Having bought tickets to the UAE to celebrate a friend’s anniversary, we paid for the hot air balloon flight in advance. At the request of the tour company, we sent copies of our passports and our height and weight details by email.
The organisers promised to be in constant contact, as the flight could be postponed due to the weather.
This was indeed the case. We received daily text messages from the company explaining the situation. The flight was postponed day after day, and finally, the long-awaited news arrived: tomorrow we would fly to admire the sunrise in the desert!
We got up at 3:30 a.m., loaded into a minivan, and headed to the meeting point. On the way, we picked up others who wanted to join us.
When everyone had gathered, we were given instructions in English, with demonstrations of how to behave during the flight and landing. I never thought that you had to fasten your seatbelt in a basket, just like in a car. Only the direction of the belt was slightly different.
After signing the instructions, we drank some tea and headed to the take-off site. On the way, we dreamed of taking lots of photos near the inflating balloon, but that was not to be. As soon as we arrived at our destination, we were quickly loaded into the basket. Getting into it was the most difficult and funny challenge.
We never understood how we took off. It was so smooth and easy. During the ascent, the pilot was in constant communication with the ground crew.
The desert is beautiful from a bird’s eye view.
Three more balloons were floating in the distance. The pilot talked the whole time, and we, not understanding English, enjoyed the views.
After a while, it became boring. We imagined how we would rise and fall in the balloon, flying up to landmarks, but instead… there was nothing but silence and emptiness.
The flight lasted about 40 minutes. During this time, the pilot turned the balloon 360 degrees several times so that everyone could see the desert from different angles. The cameras didn’t stop clicking.
Our team was waiting for us at the landing site. The balloon was placed on a trailer with us inside. We thought we would have time to take a photo with the balloon in the background, but again, alas, we were disappointed — the balloon was quickly deflated and laid on the sand to be collected. At that time, we were offered another entertainment — a photo session with a falcon. Everyone received certificates of participation in the flight and we headed back.
At the original meeting point, we were given lunch boxes.
Conclusion
Our expectations were too high. Whether or not to take a hot air balloon flight in the UAE is up to you. The experience itself was interesting. The positive emotions were there, but they didn’t quite reach the desired level. There wasn’t enough time for a photo shoot with the hot air balloon in the background and a longer flight with more adrenaline.
