The 4th and Final part.....
When we reached the base camp(sounds better than dharamshala), we were really dusty and need of a bath. Now I did mention how cold the water was right, so me and priyanka were reluctant, but our Mam needed no initiation. Seeing our dilemma, the guard who also doubled as the assistant chef offered to boil a bucket of water for each of us. He warned us that it was against the camp rules as we were expected to brave the cold naturally. So he asked us to hurry up before the head of camp (whom I shall call the HOC from now on. I really forgot his name, though I remember he looked a lot like amrish puri) returned. Now I was to go first. And I collected the bucket of water and was crossing the courtyard, when, as MY FATE would have it, I slipped and fell rather hard on my bum. And the bucket overturned. I was in this muddy mess and everyone had to seep into the courtyard and offer…. No, not sympathy but criticism…. of my beautiful and fancy lavender and blue slippers. They went on about how we Bombay girls (I kept telling them I was from Bangalore) with our fancy slippers didn’t know how to walk!!! Or that I should buy sturdy hawai chappals. Not one of them thought of saying ‘are beti, sambhal ke’. Damned Manalians. Anyway my bucket was refilled and I went to have a bath in a very tiny and dirty bathroom. I take a really long time to bathe. So obviously I couldn’t finish off quickly before the head of camp arrived and it wasn’t possible for priyanka to get her pail of hot water. But luckily, the HOC after piying us (especially me) offered Priyanka the use of his bathroom that had runnning hot water (he didn’t live at the dharamshala, but some swank lodge).
The next day we were all charged fresh and happy. All of us set of to a nearby sanctuary. It had really thick woods, moss covered rocks, small streams, lovely birds and animals and some pretty lil cottages here and there. The tree canopies were so dense that the sunlight barely filtered in. It was like twilight even at noon. So we walked around, saw many peacocks and other less beautiful birds. And in all this we got lost. Of course. I had to do something like thios. But it was a small sanctuary and we knew we would eventually find our way back. We were almost nearing our group when we come across a couple of blacks from some african country. They asked us something, but the accent was really ununderstandable, so they let us pass. But in pasing they said something to the effect that indian women are beautiful. And that we did understand. (Now most guys would be nodding in agreement as Priyanka did/does head their crush list).
Some of these days me and priyanka would simply walk up and down the Manali main street, getting into the emporiums and looking at the crafts – paper mache, silver filigree work, different gems and jewellery. And its here during one of these walks that I had my first softy cone. It was pale brown chocolate. I delighted in the fact that it was really so soft. But the best part was that, in Manali the ice cream would take really really long to melt. Really long.
It was the day to go back. We were leaving a couple of days early due to our reservations. The HOC came with us to the bus stop. We were in sitting in the bus and he gave us some frooti. I happily gave Priyanka mine and we waved tata. The same winding route back to delhi, the same throwing up, all the same. Back at delhi we had really long baths. Talked to the brigadiers family, told and retold the stories(one our version and one Mam’s version) and had good food. We did some more shopping. And then Mam wanted to tour delhi. Now Priyanka had seen Delhi before, so I went with Mam. We saw all the usual sites on an arranged tour, clicked snaps infront of each monument and were constantly pestered by this irritating guy, which Mam enjoyed, I didn’t.
And then It was the time to go back home. I was thrilled. We said our bye byes. The train journey was eventful because of thi sidiot form pune who wouldn’t quit smiling at us and kept trying to talk to us. Then somehow this guy leaves his address in one of novels (Cane and Abel) and asks us to call him. What a joke. Anyway it was a long wait at hubli for the connecting intercity. And at 8 am we reached home town. Priyanka’s mom was there to pick us up. My mom couldn’t come as my sister was leaving the same day in just a few hours on a twenty day trip. To Manali. And many other places.
Inspite of the illnesses and the bad food, Manali and the himalays was a great experience. We were back in one piece. I was lighter. Was an accomplished skater (Ok, I own up that's a lie). Had many more clothes and also a box full off petha…. Life couldn’t get better.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Monday, April 24, 2006
My Himalayan Trek - Part III
Here's part 3.... I shall post part 4 tomorrow....
