Landing after my first ever skydive!

There was that time I travelled to Thailand with my Norwegian friend, Elisabeth, and we gave ourselves three days to do three different extreme sports, two of which we our first encounters with the disciplines.

We travelled from Bangkok to Pattaya, at the time knowing nothing of Pattaya's reputation as a party city. This was good, because we would probably have had an entirely different perception of the city otherwise, and with no expectations we found we really enjoyed the place. However, the main reason we had come to Pattaya was not to relax on the beach or get Thai massages (although i have to admit, that was soooo good!). Instead we had come because my predeparture research had shown Pattaya as the destination closest to Bangkok where we could both go scuba diving, bungy jump, and skydive! Elisabeth and I aquired our Padi certificate together on a trip to Egypt the year before, so we were really keen on using it again. As for skydiving and bungy jumping; well, we had done neither before and had absolutely no idea what we were getting ourselves into. This was probably good though, as ignorance is often the easiest way to make sure you can go through with a challenge because you cannot comprehend the extend of it!

We started with our skydive. Already while at the center, we felt excited for what was about to happen. We went up one at a time. Elisabeth went first, and then I followed. The plane was tiny and having an opening on the side on the way up in itself felt quite foreign. Getting out of the plane felt even more absurde, but hey, that's was I was there for anyway.

And then the jump! Tipping over to fall out of the plane, then facing downwards while the pressure from the wind resistance makes it halfway impossible to control your limbs and completely impossible to speak! But what a feeling! WUHUUUU!!!

The moment when my life depended on the strenght of velcro!

The day after our skydive, we headed out to do our first ever bungy jump. Now, having just jumped out of an airplane from 3000 metres hight the day before, you would think a jump of just 60 metres would be piece of cake, right? Well, not so much. Turns out with a skydive when you go up that high, the whole concept of being above ground and going downwards feels quite surreal, and the feeling of being strapped to another person during a tandem makes it feel as if something is protecting you. With the bungy, you can sence the ground right below you, which makes it al the scarier, and although you have your feet strapped to a bungy cord, it feels as if nothing is holding on to you! Also, it really doesn't help that the cord that is strapped around your legs is the only safety line and it's tied around a mat that is closed with velcro! But hey, how were we to know the Thai are apparently famous for killing people off with their lack of bungy safety? We just thought that's how it's supposed to be done!

As with the skydive, Elisabeth went first and then I followed. Going up I made a conscious effort not to look down. Once I was to jump I just leaned forward, a technique I have found works for me with bungy jumps, and then I was sent hurling towards the ground! My head was dipped into the lake below us, which for a moment had me wondering just how good they really were at measuring and fitting the jump to your weight, since I distinctively remember NOT asking to get my head dipped!

Finally we spent our last day of adventure in Pattaya submerged into the ocean in our scuba gear! We were thrilled to find that we both felt really safe in the water, despite both having struggled when wwe got our certificate in Egypt the year before. I would say we had just as much fun on the boat than off it though. Give two girls a couple of diving masks and it's enough to sparkle a goofy photo shoot!

There was that time in bangkok we came face to face with the dark side of the city. We stumbled upon a dying man in the streets - and realised no one around him intended to help him! You may find several homeless people living on the streets in Bangkok, but this was not just a guy looking badly beaten while sleeping on a park side bench. This guy was choking in the middle of the streets and no one stopped to assist. We were walking along the sidewalks when I saw this man lying in the middle of it, seemingly unable to breathe. He was lying on his back cramping as he was choking, his eyed turned inwards into his skull. I looked around to see if anybody was responding before I tried to talk to him, although not expecting him to understand English, as he looked clearly like he came from the lower ranks of society, but I was hoping to communicate, I guess - of perhaps I was just puzzled over what I should do, I don't know.

At first I was unable to make contact with him, but fortunately, once some of the locals saw that this man had caught the attention of a tourist, they came over to aid. At first they tried to tell me that the man's reaction was caused by drugs. Well, so what?! He's still choking, so what am I supposed to do? Keep walking?! When I wouldn't leave they started trying to communicate with the man and help him breathe until eventually, the choking decreesed and eventually stopped. His eyes were still turned in his skull, the pupils not visible, so I couldn't make eye contact with him, but fortunately the locals were making verbal contact with him at that point. I was carrying a water bottle which I gave him, trying to get him to drink a little. He did and then he spoke to the locals around me again. One of the men turned to me: "He says thank you".

Well, that might have been so but he was only looking remotely better than he did minutes earlier, and I felt extremely unhelpful and that moment. Unfortunately there was nothing more I could do and I eventually had to leave him behind, breathing but still looking like he could have used some medical attention, much like many of the other homeless people on the streets of Bangkok. Although that was not what seemed most tragic about the situation. Before I left one of the locals turned to me and pointed to my camera, which was hanging around my neck, then to the helpless man lying in front of me, and happily chatted "take a picture!" - ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!!!