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Blackpool, the Jump of the lifetime! |
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The deep blue sea, crowded beach and cloudy sky! That?s how it looked from the top of the tower when the instructor counted down 3,2,1?Go!!!! |
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I was struggling to stand erect against the strong winds there. Then I remembered everyone in a moment and jumped-off the tower, from a mind blowing height of 175 feet! |
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Those were few moments, long enough to leave me a lifetime memory. Bungee Jumping is all about this. It was in my wish list since long back. In fact, I was dying to visit Blackpool only for that. |
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I planned my trip to Blackpool (around 350 miles in the north-west of London) on Friday afternoon 25th of July 2003, when I received a flyer mail from national express.com offering me a ticket to anywhere in the UK for just 5 �s. Yes, sometimes deals go that cheap in UK! I asked few of my colleagues if they were interested and some of them immediately turned-up. So, it was a group of 5 ready to move on Friday night for the overnight journey to Blackpool. |
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The Journey isn?t interesting. In fact it is damn boring. Travelling for so long in a coach is not a good option, but certainly, it?s the cheapest one! Getting hotel booking became a nightmare. Thanks to Ritesh who got us a very nice and comfortable stay. |
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We reached Blackpool on 27th morning and after a short while, we went to see the Blackpool Beach. It was early in the morning and wasn?t very sunny, still the beach was heavily crowded. |
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I was searching for the Bungee Jumping tower. Finally I found it; and within few minutes I was booked! I was watching people jumping and that completely washed away my fear. Some of my colleagues were also interested, but then they backed-off. |
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First I was weighed. Then straps were wrapped all around my body. Then the ground team tested the straps. After that I was stamped ?Checked? on my palm. That?s it, after few instructions, I was sent up the tower by an elevator. The guy on the top looked for the ?Tested Ok? stamp and put few more straps on my knees. He advised me to jump as far as I could instead of diving as suggested by the ground team. I posed before him for the photograph and walked to the edge of the narrow ramp. |
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I jumped instead of diving, it looked wrong to many on the ground, but ask me, I was feeling it! It was amazing! I could see the beach, the sea, the people coming close to me at mind blowing speed. It was just before I could meet the sea; the elastic rope pulled me up! That was the end of jump. Then after many swings I finally came to rest. I was then helped by the ground team to get down. |
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I had just finished the jump. I was the Hero! J |
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For anyone willing to do the jump, I would recommend you jump instead of dive. |
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The difference is: |
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First and very clear, the pleasure of jumping! |
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Second, you get uneven swings that give more thrill! |
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The uneven swings are not spectacular, but they are certainly more enjoyable! |
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That?s it! |
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Then we went to the pleasure beach, an Essel World kind of amusement park next the beach. That was interesting. We took few rides there and then kept roaming in the promenade. |
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In the night the Blackpool Beach is a place to see. There is a stretch of 4 miles long promenade, which is completely lit on one side. It is full of casinos, pubs bars and restaurants. A perfect hangout for a night! From Aug end till mid September, there are illuminations on the stretch. That means the complete road is lit-up from both sides and there are lights across. We missed this fun, but still whatever we saw was just fantastic! |
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The next day again we roamed around the city and on the promenade and then started back for London. |
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Regards, |
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-Rahul |
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(Wednesday, 30th� July 2003/London) |
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(Photos on: http://www.pbase.com/rahulnaodhar/blackpooltrip2627july2003 ) |
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Rahul Naodhar Home |
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