Would you like to ride in my beautiful balloon?
Would you like to glide in my beautiful balloon?
We could float among the stars together, you and I
For we can fly, we can fly
Up, up and away
My beautiful, my beautiful balloon
The world's a nicer place in my beautiful balloon
It wears a nicer face in my beautiful balloon
We can sing a song and sail along the silver sky
For most of our days in Egypt we were up and on our way early in the morning barely getting ahead on the jet lag. On our second night in Luxor someone suggested that there were early morning balloon rides to be had for $80. It would mean getting up at 4.30 am on what was supposed to be a sleep-in kind of day. Needless to say we were all in, even Colin who apparently doesn’t do heights very well, hates tight spots and for him, it’s safety first.
We got picked up just before sunrise and dropped at the liftoff site just as the crews were inflating the balloons. Suddenly our balloon was up and ready and without another word, about 24 of us piled snugly into the basket and before one word of safety could be suggested we were up, up and away. Talk about facing your fears in one moment.
I had never really thought about flying in a hot air balloon and I certainly didn’t imagine I would be doing so in Egypt, but it was truly amazing. Apart from the occasional roar of the burners it is a most peaceful experience and with the Nile Valley below us and the sun rising in the East and balloons all around, it was magical. The world does seem ‘a nicer place in a beautiful balloon’ and it does ‘wear a nicer face.’ So for at least the 90 or so minutes that we were aloft and the dancing that ended it all, the troubles of the world seemed far away.