Skydiving in Thailand

April 27, 2014

Skydiving in Thailand

If you have ever thought about attempting Skydiving -- do it! Because the moment you think you will do it, half the fear would already have been demolished by your mind’s power.

Something like this happened to me recently. I was anxious, curious and overwhelmed to take the proverbial ‘bird’s eye view’. Without exaggeration, I experienced the adrenaline rush starting with the freefall at 120mph from 13,000 feet above ground and the parachute opening at 5,000 feet. It was an ultimate rush.

An inexplicable adventure syndrome has been developing in some unknown territory of my brain and it is aggravating by the day.

As an absolute optimistic and a complete adrenaline junky, skydiving has always fascinated me. It fascinated me to the extent that in my mind I had done it several times before I actually attempted my first dive.

Let me take you through the whole story frame by frame. I got selected in a youth activist training workshop in Thailand. I was assertive that if I ever got a chance to visit Thailand, skydiving would be the first thing I would do.

I was on my bed in the dormitory, tired of my training session on March 30. I was feeling restless and felt a sudden rush. With a friend’s help with the online transaction, I booked my slot of Tandem skydive. The date was decided -- April 3, 2014.

On the said date, I travelled by road for about three hours from Bangkok to Pattaya and the Drop Zone for skydiving. Immediately after reaching the Thai Sky Adventures Office, all the divers were given a form to sign. The opening lines of the form clearly stated that every year, many skydivers die; and the diver takes full responsibility of the jump and any repercussions that may arise later. Being a strong believer of living the moment to its fullest I signed the form.

I was asked to go in the other room where all the gears and belts were attached to me and was made sure that I am ready to jump.

The briefing session was not for more than 20 minutes. We moved inside the Turbo Pilatus Porter Jump Plane and placed ourselves with the designated professional skydivers. But believe me, I was not scared. Being excited to the core. I had never been so excited in the past 24 years of my life.

The plane hardly took 15 minutes to reach its maximum height of 13,000 feet. I just could not wait to jump. It may sound crazy or fake to a lot of people, but let me explain. I was excited yet nervous but I was really looking forward to jump and feel the falling effect.

The diver opened the plane door and put my hand out so that I could get a feel of the air pressure. And then, wow! My hand flew like a paper. The wind was so powerful. Then I tried 5 to 6 times to make sure I kept my hands still. My flesh felt like water in the air.

Soon the door was opened completely and the first diver jumped, and I exclaimed "wooooooooh".

I exhaled my last breath of anxiety as it was my turn then. My diver fastened the belts attached to me for whom it was a daily job. He usually jumps seven to eight times in a day. Moving on, he asked me to stand out of the plane. As soon as I stood, he just took me with him and then we fell upside down. That was the real ‘fall’ feel -- as if my stomach was being pushed up. But then we started floating with the strong wind in my face. I was living the best moment. Perhaps, the best feeling and emotion I could ever experience.

I was consciously trying not to blink because I didn’t want to miss out on a single fraction of a second. Falling and floating between the clouds, looking at the ground coming closer to me, I felt like a bird. I was enjoying and my co-diver was recording the experience. I just didn’t want the experience of floating in the air to end.

Soon I felt like I was being pulled up by the opening of a parachute. Exclaiming "I loved it, I loved it," I along with my diver landed perfectly. It was too quiet and peaceful up there and I never felt so positive and peaceful from within.

Skydiving in Thailand