Experience of a Hot Air Balloon Ride
Sometimes we live in our dreams and sometimes our dreams live in us. Either way, we are still attached to the fantasies that we once nurtured when we had skinned knees and gap teeth. My biggest fantasy as a pig-tailed moppet was to be suspended in mid-air and command the wind to take me to the highest high there was. What made the silent wandering in the blue more special was the fact that I, along with seven other people, were 3,000 feet from the ground, floating over one of the most picturesque views of Jaipur.
f Photo by DarlArthurS
To me, being born a flightless human was a shameful curse. Growing up, that fantasy slowly faded and more important things took its place — education, heartbreaks, career, independence and more heartbreaks — and life brought me closer to the ground than I would have usually liked.
Suddenly, even in my strongest imagination, thousands of helium balloons could not lift me off the ground. Practicality ensued and I started looking for a more realistic way to fulfill my desire to fly, metaphorically at first, but when an opportunity akin to my original dream found me I grabbed it by its tethers. Picture an over-sized picnic basket, the gushing noise of a brilliant stream of fire three feet above your head and a giant, yes, giant colorful balloon in all its pregnant glory skimming the ground at first but then slowly drifting away from land.
Photo by drurydrama
That is where I was, in a hot-air balloon, a pig-tailed moppet once again. All my worries dropped off my shoulders like heavy sandbags at the sight of the burning propane; the heat soothing the lines off my face and the sun peeking from behind haze and clouds, meekly announcing the dawning of the day. The sight of the proud Amber Fort approaching under us in slow motion while we were afloat in our childhood dreamboats, instilled an epiphany-provoking calm as the mighty wind took the reins and guided us into oblivion.
Tour Organizers
My first hot air balloon flight was courtesy Sky Waltz, a government approved hot air balloon company that organizes tours over the greens of Ranthambore, palaces of Jaipur and Udaipur, and even over Pushkar for those who seek an unforgettable peek of India from above. Sky Waltz has been organizing flights for over six years in Jaipur and has done more than 1,000 flights. More information is available at www.skywaltz.com.
By Sonia Wigh
About the Author
Sonia Wigh loves to travel and is an avid reader. She is partial to historical romance novels and historical travel accounts.
