairs to the top of the cascades. After that we climbed down and took the one hour bus ride back to Chiang Mai again. It was an unforgettable day!
No comments:
Post a Comment