Yesterday, Justin and I had a drink at Cocoon for a lame day party, especially by Las Vegas standards. There is a Bungy jump operation next door to the venue, and I had talked about it since viewing it the first day I arrived in Bali. Although I have a fear of heights, I decided to jump.

After entering the jumping venue, I observed one customer jump and noted how much higher it was than I had imagined in my mind. I bought a ticket for $116, which is expensive, but it also affords one of the best views of the Indian Ocean and the rest of Bali. After purchasing the ticket, I still procrastinated for 8 minutes before taking the elevator ride up, which was actually mortifying, owing to its slow and rickety ascent.

I had a notion to back out at the top, but I jumped the 45 meters (148 feet) safely. This jump is unique in that it overlooks the Indian Ocean and "lands" over a pool with a depth of 5 meters (16 feet). I told the operators that I wanted to be able to touch the water but even after calibrating the rope and weighing me (60kg), I was disappointingly short of the water. I was told I did not weigh enough to ensure a touch, although I saw a few fat customers reach the water easily.

There were a few crazy options on the standard jump. One could drive off the platform with a motorcycle where both the person and bike are harnessed. The other crazy option was to wear a flame-retardant suit and be lit on fire. Then, one would jump all the way into the water to douse the fire out! This option actually requires two pre-fire calibration jumps to ensure that one submerges into the pool.