the joy and fear of falling-- the Malaysian bungee jump

i had waited long enough not to do this. my friend Mash who was supposed to fly with me to Kuala Lumpur didn’t come for some reason and my other friend Riz (of lamyerda.com), of all parts of the body, got her lower left leg burnt from a motorcycle mishap (thank God it wasn’t that serious) and it would have bled with the rope that had to be tied tightly through her legs even if there was a towel to cushion the grip. what was supposed to be an adventure i should be sharing with my two close friends was just about to become a solo flight. i was already there, at Sunway Lagoon, in another country. i just had to do my first bungee jump.

San Juanico Bridge at high noon

i arrived in Tacloban from Naval at around 10am and the sun heat was a killer. i had to take my brunch yet and then be told by the locals of varied instructions as to where i can take a ride going to THE San Juanico Bridge. yes, that longest bridge i first saw only in drawing in my first or second grade Sibika at Kultura textbook. just like seeing the Banaue Rice Terraces, i felt a pang of nostalgia there even though this was just the actual first time i laid my eyes on it.