Then came the highlight of the entire trip. The bare bones camping in kulu valley at the foot of Rothang Pass – the highest natural pass in the world. And later we would trek to it we were told. It was another bus ride, some irritating antakshiri and some puking from me. We reached the site and had actual back packs on our backs and trekked in our parkas, gloves and scarves to the valley. A section behind a ruinous wall was chosen as campsite, and we set off pitching tents. Of course the three of us in the ‘we’ were just admiring the process. Professional help had been hired. The tents were all double layered to keep the cold out (they miserably failed at that). All tents were a blue, and only ours was a bright orange. The HOC said that we were 'priority', because if the tents flew off, then it would be easy to spot our tent on the terrain. I was actually beaming at the thought of us being given priority, but the thought of being flown off in a tent wasn’t very appealing, and for sometime every gust of wind would scare me. But the sheer beauty of the place over came that fear. The fact that it was bitterly cold also helped.
I’m not very healthy. I’ve a very low immunity against diseases and fall ill pretty easily. So the close to 0 degree temperature was bound to get me. And I had a very bad fever, terrible cold, aching ear and no voice. At that time even a trip in a flying tent looked appealing. But my parents had expected this and I was powered with some of the most powerful pharmaceutical drugs. But it took around two days for the fever to leave me, but the cold sorta liked me, so it stuck around. Some nights I would get up unable to breathe, as the rarified air and an entirely blocked nose made it really hard to breathe. And one night when the fever was really high, I was practically shaking. Poor Priyanka was scared, she had to actually sit on me to stop me from shaking. And that night, the one night that I couldn’t eat a morsel, or couldn’t taste what I wa seating, the damn cook made my favourite – Rajma. If I hadnt been shaking to death I would have killed him.
After I was better, the HOC took me and Priyanka and a couple of other girls in a trax up to the Rothang pass for 'acclamatization'. The path was really winding and steep. So the result was that I puked, a record 6 times. When we finally reached the pass, the HOC, in an attempt to cheer me up, shared with me the news that the previous day an old man had frozen to death right there. That piece of information combined with the worlds worst cup of lemon tea made by a very old lady in a shack, made me throw up for the last time. I say last time because even my intestinal juices were out, there was nothing left to throw up. So after 'acclamatizing', we were all rather happy to drive back. When we reached the valley and were aimlessly walking around, small white flakes started floating down from the sky. Since I live near a pulp and fibre factory, I thought it was pulp ash from the burning wood. But the flakes as they touched my hand would disappear. And then it dawned that it was snow. We were witnessing the first snow fall of that year at Kulu Manali. Of course I had seen more snow in my old refridgerator, but hell, it was still ‘a moment’. It barely lasted ten mins, after which it turned into a slight drizzle and we all rushed into our tents.
The next morning after breakfast our Mam arranged for all of us to go for a small trek around the area. I really wasn’t up to it, but didn’t want to seem rude. So we all went. It was causal walking most of the part, but erally beautiful. Tall snow capped mountains all around. Crystal clear air and small streams and water falls meandering all through the mountains. When we reached three quarters of the way, because of my bad health and Priyanka’s fear of heights, it was decided that we would not accompany the others the rest of the way. They would join us on the way back. Left to our devices, we ran around (figuratively of course. I don’t run), and drank from the streams. You know, I’m the ‘mineral water’ type, but even I was amazed at the purity of the water flowing through the rocks and I had no problem in drinking it either. And then as afternoon aproached, we lay down on the rocks and balmed in the sun. We later joined the rest of the group on their way down, and headed for another dismal dinner ( no rajma!!!).
The trip to Rothang pass was a trek of sorts because we never trekked!!! We went in the bus. And we were parked very close to the region where the oldman had died. :-( Now Priyanka was ill and was shivering pretty badly. It was my turn to wrap her up and warm her up. So while the rest of them climbed over the hill we stayed in the bus. After that the next day, we all left for the base camp.
Now in our entire stay at manali, we hadnt bathed. We never sweated see. So occasionally we would sponge, but hadnt had a bath. And we desperately wanted to have one. But the cold water was unthinkable. The HOC suggested the geyesers situated near by. He said we could rent a private bath and enjoy a bath as well as do some sight seeing. We agreed. So the three of us took an auto to this place. When we reached there, we found out that all the private baths were closed and only the public bath was available. One for the women and one for men. We walked into the public bath and what do we see??? Naked women, every where. That was a really bad sight. Now we were both 17. just 1 year away from being leagally adults. So we couldn’t run and hide screaming chi chi. But at the same time, we were incapable of putting on airs like we were adults and 'this is of course natural'. So we chose the diplomatic middle path. We hid without screaming. :-) There was this section, if we went down a few steps, where the geyser water flowed out from pipes (not taps). Other more decently clad women were washing their clothes there. So we hid there. We took out the few clothes we had brought for washing. In our hurry to hide, Priyanka slipped off the top step and landed at the base right on her bum (I laughed a lot then, but wouldn’t have if I only knew that this would happen to me a few hours later). Once, Priyanka was set right, the two of us set out to wash our clothes. It was my first attempt at washing and I did pretty badly. When it was all dried the next day, I kept wondering what the blue patches on my white shirt were. It then dawned on me that it was soap. So I stashed away the entire washing. I had anyway brought enough clothes to last me a month. Oh… And you are wondering what happened to our Mam??? She divied in with the rest of the nudies. Unfortunately we had a glimpse. I had nightmares for a week. After that a very fresh and happy guides Mam and two very wet and sour girls walked down the winding path, beside streams in serach of base camp.
