There’s no such thing as a free lunge

I'm scared of heights - morbidly terrified of heights. Looking down at the fleet of cars from the Farm-gate over bridge gets me a little rattled. So naturally, I decided that I wanted to jump off a bridge overlooking a 160m gorge at The Last Resort in Nepal. I like to think it was a calculated decision I made to conquer my fear of heights, but in reality, it was a decision I made on a whim, the consequences of which I put off thinking about until I absolutely had to.

It was a cold Friday morning when the good people at The Last Resort walked us through the bridge to the briefing zone, and it wasn't until that point when I looked down at the raging Koshi River that it occurred to me that I have voluntarily signed up for my own demise. The brief didn't help.

We were grouped according to our weights and guided back to that grim bridge. I was probably the 5th person to go. I watched everyone who jumped before me with the keenest eyes, but none of that could prepare me for what was about to come. They attached all sorts of necessary cords to my limbs, made me smile at the camera, and then a guide took me to the edge of the plank extension of the bridge, which serves as the point of the jump. That walk towards the edge was scarier than the jump itself and you have to shuffle forward until the balls of your feet have no ground below. Naturally, I took the smallest steps to prolong my impending doom. When you're ready, the instructor announces that they'll do the countdown and they say '3..2..1..BUNGEE!' and that's when I took the plunge.

I can't articulate how I felt at that moment, so if you read this far to try and decipher what it feels like, accept my condolences. Between panicking about something going wrong and me failing to follow the necessary instructions that would supposedly get me back on the bridge, to thinking about how my parents would react when I break the news of my misadventure to them - I had, perhaps, the most liberating moment of my entire life. My whole life didn't flash before me - but I was smiling an unhinged smile and I've never, ever felt such unrestrained joy in the entirety of my life. Thankfully, I managed to get back on the bridge, and I was on an adrenaline-preceded high for the rest of the day, week, and, to some degree, to the very point of typing this.

If you want to Bungee at the last resort, e-mail them at info@thelastresort.com.np and they'll help you book your slot. They operate on Sunday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and a bungee day trip will cost you 9900 NPR (I availed a 15% discount that they offered to the first jumpers till the end of January). The package includes two-way bus transportation, lunch, the jump and, all taxes. There are other packages too that you can find on their website.

If you can, do take that leap of faith. There's nothing in the world like floating in mid-air.