Well, the reason behind? Just want to experience the feeling of free fall...
And also wanted to challenge myself against my fear...
Wanted to test and see how far and extreme my limitation can go...
So, on my 26th birthday, I registered myself to join for skydiving...
The dive will be 1 month later, so I have some time to prepare myself physically and mentally
Well, actually nothing much has been done though...
Just wait until the day comes and start to get a little nervous about it
Arriving a little earlier at the Skydive center to calm down myself
After reporting my arrival, I started walking around and looking at people who prepare for the dive and those who came back from the dive... well, everything seems fine...
My name was called and I met my tandem JJ
After a short briefing, I get my harness on... well, nothing special since already experienced with it a few times before this... next up, the photographer Jason came to say Hi to me... and there we go... up to the plane!
A bunch of divers cramped in the tiny hawker plane... and everyone is busy having jokes and fun to release a bit of the tension and nervous... and when the time comes... private divers took the first plunge into the air...
Looking at the guys in front of me jumping out of the plane without any hesitation...
My first thought was: "gosh, is he insane?"
My tandem carry me to the gate (yes, I think carry is the word... because it is quite impossible for me to move freely when I'm tied tightly to my tandem... and the space in the plane is so small that you can't even stand with your back bend... so basically we are sort of dragging ourselves towards the gate)
At the gate... I look down... honestly I'm thinking nothing at all... blank in my head...
No time to think of anything as it may make you start to freak out...
And my tandem has gave me a piece of good advice: Just keep looking at the camera and smile!
And all of a sudden... I was already out there... damn it, I don't even get the chance to scream!
Ok, the free fall is really exciting... and suffering at the same time...
You need to have your head held up during the free fall (partly due to video purpose, and partly posture & safety), you need to keep on smiling (I'm not sure why but everyone was told to do that), and you need to spread your arms, bend your body in a banana shape... oh boy, there're just a lot of things you need to take care of during the free fall... whereby you will have no time at all to feel fear!
Fighting against the gravity pull and air drag... it is really tiring... well, once you get used to it then it will be fine, but for the first 10-20 seconds I was learning how to overcome them... and it is not easy!
Anyway, after about a minute of free fall, parachute fired and the best part is... you get the chance to pilot the parachute and glide around to see the great scenery view around... when reaching the landing altitude, my tandem was back in charge and made a safe landing on the ground... the whole process took time for few minutes... but the effect of the jump last for the next half to one hour... feeling a bit dizzy as body is still trying to adjust the balance and pressure, I bet the blood pressure and heart beat are working hard to tune back as well... sitting and resting awhile, and soon I was handed over with my DVD and I headed back home with lots of memory in return.
Thank you for JJ and Jason... they are very fun guy... and I need to apologize to JJ as when he fire the parachute, the drag is too strong that my head was forced to swing backward and bump his face... which he then slam my head and ask me why I did that... lol
Height: 13000 feet
Free fall: About 1 minute
Parachute: Gliding around and enjoy the scenery of Dubai Marina and Palm Jumeirah for few minutes
Side effect:
A bit dizzy and need some time to adjust back the balance in my body after that
Whole body pain (due to the harness gear) and especially neck
I drank 1 can of 100 plus, 1 can of ice lemon tea and 1 can of 7 up after my jump... don't know why
Will I do it again?
Even though it is really fun, but... I don't think I will do this ever again... XD