To be continued....
Then came the highlight of the entire trip. The bare bones camping in kulu valley at the foot of Rothang Pass – the highest natural pass in the world. And later we would trek to it we were told. It was another bus ride, some irritating antakshiri and some puking from me. We reached the site and had actual back packs on our backs and trekked in our parkas, gloves and scarves to the valley. A section behind a ruinous wall was chosen as campsite, and we set off pitching tents. Of course the three of us in the ‘we’ were just admiring the process. Professional help had been hired. The tents were all double layered to keep the cold out (they miserably failed at that). All tents were a blue, and only ours was a bright orange. The HOC said that we were 'priority', because if the tents flew off, then it would be easy to spot our tent on the terrain. I was actually beaming at the thought of us being given priority, but the thought of being flown off in a tent wasn’t very appealing, and for sometime every gust of wind would scare me. But the sheer beauty of the place over came that fear. The fact that it was bitterly cold also helped.
I’m not very healthy. I’ve a very low immunity against diseases and fall ill pretty easily. So the close to 0 degree temperature was bound to get me. And I had a very bad fever, terrible cold, aching ear and no voice. At that time even a trip in a flying tent looked appealing. But my parents had expected this and I was powered with some of the most powerful pharmaceutical drugs. But it took around two days for the fever to leave me, but the cold sorta liked me, so it stuck around. Some nights I would get up unable to breathe, as the rarified air and an entirely blocked nose made it really hard to breathe. And one night when the fever was really high, I was practically shaking. Poor Priyanka was scared, she had to actually sit on me to stop me from shaking. And that night, the one night that I couldn’t eat a morsel, or couldn’t taste what I wa seating, the damn cook made my favourite – Rajma. If I hadnt been shaking to death I would have killed him.
After I was better, the HOC took me and Priyanka and a couple of other girls in a trax up to the Rothang pass for 'acclamatization'. The path was really winding and steep. So the result was that I puked, a record 6 times. When we finally reached the pass, the HOC, in an attempt to cheer me up, shared with me the news that the previous day an old man had frozen to death right there. That piece of information combined with the worlds worst cup of lemon tea made by a very old lady in a shack, made me throw up for the last time. I say last time because even my intestinal juices were out, there was nothing left to throw up. So after 'acclamatizing', we were all rather happy to drive back. When we reached the valley and were aimlessly walking around, small white flakes started floating down from the sky. Since I live near a pulp and fibre factory, I thought it was pulp ash from the burning wood. But the flakes as they touched my hand would disappear. And then it dawned that it was snow. We were witnessing the first snow fall of that year at Kulu Manali. Of course I had seen more snow in my old refridgerator, but hell, it was still ‘a moment’. It barely lasted ten mins, after which it turned into a slight drizzle and we all rushed into our tents.
The next morning after breakfast our Mam arranged for all of us to go for a small trek around the area. I really wasn’t up to it, but didn’t want to seem rude. So we all went. It was causal walking most of the part, but erally beautiful. Tall snow capped mountains all around. Crystal clear air and small streams and water falls meandering all through the mountains. When we reached three quarters of the way, because of my bad health and Priyanka’s fear of heights, it was decided that we would not accompany the others the rest of the way. They would join us on the way back. Left to our devices, we ran around (figuratively of course. I don’t run), and drank from the streams. You know, I’m the ‘mineral water’ type, but even I was amazed at the purity of the water flowing through the rocks and I had no problem in drinking it either. And then as afternoon aproached, we lay down on the rocks and balmed in the sun. We later joined the rest of the group on their way down, and headed for another dismal dinner ( no rajma!!!).
