WHERE IN THE WORLD ???: Great Zip Lining Saturday

BUT WAIT! There is more fun with the Keefer family…

Platform with long zip line and repelling platform

On Saturday we went to do a zip line called Jungle Flight. We had talked to Mr. T because of his great prices and arranged for him to pick us up Sat. morning. The plan was to be home by 4pm because Steve and Rhoda were hosting their small group with a meal and study time beginning at 6pm. We were looking over the brochures that Mr. T had given us and they were quite funny due to translation into English. One of the funny things on it said..come enjoy Jungle Fright…they have trouble saying “L” in a word so it often turns into an “R”. Some other quotes are:

-"The car that you got the name car from…?... we don’t know them that is why we can not help when you call us when they took the money and never show up again."

-"Mahout training program – take care of your own elephant"

-"Elephant spa elephant to keep cool for the elephant to make beautiful skin to do protection the insects bite them in the night.

-"Tour expensive don’t go"

-"Tour factories – free if it is not free don’t go"

In spite of Mr. T’s funny phrasing of things we have grown to really like this guy…he runs his business very professionally and is dirt cheap compared to other places…

Jan approaching platform. Can you see original platform (300 meters)

So we headed out in the morning with 3 other friends who also wanted to come. Emily and Hannah came as well and Ben stayed home with Gee (the lady who works for them in their home). You have to be at least 4 years old to take the Jungle Flight. We were taken in Mr. T’s van to a place where we transferred to another van owned by the Jungle Flight Company. Not sure how all the arrangements were made but Mr. T kept telling us we did not owe anyone else any money…so off we went in a large new Toyota van that sat 14 people plus driver comfortably.

Scenic View at Jungle Flight

It was an hour drive up a VERY winding road. I was really glad to have a seat with a good view out the front window to avoid loosing my breakfast. By 11 we were in our gear and started the jungle flight/fright. :) There were 34 platforms…3 ascending drops like repelling down to another platform…20,30, and 40 meters down each, a spiral staircase down a tree and several swinging bridges. The longest zip line was 300 meters (about 320 yards) with a couple others over 150 meters. The scenery with the mountains and forests was amazing and we had picture perfect weather. The little bit of rain the day before took away the haze that had covered the mountains.

Everyone watching Emily go zipping

Needless to say we had a fantastic time and our 2 guides were a lot of fun. I felt really bad when a couple times my “brake”, which was a piece of bamboo with a notch in it (that you would hook over the cable and hold down) was not applied strong enough and I rammed into the poor guide who was half my size…I am sure it was hilarious to watch but sad to say no one caught it on video. The one time there was a foam around the tree that he kind of got pushed into…the other time I came in to fast to the platform and there was no cushioning and I am sure I nearly knocked the guy out…the more I think about it ….the more I laugh about it. When we were coming in to fast they would yell BLAKE (meaning brake!) or they would yell FEET UP!! lest we ram our shins into the platform! Some of the rides were very fast so there was a need for the brakes but it took awhile to get the hang of just how much pressure to apply to the cable.

Video perspective as you zip across the jungle

Swing Bridge on trek uphill

We had 9 people in our group so it went a bit slower but it was fun to watch everyone. I had wondered how Emily and Hannah would do but they wanted to go first every time. They were so cute and truly enjoyed it. Because they were so light one time they did not make it and he way over and then went backwards and had to be “rescued”. They thot it was great fun to get a longer ride then everyone else. We were able to stop and have a snack and drink at one spot and we were all past ready for that. Shortly after that we had to walk on a bridge... mostly swinging... and wooden path that they said was 550 meters…about a third mile which in itself did not sound so bad but the guy failed to tell us it was all up hill…most of it quite steep. And at 1000 meters above sea level the altitude had a bit of effect on us.

Emily and Hannah ready to zip

Also included in the deal was a lunch but we did not realize it was at the end of the whole thing so when we ended at 3:45 we were all starved! But we were treated to a spread of Thai dishes when we got back to the starting area. After we all ate our fill, which we tried to do kind of in a hurry since we were already running quite late we got back in our nice van for a ride home full of reminiscing of a great day. Except poor Rhoda was thinking of getting home and having things ready for people in the small group. We arrived home at 5:45 and the friends started coming at 6 but we had things set up and the grill going and it was fun to meet this group of people who have become the Keefer’s friends and support group here.

Below are some additional pictures from our time Saturday. We also add pictures to the site that can be accessed by pressing the button in the left column.