What are men compared to rocks and mountains?

Namaste! 

As I'm sure many of you know by now, I went on a little bit of an adrenalin binge this weekend. Bungee jumping, the world's largest canyon swing, and white water rafting. So what about all of these things? Well, gather round and let me tell you a story.

The other volunteers and I had been discussing the possibility of going to The Last Resort for a few days to do all of the previously mentioned activities, and one day we just decided that it was going to happen. We booked a few days before we left, and there was a wide range of emotions across the board. One of the other girls was petrified for days before we left, while I was just super pumped that it was going to happen. 

Saturday morning we got to get up nice an early to be on the bus by 6am. After a few hours on the bumpy, twisty roads around the mountains, we reached the resort, and were quickly ushered to the safety briefing. This is where I started to get a little freaked out. I'm pretty sure my face got a little paler while the bungee master was describing the process they call "walk like a penguin; fly like a bird." But I was still determined to jump. Everyone got weighed and then we were separated into 4 groups by weight. Thankfully, one of the other volunteers I went with was in my group. We'd be able to freak out on the bridge together-- it's the little things that give you comfort in those moments. We then went down to the viewing area to watch the first group jump, and let me tell you, my heart stopped the first few jumps that we saw. But fortunately, I was able to keep calm and stay a bit excited.

When it was finally our turn to head out on the bridge, I wish I could say I was totally cool, but that'd be a lie. I wasn't completely freaked out either though. Just the healthy amount of fear before you're about to jump off a bridge spanning a river with large boulders below. I still had to wait a while on the bridge before it was my turn to jump. Once I was put into the harness, there wasn't a lot of time to rethink my decision. I was basically double-checked for safety, retold the instructions, and the next thing I know, I just hear, "One, Two, Three, JUMP!" So I did. And I was plummeting down, head first, straight for the river 160 meters below. 

Then my body is jerked back up by the cord and I realize that I'm not actually going to die. After a few smaller bounces, I was lowered down to the ground, where I was taken out of the harness. I couldn't stop smiling. I was in utter disbelief that I had actually, finally bungee jumped. It was an incredible rush, and my heart was pounding for several minutes afterwards. Then, I waited for the other girl who was a few jumps behind me, and we hiked up the mountain together, both elated from the adrenalin rush.

The rest of the day was pretty chill. We lounged around, and at dinner we met some cool new people from around the world. But the next day would still bring some crazy decisions.

At breakfast, the bungee master came over to tell the people that were doing a second jump that morning what time to be ready. One of the other people I was with, made a snap decision that he also wanted to do the canyon swing. I wasn't planning on it, but with someone else I knew doing it, and that fact that I knew I would regret it if I didn't go, I decided to do another jump. Now, the canyon swing is basically just a gigantic swing. You're in a harness and attached to a rope, who knows how far away from the bridge. Then you jump, free fall for 7 seconds, and reach about 93 mph. Totally normal, right??

So this is what I decided to do. Again, once I was in the harness, everything was pretty much a blur and the next thing I know I'm hurtling down, screaming bloody murder. Admittedly, after the free fall was over, the whole swinging thing was a bit boring, but the free fall bit was definitely a tad frightening. I made it down safely to the group of the jumpers that had gone before me cheering, and we all hiked back up to the resort.

But the day still wasn't done. I still had some white water rafting to do. The whole thing took us about 3 hours. We went through some rapids, played some games, swam a bit, and jumped off a giant rock. I had a really good time, and our guide was fantastic. I think only one person fell off when they weren't supposed to, but we managed to get them back on the boat swiftly, so all was well. We ended the day with lunch at the end of the rafting and a bus ride back to Kathmandu.

It was a fantastic weekend, and I'm still so glad that I went days later. Definitely a couple of days I won't be forgetting soon. Plus I have some pictures :P

The bridge

View from the bridge

Jumping platform

Bungee

Canyon Swing