A balloon is floating, not flying! Everyone knows that, right? I had flown a lot before, but never been in a balloon. Mainly because it was too expensive in Germany. But here was the chance to glide through the air for about half the price in Germany, and I have to say it was worth it!
With Alli, a German balloonist who actually lives in England but occasionally takes guests or TV crews for a ride through the air in the rest of the world.
Our journey started on Wednesday morning at six o'clock with a small breakfast at the launch site. We were driven to a field east of Tandwe and watched the balloon inflate while enjoying coffee, tea and cookies.
After some instructions, it was time to board. There was ground fog over the land and the sun was just rising. With the sun behind us and heading west, the balloon's silhouette was painted on the white ground as the golden peaks of the surrounding pagodas slowly emerged from the mist. Our launch site was not far from a river. Alli used the wind and took us into the river valley. At the level of the treetops, we went a bit parallel to the river. We continued towards Tandwe and the fog continued to clear as the sun rose. More and more details appeared from the cotton candy clouds. After about 45 minutes, we reached the outskirts of Tandwe. Over a market, Alli, who speaks a bit of Burmese, shouted down if there were any snakes for sale. The answer was yes. The originally planned landing field by Alli was in the fog, so our balloon pilot decided to try a new spot, a soccer field on the outskirts of Tandwe. There must have been a school nearby. Many little children came running. Alli made a clean landing and the sweet little kids came running. We were served champagne and given a certificate as a farewell. Unfortunately, we were not baptized.
