10.27.18 Up in the Air
Three of us took advantage of the optional hot air balloon adventure at the crack of pre-dawn this morning. Things certainly had an inauspicious start when we met our driver at 4:45 AM, climbed into his car and immediately realized the car didn't start. Shades of memories from long ago when I would pop the clutch in my first car, a VW bug, down our hill in Ohio in an attempt to sneak out - usually to toilet paper someone's house. And that's just what our driver did with the help of the doorman.
When we were about 2/3 of the way to our destination, we pulled over in front of another vehicle with its front hood raised to see if we could help. It turned out that there was an Indian family of four who were clearly stranded and heading to the balloon launch as well. So we squeezed them into our vehicle and continued on. (I did suggest to Ashish that he might want to consider another company of drivers in the future).
I would be hard pressed to tell you where we ended up, but the same thoughts were going through our minds...we had no money; we had no phones; and we didn't have Ashish's contact info. When I mentioned that we could have been easily kidnapped and abused, Cindy laughed at me and said they would have to be pretty desperate. (ha ha)
Anyway, we arrived while they were inflating the balloons before sunrise - my favorite part - and enjoyed some very sweet tea and biscuits pre-launch. Below
https://youtu.be/xlp4NScoIz4
https://youtu.be/8LMOLMFkHPM
We were in balloon #2 with a British family of 5 and a Turkish pilot. All aboard were fantastic - especially our pilot, who had over 30 years experience with balloons, racing, sky diving, teaching aeronautics, etc. In other words, he was AWESOME!
This was about my 6th balloon ride - 2 in Australia and 3 in Africa - and it was amazing because we were considerably lower in the air - which game us a great view of the farming villagers coming alive. As word spread that the 3 balloons were heading their way, people left their breakfasts; grabbed their cellphones to take pictures; gathered the children and the elderly and waved to us vigorously. I thought the most hilarious moment occurred when a farmer was going to the bathroom out in the field. Before he could get his pants back up, we were just above him just cracking up!
Here are some of the best shots I could get during our adventure...
Three of us took advantage of the optional hot air balloon adventure at the crack of pre-dawn this morning. Things certainly had an inauspicious start when we met our driver at 4:45 AM, climbed into his car and immediately realized the car didn't start. Shades of memories from long ago when I would pop the clutch in my first car, a VW bug, down our hill in Ohio in an attempt to sneak out - usually to toilet paper someone's house. And that's just what our driver did with the help of the doorman.
When we were about 2/3 of the way to our destination, we pulled over in front of another vehicle with its front hood raised to see if we could help. It turned out that there was an Indian family of four who were clearly stranded and heading to the balloon launch as well. So we squeezed them into our vehicle and continued on. (I did suggest to Ashish that he might want to consider another company of drivers in the future).
I would be hard pressed to tell you where we ended up, but the same thoughts were going through our minds...we had no money; we had no phones; and we didn't have Ashish's contact info. When I mentioned that we could have been easily kidnapped and abused, Cindy laughed at me and said they would have to be pretty desperate. (ha ha)
Anyway, we arrived while they were inflating the balloons before sunrise - my favorite part - and enjoyed some very sweet tea and biscuits pre-launch. Below
https://youtu.be/xlp4NScoIz4
https://youtu.be/8LMOLMFkHPM
We were in balloon #2 with a British family of 5 and a Turkish pilot. All aboard were fantastic - especially our pilot, who had over 30 years experience with balloons, racing, sky diving, teaching aeronautics, etc. In other words, he was AWESOME!
This was about my 6th balloon ride - 2 in Australia and 3 in Africa - and it was amazing because we were considerably lower in the air - which game us a great view of the farming villagers coming alive. As word spread that the 3 balloons were heading their way, people left their breakfasts; grabbed their cellphones to take pictures; gathered the children and the elderly and waved to us vigorously. I thought the most hilarious moment occurred when a farmer was going to the bathroom out in the field. Before he could get his pants back up, we were just above him just cracking up!
Here are some of the best shots I could get during our adventure...
The other 2 balloons - releasing the propane to change course.
Loved these 2 women...before their children appeared...
...and after.
Even the dog participated!
The sunrise wasn't the best because of the haze from
the brick making industry nearby, but it was still worthwhile after some dissipated.
We saw many camel carts pass by on their way to the brick-making factory.
Such cute children who were part of the homeless population sleeping under the stars.
A homeless family welcomed us even though some of the younger ones
were frightened by the balloon.
Pollution from the brick-making plants.
Even the camels were looking up into the sky.
Mom and child.
Girls heading off to school.
These 2 were too busy herding their cows to look up.
Our landing was the social event of the year - as the families seemed to pour
out of the woodwork and surround the balloon after we landed.
We figured there were at least 100 folks in incredibly colorful clothing.
Here's our crew and captain (front row middle)
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