I wish I could fly – How many times have we told this to ourselves?
In November 2018, I stepped into the small and serene town of Bir, in the hope to fly – Yes, since a long time paragliding was on my bucket list.
So I reached the hotel a night before with severe cold and thought I would not be able to enjoy my first experience in paragliding . However one of the adventure sports organizers arranged some medicines which made me feel better the next day .
At 9 am in the morning I sat in the car with nothing but my mobile phone in my Jacket pocket. Excited was the best way I could describe my emotions and it was only growing. When will I reach the top and when will my feet leave the ground ?
Finally the car reached the take-off site is Billing. I got out of the car , met the Pilot who put the gear on me and handed me a Go Pro camera on a selfi stick . Well the stick was the most important thing for me at that point. It would have proof that I finally flew up in the air . It would have memories which I could go back whenever I would sit next to the window pane of my home, sipping a cup of coffee .
So the time had arrived. Out of the dream world and into the reality I was all set to fly . The Pilot instructed that I must run as fast as I can and not stop. Here’s when I remembered all the athletics competitions that I participated in school. On the count of three we ran as fast as we could before setting my feet off the ground. There came the moment where I was no longer on land. And that was HEAVEN .
I sat on the harness suspended below a fabric wing. Yes I was literally touching the sky. Then when the pilot put the Go pro on, Guess what ! It didn’t work. ( Sound of Broken glass ) .
I thought I could never capture the premiere of my paragliding experience . Then came my mobile phone to the rescue. At a height of 2400 meters I pulled out my Motorola G5Splus and started recording. Phew ! Well you must be wondering didn’t I fear that the phone would fall and I would never be able to find again . Well the thought of not being able to have a memory of my first paragliding experience was more predominant.
So back to the enjoying and fun part. The pilot glided through the sky to give me a bird’s eye view of different shades of the landscape – mountains, fields, houses, children playing, cattle . All in one picture .
This heavenly experience lasted for only 20 mins and the time came when had to land. Its rightfully said. All good things come to an end. Soon my feet touched the ground and I was back to the land. Back to the real world but with new experiences and memories which will be cherished forever .
If you haven’t done paragliding in your life – then do it now!
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