Hi, this is Rod Cuthbert. travel offers hot air balloon rides all over the world, and while in Phoenix, Arizona recently I took the opportunity to find out what it’s all about. Not what I expected at all, surreal and exhilarating but not really an adrenaline rush. It takes a while to get set up. The pilot has plenty of adjusting and pre-flight checks to make, all of which make sense once you get airborne. I found the balloon itself amazing, a very beautiful object and one of those rare things where the design has changed little since its invention in the 18th century.
The nature of hot air balloon flight is very different. Besides the occasional burst of flame to gain altitude, it’s an incredibly quiet and peaceful experience. There is so much to see and no barrier between you and seeing it. In Phoenix we look down over the dessert, highways, housing developments, ridges and plains. I guess the view is a lot different here from the rides travel offers in places like Barcelona, or Las Vegas, or Dubai. But the main point here is that being able to look down on anything from six or seven thousand feet is a pretty amazing experience. Most balloon tours consist of multiple balloons all taking off at the same time. It’s a great idea because one of the most beautiful things to look at on photograph is another balloon in flight.
Depending on the tour the flights last 30 to 90 minutes, but time does seem to stand still up there and there’s no exactness about ballooning. The pilot will decide when to land, but he won’t know exactly where until just a few minutes before. He will let the pickup crews know, so you can be sure when you touch down there’s a helping hand there to grab the basket. Most balloon tours end with a glass of champagne and some include breakfast or afternoon tea as well. Even though you haven’t been doing much, you’ll have an appetite by the time you land. travel offers hot air balloon tours in each of these locations as well as hundreds of all the great tours and activities. So enjoy yourself up in the sky and thanks for reading.
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