Paragliding in Pokhara, Nepal

"Please don't do the acrobatics." I told my pilot, Peter. 

"We'll see. Maybe you'll like it when you're up there." he said.

This was our conversation before we walked closer to the edge of the cliff where he strapped the parachute cords onto my harness.

Picture-taking while waiting for our turn

Just an ordinary day in Sarangkot

After securing everything, he said...

Peter: "You only need to do one thing, okay? Don't jump. Don't sit. Just run, okay?" 

Me: "Okay!" 

Peter: "Wait for my signal. When I say run, just run straight ahead." He repeated.

Me: "Yup!"

We waited for a while for the clouds to clear up. The next thing I know, I could hear him saying "Run! Run! Run!", and I ran as fast as I could to the edge of the cliff, and within seconds, my feet were no longer touching the ground.

Shortly after takeoff

It was such an incredible feeling. Even though it felt like it was just me and the elements, it didn't feel scary at all.

I looked down at the tiny houses and winding roads. The rice terraces were various patches of green. Even though the Annapurna Range was elusive, I still got unobstructed views of Sarangkot Hill and Fewa Lake. 

Joining the other paragliders

From our short conversation while we were up there, I found out that Peter used to be a builder for 20 years in Wales before finally deciding to be a tandem paragliding pilot in Nepal. 

He said just like me, he was just a 'passenger' before. He loved the experience so much, and decided to train to become a pilot. He's been doing this for 9 years now. He says he loves his job so much that he doesn't mind going to 'work' on Mondays. ;) Couldn't argue with that.

I read in some blogs that pilots look for signs if the passenger is not feeling well, and maybe based on Peter's observations, he saw that I was having fun that's why he tricked me and did this...

Pokhara Paragliding from Kat Torres on Vimeo. Video not in HD because of Vimeo restrictions WARNING: You might want to turn down the volume because I screamed like a 5-year old girl in this video LOL
I have to admit, I'm glad he did the acrobatics because I had so much fun even though I got scared a bit. haha

Happy to have landed safely :)

Some tips: Wear comfortable shoes with good ankle support (for landing), and just eat a light meal hours before the flight. 

For NPR10,200 (USD103), the package included transfers to and from the jump-off point, the 30-minute flight, pictures and video taken with a GoPro, and oh, we also got this 'certificate':

K

 

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