Egypt: Day 4 - Riding on a Hot Air Balloon in Luxor

JC and I were just looking for a car to rent for our excursion to Valley of the Kings on our first morning in Luxor at a travel agency booth near the entrance to the hotel when we noticed that they have hot air balloon rides too in Luxor.

“Do you think you want to try that?”

“I dunno. Do you think it’s safe? What’s their safety record like? Didn’t they have a few accidents a few years back?”(That's JC with his many questions, heh!)

“No clue, but we can always ask...”

After booking the car, we browsed the hot air balloon albums at the booth, still not sure whether we wanted to go on the ride. Neither of us has been on such a ride before. It’s something that has kept me intrigued that I wanted to try it out at least once. I was however afraid that it might trigger my fear of heights, which has been known to happen from time to time. I wondered what I could do if there was an attack while I was up there in the air. There’s simply nowhere to run, literally.

(And… and… what if I suddenly needed to pee whilst up there? Haha!)

JC, on the other hand, has a fear of small/enclosing space so his concern was more on the size of the “basket” and the number of people who are going to be flying in the basket. Not a perfect combination, I guess. Add that to the safety, regulation and enforcement concern, you can understand our worry.

It was then that I saw a photo of Tony Blair, the former British PM, happily smiling whilst flying on a hot air balloon belonging to the company. Now, I’m not exactly a fan of Mr Blair - although I did vote for his political party back in the 90s - but I told JC that “If this company is good enough for Tony Blair, it’s good enough for me.”

“Hmm… So do you want to go for it?”

“I’ll do it if you’ll do it,” I agreed with some escape clause.

“I’ll do it if you’ll do it,” JC countered. 

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The morning started early. We had to skip breakfast at the hotel and travelled in a van to the centre of Luxor to catch a boat just to cross the Nile before getting on the van again to get to the flying field. On the boat, we were given some snacks which we happily munched. After all, we haven't had our breakfast yet.

Boats on the West Bank, Luxor

I had initially wondered why we needed to take the boat when we could have just gone straight to the field with the van. It’s not like there are no road bridges that cross the Nile, you know? The company probably just wanted to add something to the experience, I guess, but I bet it wouldn’t beat enjoying the sunset on a felucca the afternoon before. 

I was wrong.

From the river bank, we saw that some balloons were already up in the air and, despite the very hazy weather, that got us very excited.

Hot air balloons hovering above the West Bank, Luxor

We arrived at the flying field soon after and I started to have some mixed feelings again about flying. It was exciting to watch balloons being prepared and started flying but at the same time, the same concerns came back playing on my mind.

JC wasn't exactly happy with the size of the basket either, although I'm not sure how much bigger he wanted the basket to be.

Our hot air balloon was being prepared

Soon, our balloon was all fired up and ready to fly, and there's no turning back for us anymore. We took off after some safety briefing by the pilot, and plenty of silent prayers on my part.

The concern and worry, however, were gone the moment I started appreciating the view that I was seeing.

Deir el-Bahari ("The Northern Monastery") with Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut being the main feature here.

Deir el-Medina (I think!)

Oops!

Flying again

It wasn't long before I came to realise that the ride's pretty unique, mainly because of the changing landscapes over which we flew - barren land, green cornfields, excavation sites, historic temples and tombs - all against the backdrop of a rocky mountain.

I was simply awestruck by the view.

Whilst hovering above a cornfield, the pilot asked all of us, passengers, if we'd like to fly high in the sky or low and see some of the sights closer from above. I was willing for the balloon to go higher and further, which is, of course, pretty ironic, considering the fact that I was not even sure I'd wanted to fly on a hot air balloon even at the very last moment.

The majority, unfortunately, voted to fly low to see the sights from above. In hindsight, however, it's probably the better choice because of the haze/dust.

Excavation work in progress

The Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu

This was how low we went down during the ride

The Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu

An archaeologist's abode, or so we were told.

Preparing to land. 

After about an hour or so, it was time to land. The pilot gave us another quick safety briefing, advising us on the position to take whilst landing and what to do in the event of a crash landing.

I closed my eyes and started my silent prayers again just before we landed. The landing was not that smooth but when I opened my eyes again, I was surprised to see that our basket had nicely plunged right into the back of a truck that was to carry it back to wherever the company keeps their basket and balloons when they're not flying.

I guess it was quite a smooth work on the part of the pilot after all.

Can you believe that we actually landed on this truck? Needless to say, I was very impressed! :)

Crew packing up the balloon

Upon landing, there was a certificate giving ceremony and some dancing around with the company crew. I didn't participate in the dancing. (I know, such a party pooper, heh!)

I was instead looking longingly at another balloon that was preparing to land, already wishing that I would have the chance to go on another ride soon.

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We might have taken the plunge, or rather, rose to the challenge – by doing something we’re initially afraid of – and couldn’t have been more happy with our decision. Have you done something that you're afraid of and conquered your fear, whilst travelling? If so, what did you do, and where did it happen?

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