In celebration of my 25th birthday, Win and I
sprung for a ziplining trip in Chiang Mai this past weekend. Our friend Brad
came up from Ratchaburi to join us, bringing his girlfriend, Kelly, along for
the adventure. After a few bus- and guesthouse-related hiccups in our plans, we
were in a Jungle Flight van, snaking our way along single-lane roads through
the mountains.
Suited up in safety harnesses, hairnets, and helmets, we
were thoroughly uncomfortable (the boys even more than the girls) but ready to go.
They gave us a run-down on the pre-ziplining procedures, which turned out to be
entirely unnecessary because we were accompanied by guides who did all the
clipping, unclipping, and re-clipping work.
Off we went, one-by-one, zipping among the towering trees.
It was exhilarating, and surprisingly simple. All we had to do was let the
guides do their thing, sit down, and soar from tower to tower, taking in the
fantastic view out across northern Thailand’s rolling, mountainous jungles.
Over the course of two hours, we enjoyed flying between fifteen towers, three
abseils (a rope pulley system that dropped us each down to the ground), and a
ton of good-natured fun from our guides. Some towers were equipped with double
cables, allowing couples to go together. At other towers one of the guides
would join the last female zipliner, tailing her by a couple of meters, using
his body weight to bounce the cable up and down.
At the end of the day, as we sat down to the included
buffet-style meal, I think we all wished we had forked up the money to do a
longer course. But, now we know. Next time, we will just have to go for a
full-day package.
