First Bungee Jump Experience: Is Bungee Jumping Really Scary for Heights-Phobes?
Before I talk about my first bungy jumping experience and answer ‘is bungy jumping scary’ let me introduce myself. I am someone (other details doesn’t matter) who is scared of heights & who never visited an adventure park since a scary episode during high-school, yet I bungy jumped. Now, let’s read ahead…
I don’t think I can do this.
What if I collapsed amidst air — a nervous breakdown, a heart attack, or something worse.
My mind was constantly pleading me to reconsider. Fear had almost overpowered me. All excitement had momentarily turned into an undeniable panic.
Things became uglier when someone else jumped before me and screamed their guts out.
I was going to be next!
I fairly remember how my first experience of Bungy jumping was. If right now you are Googling ‘is bungy jumping scary’ and are scared of your jump that’s happening tomorrow, multiply that feeling with 100. See the fear quotient you get? Well, that was how I was feeling during my bungy jumping experience.
I remember my instructor constantly asking me to stop shaking my legs as he performed the safety checks and tied a harness above my ankles. His motivation counseling felt of no use either. “just don’t look down. Look up. Look up,” he repeated at least half a dozen times. “And how are you supposed to look up while you’re falling upside down,” I asked myself. But that was all I had. It felt like the best advice and sounded like an assurance. JUST DON’T LOOK DOWN!
And then the moment (of my bungy jumping experience) came. With both legs bound together, I started walking like a helpless penguin. As I stood on the edge the instructor asked if everything is fine. I replied with a quick nod. The next thing I know is someone reverse counting for me. “5,4,3… and Jump.” I think I only half-heard them before I was swiftly pushed from behind.
That 10 or so seconds of pure free-fall took me to a different world. I didn’t hear a sound, nor was my mind playing any tricks on me anymore. As I surrendered myself to the moment instead of controlling it, I entered into a state of pure bliss. Blood rushed into my body, as I paced towards the ground with my head upside down and my hands far stretched. I screamed as loud as I could. Suddenly, I was pulled up by bungy, almost halfway to the original height, only to free-fall again. I screamed once again.
As my bungy stabilized a minute or two later, the guy waiting for me below pulled me down. My harness was removed and I was welcomed with a wicked smile and a ‘Certificate of Insanity.’ The last time I did something equally daring I was some seven thousand km away, having my first scuba-diving experience in Goa. My certificate of Insanity was handed over to me, as I said with a smirk, “there is no better feeling than conquering your fear.”
Fact Sheet
I bungee jumped in Sunway Lagoon, in Selangor, Malaysia. Located in the extreme park section, the jumping site here offers an elevation of 22 m/72 ft high. The jump lasts for 6 seconds. The cost of a single jump is RM 138.
