“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all” - Helen Keller
Freedom
The Landing Site.
I took the quote a little seriously while planning my next trip. But then, you’ve got only one life, so why not do some daring things and share those stories while sipping tea on a sunny afternoon 30 years from now. After all, it takes only a spark of motivation to pack your bags and just Travel.
The Undertaking form
Although, the spontaneity works most of the time, yet sometimes I plan the itinerary of my trips (Old habits). Finally, after a lot of planning, everything was set and the bus left from Delhi to our next Destination, Bir- 'The best paragliding site in the Country'. The level of excitement was so immense that I booked a slot for Paragliding within 30 minutes of my stepping into Bir. I didn’t have my breakfast, one reason was the excitement and the second because it’s advisable not to eat anything just before doing any adventurous sports (You know why!).
So our slot was ready and we were driven to Billing (Take-off site), which is 12 km away from Bir (Landing Site). The 12 km ride took longer than usual because of the terrain and half built road. One advice would be to not take the rear seat of the MUV just in case you don’t feel well while traveling in the mountains, it can spoil your Paragliding experience. After riding for approx. an hour we reached the take-off site. The view from the top was mesmerizing and scary at the same time. It took a little time to arrange the gear and get ready for take-off. [5]
We wore the gear and instructions were given to run as fast as you can else you’ll not be able to take off (checking our fitness level). After checking the wind flow, I ran with a Go Pro in my hand capturing my level of excitement in the video and here I was, awestruck by the 360 degree view
The Panoramic View!
It was one of those moments when you just want to breathe in the moment, admire the view and forget about everything else. That’s the most peaceful you’ll ever feel, with the wind flowing across your face, getting over your fear and breathing in the fresh air at 8,000 ft. That’s when the wind had some other plans, to disrupt my peaceful time and make the gliding experience a memorable one.
The Mandatory Pose!
After flying for about 20 minutes, it was time to land and come back to reality. During the landing time, the peaceful breathing faded away and was replaced by fast heartbeats figuring out whether the landing will be easy or not. The landing was pretty smooth and then I was impatient to take my Paragliding video. The quality of the video was very close to the real life adventure and I was very much satisfied with GoPro. Along with the video they clicked a couple of pictures while I was in the air and just before the landing took place. The pictures were not that great but it’s quite useful for looking back at those memories made in the sky.
The Hotel View
After completing the Paragliding session, I was very much done with the mission of my trip. After that it was time to relax and enjoy the city. It was time to find the next good spot for a heavy brunch, check in to the Hotel and rest for a while. The sleep that you get after getting exhausted is indeed a peaceful one. After resting for a while, we had a craving for some tea, so we went to the nearby tea stall. The tea and maggie combination works well all the time, but the weather doesn’t. It started raining, making us wait for some more time. It started with a quick drizzle and then rained heavily for a while. That’s when the Maggie and the hot tea worked in our favour.
Posing on the Tracks!
Next activity for the day was to explore the nearby area. There was a track for the Toy train, which became our point for doing some photography. Friends were picking a good pose for a perfect picture, when I suggested to lie down on the track and act like you’re about to get run over by a train. Sadly no one took my advice and wasted a good pose idea.
The One with the Parachute!
Other than that, there were tea gardens and some slopes to climb on. The tea gardens were wet due to the recent shower, making it a little difficult to walk on the path. We went to the tea garden in the dark to make it more adventurous. We started talking about supernatural activities and haunted stuff, which made the scene scary at first and then comical. After walking for about a km, we decided to make it less scary and walk back. That’s when we forgot the path to return back to the Hotel. Everyone started walking on their own path and after some permutation and combinations we narrowed it down to the right path. After an exhaustive walk, it was time to turn up some music, relax ourselves and wrap up the day with a delicious dinner.
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