This was probably the most eagerly anticipated part of our whole Myanmar trip. My birthday present from Alison was to be a balloon trip over the Bagan temples!
We set our alarm for some unearthly hour as the balloon flight was scheduled to take off at dawn when the air was at its stillest. When our transport arrived at the hotel to drive us to the take-off site, we got onto ancient buses that looked like they had been converted from old WW2 army trucks. (Subsequently we were informed that in fact this is exactly what they were. Apparently, the vehicles had originally been shipped over to Burma from Canada to take part in the Allied offensive to drive the Japanese out of the country in 1945. At the end of the war, it was too expensive to ship them back and so they were converted for use as buses. To think that maybe my dad might even have ridden in one of these vehicles as he travelled from Bagan to Mandalay in the war).
Arriving at the take-off field, we were given a reassuring sounding safety briefing by Graham, our English pilot working for the Balloons Over Bagan company that runs this operation. We were then able to watch the Burmese ground crew going about the task of inflating the balloon envelope, first with cold air blowers, and then using the massive quad propane burners to fill the balloon with hot air. Gradually the balloon envelope rose into the still rather murky dawn air until it was fully vertical. Then it was time to get into our 16 seater balloon basked and watch Graham and the ground crew make the final preparations for take-off. With a long blast on the burners we rose gently into the air and looking around we could see the other 9 BOB balloons lifting into the sky with us.
Soon after take-off we could see that we were heading for what is arguably one of the most impressive temples on the Bagan plain – the massive gilded pagoda of the Shewzigon Paya. Another quick blast on the burners lifted us gently over the pagoda, and looking down we could see the early morning worshippers looking back up at us and waving. Looking out to the East, we could now see the sun’s red disk starting to emerge from below the horizon, casting an orange glow on the brick pagodas that stretched off into the distance. The light Easterly wind was blowing us out over the Irrawaddy, and the balloon started to sink towards the surface of the river. At one point I thought that we were about to touch down on a sandbank, but Graham was just toying with us, and fired up the burner again to blast us skywards to higher airstream that would carry us in a Southerly direction back over the Bagan temple plain.
As we floated over the vast expanse of temples we could see our fellow travellers in their balloons, each following a slightly different trajectory over the landscape as the wind decided where they would be blown. It is hard to imagine a better way of getting an overall view of the sheer scale of the Bagan temples region than from a balloon. As we progressed slowly across the landscape, Graham showed off his piloting skills by performing a 360 degree pirouette with the balloon. I had not appreciated the amount of control that the pilot actually has at his disposal, by opening various flaps around the balloon’s envelope to allow the hot gas to escape and push it around. He then allowed the balloon to sink towards the ground as we approached one of the largest of the Bagan pagodas – the Sulamani Temple, which made for some good photo opportunities.
Finally, after about one hour of flying, we had reached the edge of the temple plain region, and it was time to think about landing. All the time we had been flying, Graham had been chatting to the ground crew on the radio to give them our location, and as we neared his chosen landing spot we could see the old bus racing along below to intercept us. Narrowly missing a tree, the balloon sank towards a clear-ish field and Graham chucked out an anchor line to the ground crew running along below. Grabbing this line, and with a whole lot of shouting, they brought the balloon under control and guided it to the optimum landing spot where it could touch down and allow the envelope to collapse into the field – which they rapidly cleared of all obstructions with their machetes. The basket made gently contact with the ground then Graham pulled on the line that released air from the top of the balloon. We were now well and truly landed.
The adventure ended with a champagne breakfast and presentation of our certificates to show that we had indeed flown in Balloons Over Bagan. A truly magical experience and a wonderful birthday present which I am sure I will remember for a long time to come.
We set our alarm for some unearthly hour as the balloon flight was scheduled to take off at dawn when the air was at its stillest. When our transport arrived at the hotel to drive us to the take-off site, we got onto ancient buses that looked like they had been converted from old WW2 army trucks. (Subsequently we were informed that in fact this is exactly what they were. Apparently, the vehicles had originally been shipped over to Burma from Canada to take part in the Allied offensive to drive the Japanese out of the country in 1945. At the end of the war, it was too expensive to ship them back and so they were converted for use as buses. To think that maybe my dad might even have ridden in one of these vehicles as he travelled from Bagan to Mandalay in the war).
Arriving at the take-off field, we were given a reassuring sounding safety briefing by Graham, our English pilot working for the Balloons Over Bagan company that runs this operation. We were then able to watch the Burmese ground crew going about the task of inflating the balloon envelope, first with cold air blowers, and then using the massive quad propane burners to fill the balloon with hot air. Gradually the balloon envelope rose into the still rather murky dawn air until it was fully vertical. Then it was time to get into our 16 seater balloon basked and watch Graham and the ground crew make the final preparations for take-off. With a long blast on the burners we rose gently into the air and looking around we could see the other 9 BOB balloons lifting into the sky with us.
Soon after take-off we could see that we were heading for what is arguably one of the most impressive temples on the Bagan plain – the massive gilded pagoda of the Shewzigon Paya. Another quick blast on the burners lifted us gently over the pagoda, and looking down we could see the early morning worshippers looking back up at us and waving. Looking out to the East, we could now see the sun’s red disk starting to emerge from below the horizon, casting an orange glow on the brick pagodas that stretched off into the distance. The light Easterly wind was blowing us out over the Irrawaddy, and the balloon started to sink towards the surface of the river. At one point I thought that we were about to touch down on a sandbank, but Graham was just toying with us, and fired up the burner again to blast us skywards to higher airstream that would carry us in a Southerly direction back over the Bagan temple plain.
As we floated over the vast expanse of temples we could see our fellow travellers in their balloons, each following a slightly different trajectory over the landscape as the wind decided where they would be blown. It is hard to imagine a better way of getting an overall view of the sheer scale of the Bagan temples region than from a balloon. As we progressed slowly across the landscape, Graham showed off his piloting skills by performing a 360 degree pirouette with the balloon. I had not appreciated the amount of control that the pilot actually has at his disposal, by opening various flaps around the balloon’s envelope to allow the hot gas to escape and push it around. He then allowed the balloon to sink towards the ground as we approached one of the largest of the Bagan pagodas – the Sulamani Temple, which made for some good photo opportunities.
Finally, after about one hour of flying, we had reached the edge of the temple plain region, and it was time to think about landing. All the time we had been flying, Graham had been chatting to the ground crew on the radio to give them our location, and as we neared his chosen landing spot we could see the old bus racing along below to intercept us. Narrowly missing a tree, the balloon sank towards a clear-ish field and Graham chucked out an anchor line to the ground crew running along below. Grabbing this line, and with a whole lot of shouting, they brought the balloon under control and guided it to the optimum landing spot where it could touch down and allow the envelope to collapse into the field – which they rapidly cleared of all obstructions with their machetes. The basket made gently contact with the ground then Graham pulled on the line that released air from the top of the balloon. We were now well and truly landed.
The adventure ended with a champagne breakfast and presentation of our certificates to show that we had indeed flown in Balloons Over Bagan. A truly magical experience and a wonderful birthday present which I am sure I will remember for a long time to come.
No comments:
Post a Comment