1. Taking flight
It’s 5am and we’re standing in a dark valley in Cappadocia. Severely jetlagged and shivering from the cold, our group of pan-Asian journalists can barely keep our eyes open, let alone see what’s in front of us ... but no one’s complaining. Huddled around, cameras at the ready, we wait in anticipation as our hot-air balloon gets inflated.
Our eyes gradually adjust and the silhouettes of a dozen other hot-air balloons start to appear around us—their bulbous shadows blending seamlessly into the distant skyline of Cappadocia’s famed cave homes and fairy chimneys.
The result of millions of years of natural erosion, this otherworldly Anatolian landscape is what makes a hot-air balloon ride over Cappadocia such a coveted bucket list item.
The area (Göreme National Park and its surrounding rock sites) is a UNESCO world heritage site not just for its spectacular landscape, but for some of the world's largest (and oldest) cave-dwelling complexes dating as far back as 1200 BC.
With our balloon now the size of a small house, the Deluxe Balloons crew fires hot air into its mouth with a giant burner, causing it to rise. A few minutes later, they pull the basket upright and shout that it's ready to board.
One by one, we climb in, making sure we distribute our weight evenly across both sides. About 12 of us can fit in here snugly (less premium flights can take up to 20), and as part of the safety briefing, we’re told to grab the ropes along the inside of the basket should there be a bumpy landing.
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Our pilot is a young-looking Turkish man with a goatee—armed with a walkie-talkie in one hand to communicate with air traffic control and the burner in the other—his hand pressing the lever every few seconds to shoot a roaring flame upwards.
The intense heat of the burner warms us up from beneath, and as the pilot keeps the flame going, the ground crew let go and we find ourselves drifting off the ground in what must be the smoothest take-off ever, floating higher and higher into the sky, just as the sun’s started to rise.
With up to 100 colourful balloons taking flight each morning—each of them flickering like mini-lanterns—the view of Cappadocia from above is truly breathtaking. Besides the clicking of camera shutters, sporadic walkie-talkie static and the occasional roar of the burner, not a sound can be heard as we take in the sights with all of our senses.
For the next hour, we go wherever the wind takes us—the balloon spinning ever so slightly to give everyone a chance to get their money shots. One minute, we’re floating high above the fairy chimneys to see Mount Argaeus in the horizon; the next, we’re hovering mere metres from the ground, holding our breaths that we don’t collide with anything.
Our pilot expertly navigates us through the rugged landscape, and when it’s finally time to descend, the ground crew is ready and waiting. As we approach, they grab onto ropes attached to our basket and help us land squarely on the back of their truck, with zero impact at all.
By now, the sun’s out and there’s a golden glow across the valley. As we’re helped out of the basket—beaming from ear to ear—we celebrate with a glass of champagne, a commemorative flight certificate from the pilot, and cheers to another thing off the bucket (or basket) list done.
Come along for the ride in the video below:
Video and photos by Erica Fong/Hong Kong Tatler