Mickey in Singapore pt 4 - GMax Reverse Bungy
The GMax Reverse Bungy ride lit up at night
Ok, this was earlier in the week, but I was hoping for better pictures. Since it was at night, they didn't turn out too well. But I figured I'd just go with what I have. As mentioned in an earlier post, Shannon the Bungey Queen challenged Mickey to ride the Reverse Bungey ride at Clarke Quay. It is called a reverse bungy because you start on the ground between two high towers. Then the bungy cords are pulled really tight and you are suddenly released. The seat you are in shoots up in the air and then bounces (many times) before coming to rest. Then you are lowered to the ground. It goes 60 meters up and hits a top speed of 200 kph (that's just under 200 feet high and 125 mph for those of you who are unit challenged).
Shannon had done this with her friend a week or two before, so she was the veteran. There are three seats in a metal cage. You are strapped into the seats - really well because you wouldn't want to come flying out! Shannon sat in the middle and Mickey and I sat on the ends. When they pull the cords tight, the seat rocks back so you are staring straight up. You feel kind of like an astronaut about to be launched. Then just before they fire you, they turn on a lot of artificial smoke. Any time that someone does the ride, it always draws a crowd of people to watch - Clarke Quay always has lots of people walking around.
You really fly up when the chair is released. But then you hang for a second at the top before you start a looooong fall down. And you bounce quite a few times. On our third bounce, the chair rotated so that we were facing straight down as we fell. That was probably the wildest part of the whole thing. None of our group was screaming or anything (lots of groups do - alot). But when we were at the top of a bounce and the thing tipped straight down and started to fall again, all three of us said "Oh Shit!!!" at the same time. Good thing you are strapped in really well!!
Getting ready for launch
They have a video camera mounted that looks right at you. They have a display next to the ride so people on the ground can see your expression as you are on the ride. I thought I did really well, but Sandy clued me in that I looked like a dork. Story of my life. The bad news is, they give you a DVD of your ride. So it would be preserved for posterity. But by some miracle, when we got home and tried to watch the DVD, they messed up and made a bad recording. Whew! I guess it pays to be a big tipper.
Mickey and Shannon were really terrified by the ride. They took advantage of the special offer and did a second ride for a reduced price. Their second ride was even wilder as they turned face down on the first three bounces. That would have been something.
We all survived. I got my tshirt. Hey, I wouldn't do something that crazy for nothing! If you want to see more of the GMax ride, you can find it at the official GMax website. Be sure to watch the flash movie.
