I leaned forward and fell.
The pressure of the air, the reaction of my body, the view, my eyes opening and closing, I was breathing fast and hard, the tightness of the gears and safety lines doing their work, the feelings, overwhelming me all at once.
When I felt the first bounce, I pulled the string to make me right side up and just shouted. I shouted into the air while breathing hard. My hair was messy and I was truly overwhelmed. Overlooking the Macau city skyline, the realization of conquering a great feat hit me and it was truly amazing. In that moment, I was truly grateful.
Reaching the ground, the staff helped me with the gears and congratulated me. I thanked him greatly. My adrenaline was still rushing. I was still on a high. I was really happy with the accomplishment. The staff led me to the elevator that would take me back up to the 61st floor.
In the elevator, I was joined by a group of American tourists. The tour guide happily saw me and my Bungy Jump shirt and said, “Wow, everyone, we are very privileged to have a brave survivor with us. She just jumped off the Macau tower. We now know that girls are truly braver then boys.”
We all laughed. Some of them took my picture and took pictures with me. They asked me how I felt and I told them that I was still very overwhelmed. They congratulated me and I offered my gratitude.
After I changed my clothes, I went back to the platform and thanked all of the staff who helped me through my experience. I stayed for a few more minutes to watch the view and other jumpers. In that instance, I was proud. I was happy and content with what I had done. I knew that I will never forget my AJ Hackett Bungy Jump experience.
Take note that the experience does not come cheap, though. The full Bungy Jump package costs around Php23,060. The package includes a t-shirt, an e-certificate, a photo set, HD videos, an AJ Hackett International Membership card entitling you to a 20% discount on your next bungy jump in any of AJ Hackett’s companies worldwide, discounts at Macau tower, and free tower admission.
The shirt is really nice and has good quality. They also gave me a USB shaped like a bungy-jumping figure with about 70 photos and 2 videos (1 edited, capturing me in different angles from areas around the tower and 1 video from the go-pro camera I wore on my wrist during the experience). The e-certificate was sent to me via email a few weeks after my jump.
Is it worth it? This question hounded me so much before and after the jump. When my friends or readers of inspiringgratefultravels.wordpress.com ask me, I tell them that for me, it was.
Every person is unique. One has his or her own desires and preferences; one acts on differently on decisions in situations. I always inspire careful thinking. I always encourage that if you want something, if you work hard, if you feel it in your heart and mind that the choice will be a good investment for one’s self, then take it. People just have to keep a positive mindset and make the most out of everything.
My family and my close friends see me as a very frugal person. I really think about my expenses. I value the importance of money. The dilemma of a 9-second Bungy Jump for more than Php20,000 really made me analyze every aspect of the experience and expense. I thought about the elements of the price and the AJ Hackett company – safety precautions, the brand, equipment, hype, reputation, etc. I thought about the amount and how else I could spend it. I thought about other extreme activities I could do that would cost less, among other things.
In the end, I decided that I wanted to do the bungy jump. All things considered, I knew that I needed to make the most out of every second of the experience – before, during, and after. And that is what I did.
Up until today, I share my story and experience because it has great value to me. My words have become a part of other people’s decisions to jump off that edge. Up until today, I still make it as valuable and as worthwhile as I can. I keep the story alive to inspire others to have their own Bungy jump experiences, have their own realizations, and eventually have those people inspire others, as well.
Tell us about your Bungy Jump experiences. What have you learned from them?
AJ Hackett Macau Tower Limited
Level T2 – Adventure Zone – Macau Tower Macau, SAR, China
