I can’t think of any other way of kicking off my 2017 other than “flying.” Yes! flying
When I was a kid, whenever people would ask me about a super power I would want to have, I always tell them “I want to fly.” And still to this day, it’s something I wish is possible for human beings to do! I think it’s really cool (and amazing) for people to fly from one place to another.
Despite my desire to “fly high,” I’m a bit scared of heights! I love to get into high places and enjoy the view from above but the thought of “falling” scares me to death. This is the reason why (I think) I would never be able to do bungee-jump neither sky diving! There was this time I dared myself into doing “free fall” and it took me 10 long minutes to jump! Just imagine the anxiety I had the moment I discovered we were doing PARAGLIDING (I thought we were doing Ultra Light Plane ride).. Friends, I almost backed out!
Paragliding Philippines is located at Carmona Rizal. It’s an hour drive from Pasig City but may take longer if you’re travelling on a weekday. We were scheduled to start the activity at 8:00 AM but due to miscommunication between the pilot and operator, everything got delayed. The pilot finally arrived at 9:00 AM, started our 20 minute hike at around 9:15 AM and started “flying” around 10:00 AM. You also have an option to rent a 4×4 if you don’t want to hike
There were 3 pilots manning the operation. There were 2 pilots who flew with us, Malaysia and Slovenian. We didn’t get to meet the 3rd pilot since another group booked him. My boyfriend and I were the first one (from our group) to try it. We waited a bit until the winds were strong enough to start. My boyfriend flew with the Slovenian pilot while I get to fly with the Malaysian guy. My heartbeat was so fast because I was so nervous. I kept on asking the pilot if we our going to jump off from where we are. He didn’t say much. He just told me not to sit down until we where up on the air, he said it’s not complicated at all and that I can relax.
I’m almost all set for the flight. I had all these harness and other things on me I don’t know what for. Then all of a sudden the pilot told me to run… I wasn’t ready but he already started running! I saw the cliff, got scared, jumped off because I no longer have a choice, was waiting for the “falling” feeling but didn’t have that! Then boom, I was up there! Everything was too fast! But hey, the view was stunning! I can feel the wind on my face! I never felt so free! Suddenly, I’m like Princess Jasmine enjoying my own magic carpet ride ❤ It was a 10-minute ride, flight rather. I enjoyed every second of it. I just hope we had a good landing. As we were trying to land, the wind didn’t cooperate thus was not able to land from where to took off (that means I have to do the 20 minutes hike again). I think my pilot forgot to tell me to straighten my legs and try to run as we near the landing area thus I end up hurting my butt! It was painful but I didn’t get any bruises. Anyway, It was still all worth it!
It was certainly a one-of-a-kind experience and I would definitely do it again! Sharing you some pictures (some of it are pixelated, I just took screenshots from my video thats’s why)
Other useful details
- You may want to bring at least 2 litres of water as you’ll do hiking for 20 minutes
- Wear comfortable clothes. Wear jogging pants or leggings. You don’t know what can happen during landing
- Solo flight costs Php 3,200.00. They also have tandem paragliding, meaning there will be 3 people flying. You may check their website for prices
- Booking can be made via their Facebook page Paragliding Manila Philippines
Adventures & Beyond 
wow! Amazing! I’m glad you were able to overcome your anxiety haha
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I’m happy I did ❤ haha
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