Tuesday was Paragliding day. So I was picked up and met my pilot at 9.30am. His name was Raul and he was awesome, a lovely guy who was married to an Italian woman he had met as a tour guide and they had a baby and were trying to secure visas to live and work in the UK/Europe.
So we had a 40 minute drive up to Sarangot for the takeoff area and luckily my tour agency used the point higher up and further away than other companies, so it was less crowded and a better flight.
So I had to hop in another jeep once we got to a certain point as the road was awful, and our car couldn't go any further so Raul made me catch a lift so I didn't have to walk up bless him, and he walked. Once we reached the takeoff point we kitted up into our gear and Raul took me through the instructions. When he said so I had to walk forwards (while they got the parachute off the ground) and when he said to start running I had to run and don't stop, keep running even in the air and don't sit back in the seat until he said so. This seems simple enough right, but it really is harder when put into practise, as it goes so fast you don't even have time to run!
I literally was just pushed off, with a couple of half runs and in the air, well, it just didn't happen my legs just came up and I was just forced back into my seat. But we still flew! Jumping off a cliff however is a surreal thing, a bit like jumping out a plane, your mind is screaming 'this shouldn't happen!'
Once up in the air we went through some clouds and the views were amazing. It's weird because u get turbulence a bit like a plane when you hit winddrafts so it can be bumpy but mostly smooth. We managed to see a few of the mountain peaks before they hid behind the clouds which was pretty awesome and because we hit a good wind draft Raul spiraled us up higher for better views and a longer flight - the spiraling made me feel a little sick as it gets dizzying so once we made it high enough we stopped. We flew out over the lake and did some acrobatics - but because i literally just saw sky lake sky lake mountain sky lake with all the movement again it made me feel a bit ill so had to stop after a while. He flips you up and down and over and under its so weird but so cool! It was like sky diving but it was much more tame and could appreciate the view much better, sky diving is very short and you're so focused on the freefall and getting over the adrenaline to really appreciate your view. With paragliding we had a whole 30-45mins to just chill in the air like a bird, flying up with the eagles over mountains and the lake.
So the landing was much like sky diving, legs up and he lands first before I put my feet down. Through the whole thing I had a gopro so I have two videos and lots of pictures to keep. We then drove back to the agency shop in lakeside pokhara and i sat there while they sorted my pictures and video to take with me. I got talking to Raul more and also was talking to a nepalese guy who had just returned here after 7 years in the UK, it was so strange as he sounded like a Londoner when he said certain words!
The rest of the day was then just a chill day, and most of the days since have been quite chilled. We've been doing lots of yoga and meditation. The Aussie guys all left wednesday so we all went for a meal at Godfathers pizzeria which is like the best pizza in the whole of Nepal!
We spent a day poolside at a fancy resort, as for 500 rupees (£3.50) you can use their pool all day, towel and wifi included. So it was a great day but I got quite sunburnt - the altitude and all! ;-)
We (Maren and Natalie) tried out meditation at Osho Divine which was awesome - we did active meditation which was some silent meditation mixed in with dance, breathing exercises etc. Then we went back later for a Chakra healing which felt really good and relaxing.
We (most of the hostel goers) have established our regular yoga man 'Borat' as his classes are cheap and pretty good, yesterdays one was intense for example! I woke up feeling broken haha.
We have two regular local restaurants that we love, Nirvana and Laughing Buddha, both cheap and good food. Taking walks along the lake, relaxing in the hostel, meeting new people, as so many come and go everyday, and Lutie came back to the hostel to visit as her orphanage is just down the road so we are going to do things with her and some of the other volunteers during their free time. Its been a pretty fab first week and its one more week to go before heading back to Kathmandu so we are going to make the most of it!
So we had a 40 minute drive up to Sarangot for the takeoff area and luckily my tour agency used the point higher up and further away than other companies, so it was less crowded and a better flight.
So I had to hop in another jeep once we got to a certain point as the road was awful, and our car couldn't go any further so Raul made me catch a lift so I didn't have to walk up bless him, and he walked. Once we reached the takeoff point we kitted up into our gear and Raul took me through the instructions. When he said so I had to walk forwards (while they got the parachute off the ground) and when he said to start running I had to run and don't stop, keep running even in the air and don't sit back in the seat until he said so. This seems simple enough right, but it really is harder when put into practise, as it goes so fast you don't even have time to run!
I literally was just pushed off, with a couple of half runs and in the air, well, it just didn't happen my legs just came up and I was just forced back into my seat. But we still flew! Jumping off a cliff however is a surreal thing, a bit like jumping out a plane, your mind is screaming 'this shouldn't happen!'
Once up in the air we went through some clouds and the views were amazing. It's weird because u get turbulence a bit like a plane when you hit winddrafts so it can be bumpy but mostly smooth. We managed to see a few of the mountain peaks before they hid behind the clouds which was pretty awesome and because we hit a good wind draft Raul spiraled us up higher for better views and a longer flight - the spiraling made me feel a little sick as it gets dizzying so once we made it high enough we stopped. We flew out over the lake and did some acrobatics - but because i literally just saw sky lake sky lake mountain sky lake with all the movement again it made me feel a bit ill so had to stop after a while. He flips you up and down and over and under its so weird but so cool! It was like sky diving but it was much more tame and could appreciate the view much better, sky diving is very short and you're so focused on the freefall and getting over the adrenaline to really appreciate your view. With paragliding we had a whole 30-45mins to just chill in the air like a bird, flying up with the eagles over mountains and the lake.
So the landing was much like sky diving, legs up and he lands first before I put my feet down. Through the whole thing I had a gopro so I have two videos and lots of pictures to keep. We then drove back to the agency shop in lakeside pokhara and i sat there while they sorted my pictures and video to take with me. I got talking to Raul more and also was talking to a nepalese guy who had just returned here after 7 years in the UK, it was so strange as he sounded like a Londoner when he said certain words!
The rest of the day was then just a chill day, and most of the days since have been quite chilled. We've been doing lots of yoga and meditation. The Aussie guys all left wednesday so we all went for a meal at Godfathers pizzeria which is like the best pizza in the whole of Nepal!
We spent a day poolside at a fancy resort, as for 500 rupees (£3.50) you can use their pool all day, towel and wifi included. So it was a great day but I got quite sunburnt - the altitude and all! ;-)
We (Maren and Natalie) tried out meditation at Osho Divine which was awesome - we did active meditation which was some silent meditation mixed in with dance, breathing exercises etc. Then we went back later for a Chakra healing which felt really good and relaxing.
We (most of the hostel goers) have established our regular yoga man 'Borat' as his classes are cheap and pretty good, yesterdays one was intense for example! I woke up feeling broken haha.
We have two regular local restaurants that we love, Nirvana and Laughing Buddha, both cheap and good food. Taking walks along the lake, relaxing in the hostel, meeting new people, as so many come and go everyday, and Lutie came back to the hostel to visit as her orphanage is just down the road so we are going to do things with her and some of the other volunteers during their free time. Its been a pretty fab first week and its one more week to go before heading back to Kathmandu so we are going to make the most of it!
Christina, I'm so jealous of your paragliding adventure! It sounds so fun. I definitely want to do that one day!! Your lazy days in the hostel remind me of our lazy days in Laos. I miss you and am excited to live vicariously through your continued adventures. I hope to meet up with you one day!
ReplyDelete