Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Bagan Continued

I am afraid of roller coasters, Ferris wheels and small airplanes.  I don't like walking over wooden bridges and I have a difficult time using my step ladder.  I was dreading the four flights we had to take while we were in Myanmar because I knew the planes would be small prop planes.  

I was most terrified of our scheduled hot air balloon ride in Bagan.  Although I knew it would be an incredible experience, part of me wished they would lose my reservation so I could watch Susie take off and then go somewhere for coffee and croissants.

Like almost every day of our vacation we got up before dawn.  We took a beautiful restored old bus to the balloon ascension site (I think that's what it is called), drank some coffee and got a safety lecture.  I had been to a hot air balloon festival before but this was the first time I was actually going to be a passenger.  It was not easy getting into the basket and I didn't love our take-off. 

This is what I saw at the beginning of the balloon ride.




After only a couple of minutes I was feeling comfortable enough to actually stand up (it helped that I was right next to the pilot).



This is what I saw when I stood up.


What a great experience.  It was so quiet and the ride was so smooth that I stopped being scared almost immediately.  Seeing all those temples from above was magical.  And we got champagne at the end.

Cleaning up






Proof


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