If you’ve seen Pirates of the Caribbean or ever had a pet hamster, then you probably know what the Zorb Ball is — a giant inflated balloon delicately perched at the top of a 50 meter hill with you inside of it. It gets pushed down a hill or even into a lake. You bump over shrubs, small animals and the odd pedestrian, you spin around as if you’re in a washing machine filled with adrenaline.
What a Zorb Ball can Do [Jackie Chan zorbing in Operation Condor]
The Zorb Ball originally came from New Zealand, but is now becoming more prevalent in Thailand, not just for tourists, but for young people and students from Bangkok, who only have to drive 2 hrs to neighbouring Khao Yai or Chiang Mai to rent out a Zorb. They then spend the next few minutes screaming with a group of friends, or being romantic with loved ones on what will be a rocky ride.
The current world record for speed is 50kph, though most people will go at half that speed, it will still seem very fast inside the small inner void. There are two ways you can ride in a Zorb, there’s the “dry” mode or “wet” mode, which means filling it up with water so you can splash about, water park style, or “Zorbing” on the water.
Newly invented, the Zorb seems to have a lot of potential in the future. They are currently being tested as survival tools for floods and possibly even tsunamis.
For more info see:
Zorbing at the X-Centre in ChiangMai