Jumping from the World's Highest Bungy in Macau!

Nov 17, 2017
6 min read

Don't get me wrong here, but unlike any other extreme activities which I've done in the past (such as paragliding), never in my ENTIRE life was I planning to jump out of a fucking building.

I mean, are you nuts?! I never understood people who find any sort of enjoyment from doing such an adrenaline-filled activity. No, it's not even filled with adrenaline anymore, rather danger. I mean, you actually trusted your entire life on a piece of hanging rope, or a parachute? So yes, bungy jumping was (initially) never on my Bucket List.

That is, until I mentioned to a good colleague whom I work with that I was planning to go to Hong Kong next month, and that she enthusiastically told me that I should try hopping on a speed boat to Macau to try on the world's highest bungy jump. I thought she was insane for recommending such an extreme activity, for I was more shocked to hear that my colleague has done such an activity. She's older than me and definitely not the type of person whom I think would ever bungy jump at first glance. And that's when the thoughts finally popped into my head.... if she can jump from the world's highest bungy, surely I can too?

So I started researching more about the bungy jump from Macau, or widely known as AJ Hackett Bungy Jump from Macau Tower. It is 'apparently' the world's highest bungy jump, scaling up to 2333m in height. Though I questioned on this, there was something else which I questioned even more about bungy jumps- safety. Well no shit sherlock, I was going to jump from one of the world's highest spots, I might as well take concern of my own safety! So I proceeded to speak with the AJ Hackett Macau Tower staff through Instagram at just how safe and reliable the company is. Not only do they have a clean record of throwing more than a total of 4000 people off buildings through their centres worldwide, they also told me that if an accident occurs from one of their bungy jump centres, the company runs the risk of losing their operating license altogether. And so far, AJ Hackett has been operating day and night, assisting people to jump off buildings daily with no failure.

So okay, the company seemed reliable. But what about bungy jumps itself? I then proceeded to google with search words from the light ones such as 'what does bungy jump feels like?' to the heavier ones such as 'BUNGY JUMP ACCIDENTS', 'BUNGY JUMP DEATHS'. And fair enough from this research which I conducted personally, it seemed that bungy jumps are safe. Accidents mostly occur based on human errors, and this only takes up to a rough percentage of 1% from all bungy jumps conducted worldwide. Experience wise, I started to ask those who have jumped through the Macau Tower what their experiences felt like. And to my surprise, their answers were always so short, brief, and unsatisfying to answering my initial question.

"Oh you should try it! It feels like flying!", "It feels crazy!!!", "It all happened so fast...."

Filled with curiosity on how the experience feels like, I finally decided to do the bungy jump....

The Bungy Jump

I didn't initially purchase my bungy jump ticket as soon as I reached Macau Tower. What I did instead was purchase the ticket to go up to the observation deck of the tower to further analyse whether I want to bungy jump or not. From there, not only can visitors see the lovely skyline of Macau and the infamous Cotai strip, visitors can also see a more thrilling view of the tower itself- people jumping off the building. Each bungy jumps were documented through a 'live screening' TV in the observation deck, so you can see people mentally-preparing themselves at the edge of the tower, and then proceed to seeing their actual falling bodies from the observation deck's windows. It was amazing, and at that moment I knew I was not leaving Macau without jumping off Macau Tower.

I then proceeded to the registration booth to register myself for the bungy jump, as well as to pay. Much to my utter disappointment, due to the poor weather conditions (post-typhoon weather) and the high number of jumpers (it was a weekend), I had to wait for an estimated 3 HOURS until I can bungy jump. Not too shabby in my opinion, so I used the remaining time to explore Macau before heading back to Macau Tower.

Once I reached Macau Tower again, I changed my shirt into AJ Hackett's famous bungy jump red shirt, and changed my sandals into trainers. My body was finally strapped on to the bungy jump belays, and the ground staff then proceeded to conduct a briefing with me, including weighing the total of my body weight + bungy jump straps. The staff then wrote the number of my body weight at the top of my left hand's palm, and then lead me to sit with other jumpers by the lounge.

