Had a treetop adventure recently. A bunch of ex-colleagues got together for an outing at Skytrex in Taman Botani, Shah Alam. Skytrex basically operates this outdoor, rope-based obstacles thingy. People in temporary bouts of madness, (like me) actually pay to suspend themselves 3 storeys above the ground while trying to scuttle from one tree to another over all sorts of rope bridges, lines and swings. There were basically three courses you could sign up for. Little Adventure is targeted towards kids and adults who value their lives enough to only suspend themselves 3 meters off the ground. Big Thrill is for the wannabe’s – people who don’t want to be associated with Little Adventure and yet are too scared to take up the Extreme Challenge, which as you may have guessed, are for the daredevils and the super athletes.
Since all of us were wannabes, naturally, we signed up for Big Thrill. We were supposed to start our activity at 10.30am but due to some confusion on which bus we were supposed to take to get to the SkyTrex site, and the long lead time waiting for the bus, we only managed to get going around noon. This Taman Botani could use a lot better signages and provide more detailed visitor information. Once I got my safety harness, my fingerless gloves (don’t know what’s the right term but you get the idea) and my bandana on, I was feeling pretty much like a super athlete and wondering what the heck was I doing with a bunch of wusses attempting Big Thrill. Just kidding. I was wondering how I was even going to have enough energy to make it up the20 meter ladder to get to the first obstacle. To cut the long story short, my knees wobbled throughout, I yelled really loud once, nearly broke my back and barely avoided slamming into a couple of trees. By George, it is good to be alive. Anyway, since I didn't bring my camera with me, I did up a few illustrations to share with you the highlights of the course.
What you need before starting :
A. No, that is not red underwear but the safety harness and carabiner. Very important item to have to not get killed if you fell.
B. Fingerless gloves. The instructors may tell you that you don’t need it but believe me, it will help prevent rope and cable burns on your hands when you are hanging on for dear life whilst scuttling across that tightrope.
C. Sports shoes. “N” is for New Balance.
D. Attitude. Smile, laugh loudly, crack jokes. No one will know that you are worrying about whether you can go through the whole course (estimated at 2 hours on average) without having to go to the loo. There are no toilets up in the trees.
Second obstacle – again, my big feet was my Achilles heel.
This was where I yelled out loud when I started swinging back and forth. It was an ordeal trying to make it from one swinging pipe to another – I was holding on so tightly, the veins were bulging out from my arms !
This was where I nearly broke my back. I had to swing on the rope from one plank to another. After landing my feet on the next plank, I was bent backwards, staring up at the sky, wondering how I was going to haul myself upright. After several attempts at this, I took the easier way out and scuttled across by placing my feet on the two ropes holding up the planks. Tarzan can do all the swinging.
All in all, it was fun. Yelling and screaming in a group always is. Extreme Challenge, anyone?
http://www.skytrex-adventure.com/index.php
Pics courtesy of my friend.
3 comments:
looks fun. count me in next time when you try the extreme challenge!
Nice drawings.
Should have invited me too! But what's up with your bandanna...
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