The trip to Rothang pass was a trek of sorts because we never trekked!!! We went in the bus. And we were parked very close to the region where the oldman had died. :-( Now Priyanka was ill and was shivering pretty badly. It was my turn to wrap her up and warm her up. So while the rest of them climbed over the hill we stayed in the bus. After that the next day, we all left for the base camp.
Now in our entire stay at manali, we hadnt bathed. We never sweated see. So occasionally we would sponge, but hadnt had a bath. And we desperately wanted to have one. But the cold water was unthinkable. The HOC suggested the geyesers situated near by. He said we could rent a private bath and enjoy a bath as well as do some sight seeing. We agreed. So the three of us took an auto to this place. When we reached there, we found out that all the private baths were closed and only the public bath was available. One for the women and one for men. We walked into the public bath and what do we see??? Naked women, every where. That was a really bad sight. Now we were both 17. just 1 year away from being leagally adults. So we couldn’t run and hide screaming chi chi. But at the same time, we were incapable of putting on airs like we were adults and 'this is of course natural'. So we chose the diplomatic middle path. We hid without screaming. :-) There was this section, if we went down a few steps, where the geyser water flowed out from pipes (not taps). Other more decently clad women were washing their clothes there. So we hid there. We took out the few clothes we had brought for washing. In our hurry to hide, Priyanka slipped off the top step and landed at the base right on her bum (I laughed a lot then, but wouldn’t have if I only knew that this would happen to me a few hours later). Once, Priyanka was set right, the two of us set out to wash our clothes. It was my first attempt at washing and I did pretty badly. When it was all dried the next day, I kept wondering what the blue patches on my white shirt were. It then dawned on me that it was soap. So I stashed away the entire washing. I had anyway brought enough clothes to last me a month. Oh… And you are wondering what happened to our Mam??? She divied in with the rest of the nudies. Unfortunately we had a glimpse. I had nightmares for a week. After that a very fresh and happy guides Mam and two very wet and sour girls walked down the winding path, beside streams in serach of base camp.
To be continued....
My Himalayan Trek - Part II
I apologize for not posting for such a long time. Here's the second part of "My himalayan trek". Its really long so there will be 4 parts in total...........
In the evening of the first day, we had proper introductions. We were given the camping equipment like back packs, sleeping bags, parkas, pick axe and such stuff. The other girls were from the state of Madhya Pradesh and spoke mostly hindi. So one of us was asked to give a speech in hindi. And since I was most proficient in hindi than the other two, it was upto me. I’m normally a good orator, but an impromptu speech in hindi was a lil too much. But the girls there were more engrossed in analysing us than the speech. So I made a short speech without choking or fainting and that was the end of that.
We were told that every morning we’ll have to do roller blade skating in the courtyard with the other girls. Now they had been roller blading for some time. Infact they had plans to go on a roller blading tour kind of thing too. Which means they were experts. And we amatuers (a nice way of telling we had never done it before) were very ungracefully pushed into the middle of it all. Now these other girls were very gracefully skating around in circles, some would even show off a figure of eight. Amidst all this we were taking our first lesson: learning how to stand still (lesson zero was trying to get up after wearing the roller blades). I find it hard to stand still while I’m wearing shoes. So standing still with roller blades?? Really not my cup of tea. So I had my first of many ‘bum hits ground’ experiences. More than the physical pain, it was the embarassment that bothered me. Because you see, on one side of the courtyard, there were broad steps, just like those in stadiums and people sat there watching and also laughing. From the second day it was almost house full. We slowly learnt to stand. Then he told us that we must learn to walk wearing the roller blades. And then slowly he asked us to push our legs a lil further, every time we put are foot down. And so gradually we were skating. But of course not gracefully. We had to lean forward with our hands strteched out b4 us to maintain balance. Definitely not graceful. We looked like a couple of blind gals who accidentally slipped into roller blades. But towards the end we were sorta ok.
