YOLO - You Only Live Once

15 September 2024, 9:30 PM

I was chatting with a friend, talking about the adventures we've done in life. He mentioned his recent experience of bungee jumping, something he almost didn’t do because he's scared of heights. 

As he talked, the thought hit me: *Why don’t I try it too?* We said goodnight and went to sleep, but the next morning, that thought was back, stronger than before. 

It wasn’t just a passing idea anymore; it felt like a sudden urge. I had never felt like that about something before. 

A week passed, and I asked my friend when we could do it. We started planning a trip to Rishikesh for bungee jumping, but it kept getting delayed, week after week. The timing never seemed right. 

10 October 2024, 11:30 AM 

My phone rang. It was my friend. 

 “Can you take the weekend off?” he asked.  “Where are we going?” I replied, curious.  

"Not just us two—there’ll be four of us,” he said.

 

 “Who else is coming?” I asked.  

“My friend, you’ve met him before, and we’re planning to head to Landour. Maybe we can fit in some bungee jumping too.” Excitement rushed through me.  

 “I’m free. Let’s go!” I said, barely containing my excitement.  

 “Great! See you soon,” he replied. 

 I hung up and got back to work, already daydreaming about the jump I had been dying to do for over a month. But, as luck would have it, things didn’t go as planned. 

17 October 2024

2 days before the trip My friend called again. 

 “We won’t be able to go. I’m sick,” he said. 

My mood instantly dropped. I hung up the phone, not even replying. 

 But then, a thought popped into my mind: *Why don’t I go alone? Why not try something new—an adventure by myself?* 

And just like that, I booked my tickets. But doubt crept in: *Will I really be able to do this?*  My mind flooded with questions:  *How will I manage? What if I get bored? Is this a good idea?* 

 19 October 2024, 10:30 PM 

Even up until six hours before leaving, I was still battling with the urge to cancel the whole thing. 

Guilt over my sick friend made me feel bad, but another part of me kept whispering: "You won’t get this chance again. Just go for it." I fell asleep, trying to quiet my racing thoughts. 

Midnight, 12 AM 

I woke up suddenly, and my mind was back at it again: *Just cancel the tickets. I ignored the thought and fell asleep again. 

4:30 AM My alarm went off. I lay there for a few minutes, wondering if I should really go through with this. *“Wake up, Diksha,”* my heart whispered. 

 Finally, I got out of bed at 4:40. I quickly showered, packed the last few things, and realized I had only 50 minutes until my cab would arrive. 

5:15 AM 

The driver called, saying he'd be there in 10 minutes. I rushed to grab everything, double-checking I hadn’t forgotten anything, and headed out the door. 

As I waited for the cab, I told myself: "You can do this. People travel alone all the time. It’s not a big deal—just relax."

 The cab dropped me off at New Delhi Railway Station by 6:15 AM, half an hour before my train was set to depart. My train was on time, and I took my seat. 

 As the train started moving, my mind chimed in: *So, you're really doing this, huh?* “See, I told you. You can do it,” my heart responded. “Look around, you're not the only one traveling alone.” 

9 AM 

Since I added the food in my tickets, I had breakfast - 2 bread, butter, juice, and 2 cutlets. The food was good enough. 

11:35 AM 

I finally arrived at the destination - Haridwar Railway Station. Excited yet nervous with a thought - Now how will I go to Rishikesh. Unaware of a good option - I asked many. 

Starting with an auto driver. "I'll drop you at Rishikesh in 70 rs after that you need to get a bus to reach Shiv Puri - where bungee jumping was waiting for me." 

 Okay, I said and asked with a cab driver. He said no direct auto or bus will drop you to Shivpuri except the cab". "I think it's better to take a cab and reach Shiv Puri". 

I told myself and took a cab at ₹1800/- . Ohh, just to inform you, usually they charge, 2500. I took a cab and reached the destination. Since I had a train back to Delhi on 20th October 2024 at 6:30 AM, I decided to stay back at Haridwar instead of Rishikesh - it will be easier for me to get a train without being in a hurry.

The cab driver himself proposed - if you want I can wait there and I'll drop you back here at Haridwar. How much will you charge?, I asked. You can give ₹2500 he said. 

