I mentioned in my last post that it became clear as we toured the Bagan pagodas that the impact of the zone is really the totality of the pagodas rather than any particular one. We were therefore very much looking forward to our sunrise hot air balloon ride, the first for us both.

The day began with a 5:45am pick-up in a WWII-era bus, which traveled a series of bumpy roads to reach our launch site. We were broken up into groups of 16 as that is the number of passengers their baskets can hold, and asked to stand in a group while they began the inflation procedure. First, they used a high-powered fan connected to a generator to put in the intital air:

 

Then, the pilot hopped into the center of the basket and finished with the gas from the propane tanks on board.

Finally, passengers were loaded and given an enthusiastic send-off by the ground crew.

Our ride lasted just over and hour and varied in altitude between 1,000 and 2,000 feet. The ride was gentle and serene (exept when Clive, the pilot, fired gas into the balloon, which for folks like me standing in the center of the basket was LOUD) and the scenery simply breathtaking.

A procession of monks leaving the monastery to receive their daily food donations.

There were 10 balloons from our company in simultaneous flight.

There were moments when were were flying close to temples.

And others that provided a wider scan of the full landscape.

The landing was impressively precise and the thud when we hit the ground was much softer than I’d predicted. It was then I learned that one deflates a hot air balloon releasing the circle of fabric at the top:

I know there are people out there who are afraid of heights or otherwise disinclined to skip a hot air balloon ride. But after this I concluded that coming all the way to Bagan and not doing this means missing out on the #1 best experience Myanmar tourism has to offer.