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Caption: Ballooning in Bagan Myanmar
Caption: The clouds are always improvising,
but
the culprit is the wind
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Caption: Sky high Imagine soaring high above temple laden fields, floating with the clouds like a bird who's wings never tire.
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Caption: Just a little after 6am we are met by an old bus and head off to a local football ground. It's dark and the heat has yet to awaken, but that doesn't dampen the spirits of the local people who work for our hosts. They greet us with warm smiles as bright as the sun will be later on and a very welcomed coffee!
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Caption: The ground crew have been out here preparing the balloons well in advance of us arriving. They are unrolled, laid out flat and then inflated. This takes some time to get to the point where the balloon is filled with enough propane to need tethering. Light is breaking through the darkness.
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Caption: Instructions are given to us travellers and we are now experts in climbing into the baskets and positioning ourselves for landing. The basket has 4 sections with a middle divider for the pilot. Each section has 2 travellers who hop in using the cut outs in the basket. More propane is ingested by the hungry balloon.
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Caption: There are 3 balloons out today and we are the first in the air. You can barely feel the ground crew letting go of the ropes holding us down. A wave goodbye and we are setting sail.
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Caption: The view from up here is amazing with the land covered in temples. We watch the fog loosen it's grip on the temples and slowly rise up to us. The sun is now streaming light shows all around us.
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Caption: We fly at different altitudes - 3 balloons in a row topping up our sails as we ride the thermals. The movement seeming effortless. Below us, children wave and yell hello; people stop in the street to watch us float past. The market square is buzzing with activity.
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Caption: 45 minutes of following the magnificent Irrawaddy River, viewing rural farming life from high above and taking in the sun's awakening - sweeping colours across the land is breathtaking.
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Caption: Life here is very precious and those down below can only dream of such a luxury as this ride.
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Caption: Time for the brace position - we are coming in to land!
You have to squat inside the basket compartment with your shoulders inside the top of the basket. It's uncomfortable and tight. Worse still is you can't see anything but look up and see the tree tops passing us. No one knows what to expect and the heart starts racing a little faster as each second passes.
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Caption: Crash!
We have a few bumpy touchdowns in a row as the ground crew try to catch us and stop the dragging along the ground. We collect a lot of firewood as we land! Thud again and the ground crew give it another go and manage to jump onto the sides of the basket and pull us upright. A mammoth effort especially considering these aren't bodybuilders.
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Caption: Champagne and fruits await our arrival along with the postcard and lacquer goods sales teams who gather around.
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Caption: "How sweet to be a cloud floating in the blue" A.A. Milne