I think it's not bad especially when the other person is waiting for you, will drop you and get you a good hotel room in just ₹900. 

 So I hired him for a day. But as usual, none of my trip went good without any twist. I didn't check the Bunjee Jumping address link on Google Map and just asked him to drop me at Shiv Puri while the Bunjee Jumping - which I booked in ₹3700 - was at Mohan Chatti, 20 km away from Shiv Puri. 

He dropped me at Shiv Puri and I kept finding the Office of Bunjee. I finally asked someone and found that it's at Mohan Chatti. I had to head back 10 km back and then 20 km forward towards Mohan Chatti. I panicked because the Bunjee Jumping timing was 2 PM last. 

I somehow find the number and call at the Bunjee Jumping office, requesting them to wait and explain the whole story. 

They agreed and kept the office open till 2:30. When I first headed to the spot, they asked me to visit the office first to submit my bag, phone, watch, wallet and even rings. 

 At first, I didn't realise why it's required to submit the bag as I can get it back after coming back to the same place. I thought they'll make me jump and then pull me up via rope itself but I was wrong. 

2:30 PM 

I'm all empty stomach. Finally, after submitting everything, I came back to the spot and did the Bunjee Jumping. 

The crew and I had a chit chat. Basically they distract your mind with questions - where are you from? Who else's with you? What's your good name? Have you done this before? etc. 

They got surprised when I told them that I came alone here and nobody knows that I'm here. And the conversation goes on wherein they asked what else you've done in your life etc. And I told them that I've done almost everything - Scuba Diving, Motor Boat, Trekking, Camping, River Rafting, Paragliding etc and now this. 

And ohh..."they found my smile cute" 🫣🫠😅

Back to the point - the Bunjee Jumping - it was just amazing. Too amazing to express in words but I'll try....

Oh God!! It's fucking hilarious thing you'll ever experience in your life. Trust me on this when I say - Hilarious. 

I just can't express it in words. I'm not afraid of heights but imagine yourself standing at the edge of a wall and you suddenly look at the height. 

Bro!! No matter how brave you're, in that moment you'll literally be like I can't do this, what if the rope cuts and I die. You'll lose your breath in that moment. I gathered the courage somehow - I don't even know how. 

After looking down for once, I didn't open my eyes until I stopped swinging. Yess!! SWING my friend!! You heard it right. It's not just that you have to jump, and the rope will stop in a single movement.

First when you jump, you won't be straight. The rope will get a bump once between the fall and when the rope will be completely down, you'll swing like hell. The rope will make you swing. It was fucking 83 meters. 

The whole time I didn't open my eyes until the swing slowed down. When I fell, I tried to shout but the voice didn't come out of my mouth and when I opened my eyes..the very first thought came into my mind.. "Fucking Shit... Aur kitna neeche hai ye".. and then I shut my eyes closed tightly. 

 The rope almost stopped swinging and at the moment you'll feel like you're free. Your body will feel light...like very light. I opened my eyes and the world seemed upside down. The helpers down there, will help you to lie down at the bed, they've arranged to make you feel relaxed. Because after jumping, your head will spin. 

My senses stopped working. After 5 mins of lying there I realised what I just did. Can you imagine, how much I was out of my senses. Yes this much!! Those crew members will ask you how it was all and you'll answer but you won't realise what you're saying. You'll be completely lost, especially when you'll see that height - where you just jumped off the earth surface. 

Well, so I headed back to the office after 700 meters of Trek - that's why they will ask you to lock your belongings because you won't be up again from where you jumped off... While heading back I felt like I was lost. 

That time you'll feel like you just reached up there asap. I was in the urge to just sit down for a moment but at the same time I was hungry. I was sweating badly, unable to walk as I was on an empty stomach and it was already 3:30 PM. 

3:40 PM 

I reached the office. The very first thing I did was unlock the drawer, get my phone and call my friend - the one I told you in the beginning of this story. I talked to him like a chatterbox - keep telling him how I felt, what thoughts were running in my head, how I'm feeling right now n all. 

