Air Balloon Trip

Last November Susan and I went to Luxor on holiday with friends. Early every morning we would see five or six hot air balloons go up and the others were keen to make a trip, but as I do not like heights I was adamant I would not go up. However after talking to other holidaymakers who had done this trip and said what a fantastic experience it was, my resolve started to weaken. I knew I might not get the chance to do this again and if I did not go, would I regret it, so when the others booked their trip so did I.

We were told to wear sensible shoes and to wrap up warmly as it would be chilly. A minibus collected us from our hotel at 4am in the morning and took us to a small boat on the Nile. Here we were given breakfast, tea and coffee and plain cake. The air balloon pilot then came on board and gave us details about the flight and in particular what position to take up when we landed, as landings can be bumpy. We then crossed the Nile and boarded another minibus which took us to a field where there was this enormous balloon glowing red in the darkness being blown up. The basket was divided into 4 sections and held about 20 people, including six crew members. The gentlemen were left to clamber into the basket but ladies were lifted into it by the Egyptian crew.

It was dark as we gently took off and soared over the fertile Nile valley and then the sun started to appear over the horizon; it was a magical moment. At this point we were not very high as we drifted over farm houses and saw everything start to come to life, the farmer's wife feeding the chickens in the yard and a donkey being harnessed ready for the day's work. The pilot obtained permission from Luxor airport to ascend to 3,000ft and then we could see for miles, Karnak temple on one side and the Valley of the Queens on the other. In the distance we could see other balloons at various heights. We gently drifted along for about 50 minutes and it was so peaceful and breathtaking.

Slowly we started to descend and I gathered from the gesturing of the pilot to the crew that we were going to come down in a ploughed field. As we prepared to land I saw the farmer and his wife with a small child come out of their house to watch our descent. As instructed by the pilot we all crouched down and held tightly to the ropes inside the basket and waited to be jolted about, but it turned out to be a perfect landing. Immediately we touched down the crew members leapt out and started to dex
ate the balloon. Eventually we were allowed to disembark and we trudged across the ploughed field to await collection by the minibus. Whilst we waited for transport we were all given a certificate with our name on it to say we had made the trip and a tee shirt with a hot air balloon on it. It was a marvellous experience, and although I was a bit apprehensive as we took off, I soon felt at ease and I was so glad I made the trip.

Margaret Deal