The Great Zipline Adventure

Location: Thailand
Camera info: Canon Rebel 350D • lens 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6
ISO 800 • f 8 • 1/2000 sec

On a trip to Thailand, I tried as many of the local experiences as I could. One was a two-hour Jungle Flight zipline tour that led us throughout the jungle at heights up to five stories. I was nervous before going on the first line, not knowing what to expect. How many ways could I mess things up? Sure enough, I got myself tangled up backwards and ended up kicking the guide while trying to land on the platform. Luckily, he just responded with “Look! Thai boxing!”

I did a bit better on the next line. I didn’t go backwards, and that was quite an accomplishment! Once I learned what I was doing, the rest of the tour was pretty fun. The lines were very stable (except when the guides shook them on purpose), and the platforms were large and easy to land on. I just enjoyed the scenery and tried to push myself to take the lines backwards or no-handed. Our guides were just plain crazy, going across upside down, on each other’s backs, or dropping between platforms at near-freefall speeds. At the end, one dropped nearly four stories and stopped himself about a foot above the ground. We spent the rest of our hike back calling him a monkey.

There’s one more thing to cross off my bucket list — and I didn’t even run into a tree!

What is one tourist experience or extreme sport you would like to try in your lifetime?