Ballooning!

Early the next morning, very early, Jenika and I arose and headed out. We would be hot-air ballooning starting at 6am, with Kapodokya Balloons.

We jumped in a shuttle bus, went to the main office, paid, had some tea, and jumped in another shuttle bus. Soon we found ourselves at the launch site right as dawn happened.

It was fascinating to watch the team of eight unfurl and inflate the balloon.

And then we got in. With a quick release of some fire into the balloon, our pilot began our liftoff.

And then we were up! It was amazing to simply lift off the ground and begin shooting into the sky. We first went straight up, for a long while. Once we had reached a fair bit of altitude, I snapped a couple of shots of the surroundings.

We had won the race to be one of the first high up in the sky, affording an amazing view of the other balloons lifting off.

Soon, they joined us and it was a festival of flight in the sky.

Then he took us down and showed off his skill. He navigated the balloon within mere inches of rocks and trees as we floated through Love Valley, named after the fairy chimney peaks everywhere.

One more ascent, this time to 8,000 feet of elevation above sea level, 4,000 feet above the ground. Then we went down. It was much like a really amazing elevator ride, which I've tried to capture in the video below.

The feeling of the flight was fascinating. After some initial fear of heights, it dissipated and I was just enjoying the ride. Once we were at altitude, it reminded me so much of scuba diving. It felt like immersion in another world where we were just guests. All there was to do was to look around and be amazed, which I was. It was also bizarre how we couldn't feel the wind because we were riding it. We only felt a slight breeze when going up or down from the wind coming off of the balloon.

When we landed, the crew prettied up the balloon and offered us champagne. Not too bad for 8am in the morning!