4'0 Clock 

The office had the cafe as well. I was fucking hungry, tired and sleepy as well - because I woke up at 4:30 AM. I ordered a sandwich and a coke, which costed me ₹170. Meanwhile they were preparing it, I had my video - charged 900/- for the same and it was edited. 

4:30 PM 

I had my sandwich and left for Haridwar. Since I haven't had anything since morning and then I had a sandwich, my body couldn't digest and I vomited - twice. The whole time, I was just counting the minutes. 

The thoughts keep running in my head - when will I reach, when will I get the room, when I can lay down on the bed, when I can have tea and something to eat, when I can change the clothes and get rest. 

6:30 PM 

The cab driver helped me to get the hotel and it was pretty good at ₹900/-. You won't have such rooms online at this price. Of course, because I bargained. The hotel - Palli Inn - receptionist was charging ₹1100. 

 I was just in rush to get the room as I was fucking hungry, tired and my head was aching like hell. As soon as I got a room, I put the bag aside and laid down for straight 15 mins. Get up and get fresh n up. I changed the clothes, and ordered tea in the room. 

After having it I felt better. I head out to eat something. Saw the restaurant nearby where a lady was preparing the fresh food. I got inside and had daal chawal and a tea for just ₹100. Guess what it was exactly it tasted like home made - exactly the way I wanted to have after a super tiring day. 

8:15 PM 

 I had my dinner and headed back to the hotel. Booked a Vande Bharat Train to Delhi. It was scheduled for 8 AM and the station was just 2 mins from my hotel. After scrolling down social media for a while, I fell asleep. 

20th October 2024 

Good morning peeps!! It's 6:45 AM. Yes, I woke up late because I didn't realise that I set my alarm for 6 AM from Mon to Sat. Yep!! I didn't realise that it's Sunday not Saturday. 

But thankfully I woke up on time. I immediately got out of bed and took a shower. Ohh btw, I had a good sleep. I got ready and packed my things. While I was doing it, tragedy happened. My bag chain failed and to make it work, my 10 minutes got wasted. 

 It was 7:15 AM already and I panicked as I had a train to catch at 8'o clock. Thankfully there was another chain and I packed my bag and left. 

7:30 AM 

 I wanted to have a good breakfast before leaving but there was no shop open. So I just had "Tapri ki chai" with a biscuit and it was good. 

7:50 AM 

 I arrived at the station. My train - Vande Bharat Express - arrived at 8:06 AM. Again, I walked at the end of the platform - from where I arrived yesterday from Shatabadi Express because there was no class (C1, C2 etc) displayed on the board. 

But this train was small -in comparison to other ones - so I ran towards the train and luckily got the seat just before a min - when the train was about to leave. 

9'o Clock 

The service boy came and asked - "Have you get your tickets checked". I denied. 

The person sitting next to me said that the "Ticket gets cancelled if you don't get it checked" 

 "But why would I get it checked, the TT should do it himself." I replied. 

 "Yes, but he didn't notice you", he replied 

 "You stay here and I'll get it checked". I said okay. 

5 mins later, he came with food - Parantha, aloo sabji, cake, cutlet and tea - it was pretty good. While having food, I enjoyed a movie - Khel Khel Mein. It's a one time watch movie and funny too.

The story revolves around 4 brothers and his wives. They gathered at Rishabh's sister marriage where they played a game - everyone puts their own on the table and whosoever phone rings with email, message or a call, that person will read it loud and everyone listen it. With this game, everyone's truths come out. 

12:45 PM 

Ahh!! The life time memorable solo trip journey ends here. I have arrived at Anand Vihar Railway Station and boarded the metro to my home which took 2 hours to reach home. 

 So the solo trip cost me 11K but it was worth it. You only live once and you should do everything you want to or dreamt off. Life never gives you a second chance and that's why you should never be afraid of anything you think you won't be able to. 

 It was my very first solo trip and at first I was afraid too that how will I go, what will I say to, what if something wrong happens to me but here I am. Ohh here's a secret - I didn't tell anyone except my sister that I'm going alone. 

Nobody knew that I'm out of town. But who cares right? I did it because I wanted to do it and you should too, whatever you want to. 

 Because bro!! At the end of the day - you won't regret a thought - I missed it.