body zorbing bubble soccer suits

It is smooth sailing all the way. Oars splashing in the placid lake create silent ripples as a kayak glides from Murukkumpuzha to Kadinamkulam. A steady stream of instructions from Wing Commander (retired) Unni Krishnan Palat is the only conversation in the kayak. “Hold the oars parallel, then you won’t splash water into the kayak. Gently, gently…there are different movements to guide the kayak in the direction you want it to move. Once you learn how to steer, the kayak is the fastest and easiest way to travel on water.”bubble soccer suits

In the middle of the lake, surrounded by water on all sides, I wonder if I am in deep water as the shore seems far away and my hands often lose the coordination to keep the oars moving. The picture-postcard setting is another distraction. I find it is not easy to sightsee and keep moving all the time. But Palat is a pro and soon, to my delight, I find myself rowing a kayak in some fashion. Much to the amusement of two of the women on shore, Palat (doing the lion’s share) and I manage to reach the other bank and get back, all in one piece without the kayak capsizing or the oars getting lost.

This ability and confidence to guide even novices and landlubbers like me to enjoy the thrill of adventure sports is what motivated this veteran paratrooper (who was chief instructor of Paratroopers Training School in Agra and Limca Book record holder) to set up Kayak Adventure along with two other intrepid entrepreneurs. Kayak Adventure, affiliated to the National Adventure Foundation, offers adventure sports in absolutely pristine surroundings.bubble soccer

Palat, T. Parameswaran and Joseph Pereira began this place at Murukkumpuzha, a laidback town on the banks of the Kadinamkulam Lake, 25 km from Thiruvananthapuram.

“After taking the land on lease from Pereira, we did some landscaping on the nearly two-acre plot and set up the facilities to encourage people to discover the outdoors,” says Parameswaran.

A swimming pool, commando nets, Burma bridge (rope bridge), a tunnel, fibreglass kayaks, coracles and Zorbing balls invite guests to have a ball on the premises, all under the eye of trained safety officers, men and women.

Palat finds it strange that the profusion of water bodies in Kerala have not motivated many to learn swimming. “Moreover, water transport is the cheapest means of transport and in a waterscape like Kerala, it should have been tapped. However, we seem to have neglected or forgotten our water bodies and along with it our love for the outdoors,” says Palat.