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Like you I love travel. I love all kinds of different cultures, foods and local wines (and other drinks). Heck I even minored in Sociology in college. As soon as I leave my driveway on my way to the airport I am giddy and can’t wait for every part of the experience. To me travel is like chocolate – that is, it is never bad even when it is not the best.
But there are things I would never ever do when I travel. Here is my short list and see if you are the same. As a disclaimer I should admit that I am very afraid of heights. I know that sounds strange but flying does not bring on this feeling (not even a little).
Flying a crop duster. OK I take it back, this kind of flying scares the living daylights out of me. Take a close look at the photo at the top of this post. The dude (or woman) clears the crop sprinklers by just a few feet and the plane was “moving” fast! I love flying in small prop planes but never ever like this.
Skydiving. I don’t get this. Why would you ever exit a perfectly good aircraft. Now if the plane was going down and my only choices was to jump I sure would want a parachute but otherwise I think this is just stupid.
Hang gliding. Who in their right mind thought strapping your body to a big kids kite was a smart idea. I like flying with power. Now I would fly a real glider but your body with a few ropes under a tiny fabric wing is not wise.
Zip lines. Now I am not talking a back yard or a small one say over water I am talking mega ones you see here and there. I almost got hives watching the cgi one in Divergent. Did I mention I don’t do well with heights? 😉
Para sailing. OK so this is a long rope over water with a parachute with holes and you could drown if something goes wrong (or worse). How is this an enjoyable travel thing I ask you?
Bungee jumping. How dumb is this “sport”. I mean let’s take some really big rubber bands and hope they don’t break or stretch so far that you go splat at the bottom of wherever you are tossing your body off of. Geezzzz – no thanks.
So what do you think of my list. Am I just being a travel wimp or do you agree that everything on my list qualifies as a not-gonna-do on a travel adventure? – René
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Skydiving is one of the best things I’ve ever done!!! Would highly recommend. If you do, get a video so we can watch!!! Make it a business expense 😛
I agree with everything on your list. It’s not being a wimp; it call basic intelligence. I would also add cleaning gutters or doing minor roof repair. I used to think I had to do these things as part of being a man. Now I have matured.
Parasailing is actually pretty awesome. In the unlikely event that the rope breaks, the chute will glide you back down, and the boat will follow you to pick you up.
A real zipline is not anywhere near as ridiculous as the one from that movie scene.
I came pretty close to doing a tandem skydive in Vegas a couple of years ago, but decided to spend the money on dinner at Robuchon instead :p.
@Rene, I also have a very strong fear of heights except when I’m in an airplane. Peeking over the sheer 75-story drop to the ocean from Cape Point near Cape of Good Hope was paralyzing.
From your list, the only thing I would never ever do is bungee jumping.
I have parasailed before. Life jackets are mandatory so no drowning. I have flown gliders and find that to be even more fun than flying powered aircraft. It is total silence and you can fly within feet of other sailplanes.
The other activities on your list, for me, are a matter of degree or learning more about the particular activity. I find that understanding something often dispels fear. For example, crop dusting looks awfully dangerous but there must be ways these pilots minimize the risks of crashing. The chemicals they apply might be the biggest danger.
I think I would enjoy hang gliding and zip lining if my first experiences were designed for beginners not the extreme zip lining in Divergent or hang gliding off Half Dome in Yosemite.
Other travel experiences I’ve tried and enjoyed to varying degrees: (1) cage diving with great white sharks in Gansbaai, South Africa; (2) safaris in Kruger National Park South Africa and Masai Mara National Reserve Kenya; (3) petting a tiger in Phuket, Thailand; and (4) having a 15-foot 200+ pound python placed on my shoulders in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. The first two were fantastic. The last two not so much. Would you try these activities?
On one of my birthdays I wanted to skydive. I told the person I was attached to I wanted to see the underside of the plane as we were falling. He gave a quizzical look and I told him I am always on the inside and wanted it to see it going away. Very intense thought but very cool in reality.
Other than you aversion to zip lines, totally agree with you! As a fellow AV enthusiast have to share a super fun vacation: Helicopter hiking in Canada! Stay in a beautiful lodge with 5-star chef, spa etc. Daily, a Bell 212 takes groups out and back to beautiful locations in mountains; based on how much or little hiking you want to do. Come back at the end of the day to a massage, hot tub, glass of wine, delicious dinner. Check it out- Canadian Mountain Holidays. Unbelievable fun!
Owned a hang glider four decades ago and lived to tell about it. What was I thinking?
Now for a cheap thrill I bungee jump. My emotional support monkey jumps with me. She gets just as nervous as I do but her diaper enables her to hold it together. Cowabunga!!!
Yeah, you’re a bit of a wimp, but irrational fear is built into most of us. I’ve done all but the crop dusting, and I wouldn’t rule it out. I also whitewater kayak. All of which have been less risky than the cumulative risk I take driving to work every day. But don’t you scuba dive? Lots of folks think that’s insane…
I totally agree on the parasailing. What if the motor on the boat dies? You’re coming down and they cannot come get you. You are trapped under the canopy.
I can add one more – jumping off a cliff with only one of those “squirrel” suits on. I got nauseous watching the guys doing it out in Albuquerque several years ago.
Rode in an antique ‘crop duster’ wasn’t bad.
I went para sailing and a very strong wind came up, blew me over the beach, brought me down and dragged me along a barbed wire fence around a horse coral. I still have the scars. My friend watched in terror. Anything can happen, we just have to weigh the risks if we want to do something badly enough.