Defying Gravity

"She flies through the air with the greatest of ease..." and then she slams into the guide, who is waiting to catch her on the platform. "Kaw toot! Kaw toot!" Excuse me sorry! The dude weighs 110 pounds and all my weight comes flying at him down a zip cord. I hope he gets paid well.

Jungle flight is an experience not to be missed if traveling in Northern Thailand. The guides are entertaining, the adrenaline rush is unbeatable and the scenery... I can't find a word that's not a cliche, but since it's true I can sincerely say it's beautiful.

I'm on a day trip with Jungle Flight - 7 hours of ziplining, abseiling and sky walks through the Thai canopy. I chose the longer course (the obvious choice) with 30 some platforms but there is a shorter 5 hour course with 23 platforms for $7 less.

The four guides - Jack Sparrow, Tom Cruise, Boston and Ting Tong (Thai for "crazy") are a mischievous riotous bunch. On the first abseil, Boston whips out a book with a handwritten cover titled "Jungle Flight Training Manual" and nervously flits his eyes back and forth between the book and the equipment. "Wait Wait WAIT!" he screams as he drops a Swedish girl straight down, while she squeals with glee and adrenaline the entire way.

The joking attitudes of the guides created a kind of summer camp feel - making us feel less like individual customers and more like a big group of friends on a camping trip (Swiss family Robinson style!) Even with all the joking, it was obvious these guys really knew what they were doing and that we were in good hands. I was always attached to some line or thick cable wrapped around a tree.

There had to be huge trust in these guys too. They clip you on and say 'go' and sometimes the only confirmation of your attachment is the whispered 'click' the carabiner make (you can't see them clip you when the line is attached to your back) and you are expected to jump off the platform faceforward...WAH!! The rush when you just let go, fall, and speed over the trees is intoxicating. Most people screamed with laughter the whole way and dazedly stared back down the line trying to catch their breath once they reached the next platform.

I can honestly say that the view is breath taking because I really did let out a sob while flying down the line, being so moved by the shapely mountains blanketed by green and tinged with a hazy cloud. Going through the lush forest could have been a multi-day adventure - there was so much beautiful climbing green, intertwining limbs, gray trunks with pale lichen patches. It took an hour long drive up a windy (thankfully paved) road to reach this place, but just an hour away there were no signs of being that close to a city while we were up in the treetops.

The only disappointment I suffered was the lack of wildlife. No exotic birds, gibbons or snakes. A lot of sparrows mainly. We were there for the hottest hours of the day when most animals would be smart to lay low, and probably the amount of human traffic through their habitat kept them at a distance from the track we were on. Other than this, the experience was phenomenal.

I would have guessed the whole group to be staring out our windows on the way back, looking up to the canopy marveling at how two hours earlier we were up there swinging through the branches. Instead, the whole group passed out in the air-con bus ride back to town, where we were delivered to the Chiang Mai Sunday Walking market. All that adrenaline really wears a person out! If you are ever in the Chiang Mai province of Thailand, make sure that you don't miss this chance to fly through the air :)