On the second day of our trip we went trekking up a mountain (actual mountain). But since the other girls had already done this, we three were alone in this too. Of course the abominable guard was there too. We were given a pick axe like thing with which to climb the mountain. That thing was just a dead weight though. Just think, would you, when faced by a steep precipice, hook your pick axe with the help of that?? NOT ME!!!!! Anyway we set out. Our Mam kept up a running commentary of the sights we saw, to the extent of distracting me. There were some tough sections where we had to struggle through, though the abominable guard walked with his hands in his pocket (and a smirk o his face). At some point we were tired and decided to rest. And as luck would have it, I sat on some thorns. When I got up hastily, my bum was some sight (there werent too many sounds thanks to LEE jeans). Most of them fell off on dusting, but Priyanka had to pick out the rest. I wasn’t very inclined on resting after that. So we set off again. Now after a while, Priyanka started getting a lil worried, and then scared. Turns out she’s sort of aftraid of heights. She insisted on returning, but our adventourous Mam wanted to go on. And I was indifferent (still mulling over the thorns). Then Mam finally suggested we take some rest and maybe Priyanka will feel better and we could go on. Here I jumped in (as fast as I had jumped UP at our previous rest stop) and tipped the scales by voting to turn back. Priyanka was grateful and I was sincerely against resting.
On one day we went to this village mela (which was in my imagination something like the kumbh ka mela). We rented a bus and all of us piled in. The cook had packed copious amounts of food for a picinic dinner at the mela. Puris fried in sarson ka thel and some-very-healthy-but-tasteless-vegetable bhaji was the menu. I kept looking at the two baskets in dismay while constantly shaking my head. The mela was a sad thing, more like a small exhibition that we see in our place. It did have quaint souvneirs on sale, but no man breathing fire or brandishing his arm with a torch. Just some dumb parrots hanging on a thread and things like that. And when it was dinner time, the Head Of Camp (whom I shall call the HOC from now on. I really forgot his name, though I remember he looked a lot like amrish puri) spared me the pain of saying ‘no, I’m fasting’ by telling us we could have anthing at the stalls as we arent used to such food. We happily rushed off to a nearby stall and ordered pav bhaji. And when it arrived…. We decided to fast. Maybe the local Manali godess would bless us.
On another day we went to this plateau (its name starts from S but I cant seem to remember) to try our hands at para sailing. The whole lot of us boarded the bus and played antakshari while I cringed. Finally we reached there and lo!! One more picnic lunch, courtesy our cook. The lunch was some kind of rice. Now there was no escape here as there was no other source of food on that plateau. But I refused again saying that I cant eat before parasailing, as it would upset my stomach. The cook was ok with that. I really lost weight during this trek you know. Anyway the parasailing guys arrived with their equipment. The process was something like this: the person is strapped into the seat that was like a canvas bag. Then the parachute is spred and arranged behind you on the ground. And we had to take of running down the hill. You barely run a few feet that the chute lifts off and you start flying off. We had been shown the controls to navigate left and right. Becase we were novices, the trainer would never let go off the seat of the chute. So we werent allowed to fly more than 7 or 8 feet off the ground. On one of my runs the trainer lifted off the ground along with me too. he had to struggle a great deal to get his feet back on the ground. And in the ensuing struggle, we almost crashed into a tree and I eventually landed…. Ya you guessed it… on my bum.
But it was a great experience. The funny part was our Mam trying to force the trainers to let her try. They refused on the grounds that she was too heavy and she would never lift off. But she was persistent. They reluctntly gave in. And two trainers struggled to get her into the seat. And then she took off. Actually I should say she toooooook ooooofffffff, as it was rather slow. Anyway, the lack of speed and the weight combined resulted in the predicted outcome. She didn’t take off the ground, and in an attemp to bend her legs to lift off the ground, she fell and the chute softly collapsed over her. She made 2 attempts, both to the same effect.
To Be continued.....
In the evening of the first day, we had proper introductions. We were given the camping equipment like back packs, sleeping bags, parkas, pick axe and such stuff. The other girls were from the state of Madhya Pradesh and spoke mostly hindi. So one of us was asked to give a speech in hindi. And since I was most proficient in hindi than the other two, it was upto me. I’m normally a good orator, but an impromptu speech in hindi was a lil too much. But the girls there were more engrossed in analysing us than the speech. So I made a short speech without choking or fainting and that was the end of that.
We were told that every morning we’ll have to do roller blade skating in the courtyard with the other girls. Now they had been roller blading for some time. Infact they had plans to go on a roller blading tour kind of thing too. Which means they were experts. And we amatuers (a nice way of telling we had never done it before) were very ungracefully pushed into the middle of it all. Now these other girls were very gracefully skating around in circles, some would even show off a figure of eight. Amidst all this we were taking our first lesson: learning how to stand still (lesson zero was trying to get up after wearing the roller blades). I find it hard to stand still while I’m wearing shoes. So standing still with roller blades?? Really not my cup of tea. So I had my first of many ‘bum hits ground’ experiences. More than the physical pain, it was the embarassment that bothered me. Because you see, on one side of the courtyard, there were broad steps, just like those in stadiums and people sat there watching and also laughing. From the second day it was almost house full. We slowly learnt to stand. Then he told us that we must learn to walk wearing the roller blades. And then slowly he asked us to push our legs a lil further, every time we put are foot down. And so gradually we were skating. But of course not gracefully. We had to lean forward with our hands strteched out b4 us to maintain balance. Definitely not graceful. We looked like a couple of blind gals who accidentally slipped into roller blades. But towards the end we were sorta ok.
