Parasailing was my first experience of an adventure sport and this post is for those who are petrified of making that first move. It’s really easy and if I could do it, so can you.

I was in Thailand with a group and we all went for an exploratory visit around Pattaya to try out some water sports that Thailand is known for. We wanted to start with parasailing as some people in the group had a prior experience with it. We were taken on a speed boat to another one which from afar looked like a huge platform in the middle of the sea.

While I was not the most enthusiastic of the lot to go ahead with parasailing, the one thing that made me warm up to the idea was that it needed no preparation, no changing of clothes and no pre-qualification of knowing how to swim. The people there spoke very little English so instructions were very limited. Before I knew, I was being packed up with a life jacket and the harness for the parachute. I had to run a bit on the platform at the word go so that I could be up in the air as the boat to which my parachute was tied sped up.

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Now two things that I felt immediately as soon as the parachute flung up were – an immediate sense of fear and my weight! For those few seconds I understood what it meant to hang on for dear life. Once I got over the immediate reaction and got a grip, I started enjoying myself. My feet dangling in the air, that feeling of flying up was exhilarating. They gave the choice of “dip or no dip” before I took off. “Dip meant that you would be dropped in the water for few seconds and flung up again. While it sounded very exciting, I did not want to be completely dripping and hence chose the ‘no dip’ option. The ride was for a few minutes. After which I landed back on that platform. Again I had to be a bit careful which landing to keep walking a bit as I would otherwise have fallen. Many people from my group irrespective of age and size did it comfortably. Definitely one of the safest adventures and a must try.

Few things to note:

  • It’s better to go with a vendor who already has a lot of customers, even if it means waiting in the queue for some time. Don’t select the lone vendors with no customers as you don’t know how sturdy their equipment is.
  • Parasailing does not require knowing swimming or any specific attire. Just ensure you are not in any free flowing garments which would not be able to hold the wind. Get rid of your scarves, caps etc as well.
  • Right from the time you are harnessed to the time it’s taken off you, let the professionals handle it and follow their instructions. Don’t try to do things on your own for your own safety.
  • Price would be around 800-1300 baht, depending on the place where you are and the quality of the vendor.