Run and Fly : Paragliding

Saya melihat ujung bukit dimana saya dapat langsung melihat teluk dengan Pantai Air Manis di Kecamatan Teluk Kabung, Padang, Sumatera Barat. Beberapa orang mempersiapkan parasut dengan membentangkan di rerumputan hijau.

I saw the tip of the hill which directly shows the bay with Air Manis Beach in Teluk Kabung District, Padang, West Sumatera. Three people prepare the parachute on top of the green grass.

prep the parachute

around Air Manis Beach

Imagine you're on that parachute!

Melihat kain parasut yang dibentangkan saya membayangkan meloncat dari ujung bukit, rasa takut dan penasaran langsung menghampiri. Karena bukan giliran pertama saya bisa melihat lebih dahulu prosesnya. Kami bukan atlet paragliding tentu kami tidak terjun sendirian tapi dengan sistem tandem, intinya anda hanya perlu memakai harness yang akan dikaitkan ke parasut dan "pilot" parasut, berlari dan kemudian biarkan angin membawa anda terbang. Terdengar simple bukan? It's true, jika kita hanya jadi penumpang.

Seeing that parachute I imagine jumping off from the edge of the hill, fear and curiosity came up. Since I'm not the first one doing it, I can see the process before I finally did it. Well, we're not athlete and none of us had any paragliding course before so we it's a tandem system. Basically you just need to wear a harness, tied to a parachute, run and let the wind takes you up flying. Sounds simple right? It's true if you're just a passenger.

That's the edge of the hills where we'll start flying

helmet, check!

Before take off

Time to go!

Semua peralatan sudah dipasang. Harness check, helmet check, karabiner check dan kini saatnya. Bang Eri, pilot kami di paragliding kali ini memberi brief singkat sebelum mulai. "Lari terus ke ujung bukit, jika harus stop saya akan bilang 'cut' atau 'stop' oke?" ujarnya saat memasang semua alat.

Then all the equipments are ready. Harness check, helmet check, all check and now is the time. Eri, our pilot gave me a short brief before we start. "Run to the edge of the hill, if we have to stop I'll say 'cut' or 'stop' okay?" he said when we prepare all equipments.

Take off!

I'm flying!

Look at this view!

Dan selang kurang dari semenit kemudian saya sudah berlari, titik awal lari hingga ke ujung bukit tidak panjang, kekhawatiran kami adalah jika sampai di ujung namun parasut belum mengembang sempurna. Namun hanya berlari beberapa langkah saya sudah terangkat oleh parasut dan melaju melewati ujung bukit, dengan sangat mulus.

And less than a minute later I was running. The 'runway' isn't long actually, my concern is if we already run to the edge and the parachute didn't work out perfectly. But in fact I just have to run only few steps then I'm already lifted by the parachute, through the edge and going up smoothly.

lookin' down and..

Omagah, this is awesome!

Selanjutnya adalah sensasi terbang. Saya melayang di atas teluk, dengan Pantai Air Manis, pulau-pulau di seberang pantai dan Teluk Bayur terlihat jelas. Hijaunya pepohonan dan rumah-rumah yang tampak kecil dari ketinggian. It was awesome!

Next is the sensation of flying. I hovered over the bay. Air Manis Beach, islands off the coast and the Bayur Gulf clearly visible. Green trees and houses that looked so small from above. It was awesome!
 

Paragliding memanfaatkan angin sepenuhnya untuk terbang. Angin yang membuat naik berasal dari angin yang melewati lereng sehingga menghasilkan daya naik dan thermal atau suhu yang lebih panas yang juga membuat parasut naik. Pilot paragliding sudah tahu betul bagaimana memanfaatkan angin ini untuk mengontrol gerak, ketinggian dan arah parasut. Anda tinggal duduk dan menikmati pemandangan, setidaknya itu yang saya lakukan.

Paragliding fully utilize the wind to fly. The wind that makes us flying above comes from the wind passing the slope resulting in power to lift the parachute. The thermal or hot temperatures also support the parachute to fly high. The pilot really knows how to take advantage of the wind to control the motions, altitude and directions of the parachute. You just have to sit and enjoy the scenery, at least that's what I did.

visiting some islands from the top

smooth and fun landing!

Sensasi ini sangat menyenangkan. Sekitar 6 menit saya berada di ketinggian sebelum akhirnya turun perlahan dan mendarat sempurna di pasir Pantai Air Manis. Run, fly and enjoy. Sometimes we don't need any wings to fly, life is too short to spend on the ground. Go deep or fly high!

The sensation is awesome. For about 6 minutes I was at the height before finally going down slowly and perfectly landed on Air Manis Beach brown sands. Run, fly and enjoy. Sometimes we don't need any wings to fly, life is too short to spend on the ground. Go deep or fly high!

@marischkaprue - maybe she was a fish in her previous life, a flying fish.

NOTES:

• Pantai Air Manis beradas di Kecamatan Teluk Kabung, Kabupaten Padang, Sumatera Barat.
• Air Manis Beach is located at Teluk Kabung, Padang, West Sumatera
• Tarif satu kali paragliding tandem adalah Rp. 250.000,- dengan waktu 'terbang' selama 5-10 menit (tergantung kondisi angin). Booking melalui Eri di +62 812 6793103
• For one time paragliding ride (tandem), the price is about 20 USD, the 'flight' time is around 5 to 10 minutes (depends on the wind). Booking through Eri +62 812 6793103
• Jangan panik dan menahan laju lari di saat take off, ikuti instruksi pilot dan nikmati sensasi melayang. Anda dapat membawa kamera (pocket, mirrorless, DSLR, Go Pro) selama ada strap pengait agar tidak terjatuh. 
• Don't panic and suddenly stop during take off. Follow the instruction and enjoy the flying sensation. You can bring camera (pocket, mirrorless, DSLR, Go Pro) as long as you have the strap to prevent you accidentally dropped it.
• Gunakan sepatu, bukan sendal. Siapkan kacamata hitam karena terkadang matahari sangat terik tapi saat itulah pemandangan teluk dan pantai terlihat begitu indah dan membiru.
• Use shoes, not sandals. Bring your sunglasses since sometimes the sun is so bright but that's the time when the bay and beach look so blue and beautiful
• Paragliding di Pantai Air Manis ini merupakan salah satu kegiatan dalam #MinangkaBike, program Kementrian Pariwisata dan Ekonomi Kreatif Indonesia untuk mempromosikan wisata di Sumatera Barat. Lihat ragam potensi wisata Indonesia di Indonesia.travel
• Paragliding in Air Manis Beach is one of the activity at #MinangkaBike a program from the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economics to promote West Sumatera as a tourist destination. See more about destinations in Indonesia in Indonesia.travel
• Again, thanks to Mad Alkatiri the initiator, let's do more projects in the future!