On the second day of our trip we went trekking up a mountain (actual mountain). But since the other girls had already done this, we three were alone in this too. Of course the abominable guard was there too. We were given a pick axe like thing with which to climb the mountain. That thing was just a dead weight though. Just think, would you, when faced by a steep precipice, hook your pick axe with the help of that?? NOT ME!!!!! Anyway we set out. Our Mam kept up a running commentary of the sights we saw, to the extent of distracting me. There were some tough sections where we had to struggle through, though the abominable guard walked with his hands in his pocket (and a smirk o his face). At some point we were tired and decided to rest. And as luck would have it, I sat on some thorns. When I got up hastily, my bum was some sight (there werent too many sounds thanks to LEE jeans). Most of them fell off on dusting, but Priyanka had to pick out the rest. I wasn’t very inclined on resting after that. So we set off again. Now after a while, Priyanka started getting a lil worried, and then scared. Turns out she’s sort of aftraid of heights. She insisted on returning, but our adventourous Mam wanted to go on. And I was indifferent (still mulling over the thorns). Then Mam finally suggested we take some rest and maybe Priyanka will feel better and we could go on. Here I jumped in (as fast as I had jumped UP at our previous rest stop) and tipped the scales by voting to turn back. Priyanka was grateful and I was sincerely against resting.
On one day we went to this village mela (which was in my imagination something like the kumbh ka mela). We rented a bus and all of us piled in. The cook had packed copious amounts of food for a picinic dinner at the mela. Puris fried in sarson ka thel and some-very-healthy-but-tasteless-vegetable bhaji was the menu. I kept looking at the two baskets in dismay while constantly shaking my head. The mela was a sad thing, more like a small exhibition that we see in our place. It did have quaint souvneirs on sale, but no man breathing fire or brandishing his arm with a torch. Just some dumb parrots hanging on a thread and things like that. And when it was dinner time, the Head Of Camp (whom I shall call the HOC from now on. I really forgot his name, though I remember he looked a lot like amrish puri) spared me the pain of saying ‘no, I’m fasting’ by telling us we could have anthing at the stalls as we arent used to such food. We happily rushed off to a nearby stall and ordered pav bhaji. And when it arrived…. We decided to fast. Maybe the local Manali godess would bless us.
On another day we went to this plateau (its name starts from S but I cant seem to remember) to try our hands at para sailing. The whole lot of us boarded the bus and played antakshari while I cringed. Finally we reached there and lo!! One more picnic lunch, courtesy our cook. The lunch was some kind of rice. Now there was no escape here as there was no other source of food on that plateau. But I refused again saying that I cant eat before parasailing, as it would upset my stomach. The cook was ok with that. I really lost weight during this trek you know. Anyway the parasailing guys arrived with their equipment. The process was something like this: the person is strapped into the seat that was like a canvas bag. Then the parachute is spred and arranged behind you on the ground. And we had to take of running down the hill. You barely run a few feet that the chute lifts off and you start flying off. We had been shown the controls to navigate left and right. Becase we were novices, the trainer would never let go off the seat of the chute. So we werent allowed to fly more than 7 or 8 feet off the ground. On one of my runs the trainer lifted off the ground along with me too. he had to struggle a great deal to get his feet back on the ground. And in the ensuing struggle, we almost crashed into a tree and I eventually landed…. Ya you guessed it… on my bum.
But it was a great experience. The funny part was our Mam trying to force the trainers to let her try. They refused on the grounds that she was too heavy and she would never lift off. But she was persistent. They reluctntly gave in. And two trainers struggled to get her into the seat. And then she took off. Actually I should say she toooooook ooooofffffff, as it was rather slow. Anyway, the lack of speed and the weight combined resulted in the predicted outcome. She didn’t take off the ground, and in an attemp to bend her legs to lift off the ground, she fell and the chute softly collapsed over her. She made 2 attempts, both to the same effect.
To Be continued.....
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)