I was surprisingly calm throughout the entire waiting period, perhaps because I was more disappointed by the fact that I didn't manage to bungy jump in the broad daylight, meaning that I had to jump at night. But it was great nonetheless, I managed to converse with a few other jumpers by the lounge, including a crazy Kiwi man who was on a world bungy-jump tour, and that this was his fourth jump from Macau Tower for the day.

The jumpers were called by the number of their body weights which had been written down at the top of their left hands' palms, instead of their actual names. I witnessed a few people jumping off the tower before proceeding with the jump myself, including a South Korean man who backed out. He had a macho look on his face, complete with a skin-head haircut and tattoos covering his entire arms (one of it ironically 'Carpe Diem'), but when it was time for him to jump off the platform, he backed down and refused to do so, leading him to sit in a squatting position by the platform until he was escorted out by the ground staff. It made me feel a bit uneasy to see him, and the fact that a group of Observation Tower visitors were laughing at his lack of courage. I mean sure it was hilarious to see such a dude backing out, but it takes a lot of mental preparation to jump off a tower and not everyone is capable of doing it, I'm sure!

Finally, it was my time to jump.

After my number was called, my body was once again weighed on the platform, and my belay was strapped unto the bigger bungy jump rope. The two on-ground staff by the platform had been nothing but helpful and entertaining to me. They made sure I was comfortable, made me wave into several cameras here and there, and asked me to walk slowly unto the edge of the platform as the heavy rope would otherwise drag me down. They raised both my arms up to make a 'T' shape, asked me to look up, counted down from 5 to 1 and pushed me...

The whole experience felt very unreal, and I almost couldn't remember being pushed off from the edge at all! All I could remember was seeing that the otherwise perfect vertical view of the night sky that I had in front of me was slowly turning into a falling angle within a matter of seconds... and that's when my mind and body were conscious enough to realise

HOLLY FUCK, I AM FALLING!

The adrenaline experience was nothing like anything I've experienced before! A lot more rapid, faster and overall crazier. The jump was accompanied with an extreme 'sinking' feeling deep inside my tummy, and while the jump lasted for a good 7 seconds before I was finally bouncing up and down by the rope, the sinking adrenaline feeling deep inside the pits of stomach definitely lingered on for a longer period of time.

Conclusion

Was the bungy jump great?

Definitely

Would I recommend this to anyone?

I would recommend this to EVERYONE.

Would I bungy jump again given the chance?

No, but next time I'd definitely go for bigger actions, like SKY DIVING.

Why do I think YOU should bungy jump off Macau Tower and not elsewhere?

Bragging rights, bruh! Sure there are other places in the world where you can bungy jump alongside beautiful nature sceneries, but how often can you tell people that you've bungy jumped from the world's highest bungy? Not only this, but the fact that you're jumping off the building... I hardly think that you're going to care about the beautiful sceneries surrounding it. Despite the fact that the bungy jump from Macau Tower may be a lot more pricier than elsewhere, it is definitely worth the price you pay. And besides, you can always save good sceneries for sky diving instead ;)

What tips do I have for those considering bungy jumping in Macau Tower?

DO book in advance, so you don't waste time queuing and being disappointed if you didn't get the timing slot you expected (like me)
DO look for online deals for discounted prices. Around the time when I was bungy jumping, I remember the company Klook was giving a bundle discount for bungy jump AND return ferry tickets from Macau to Hong Kong that was fantastic.
DO check the weather conditions beforehand. After all, everyone always prefers bungy jumping to a fantastic, brightly-lit weather, unless you're short on options or time (like me).
DO prepare the suitable attire if you're planning to bungy jump. This means, closeted shoes (trainers), and comfortable pants/tights/shorts. No dresses!
DO HAVE FUN!