We started off after a massive 40-odd hours of travel, door
to door from KL to Istanbul, then hopping on another flight to get us to
Kayseri airport almost at midnight because of a plane delay, and having to wake
up about 3 hours later in order to get on our balloon ride.
To be honest, I’ve always been afraid of heights, and the
thought of going up on a balloon at over 2000 feet was intimidating, but I’d
heard so much about how the landscape would look like from the air so I decided
it was something that we absolutely had to do.
And it was absolutely worth that AM wakeup.
We drove out while it was still dark to the office of
Kapadokya Balloons for the standard breakfast that they offer to all
participants of the balloon ride while their pilots figure out how the weather
will be on the day. Our pilot Murat walked through table to table updating us on
the progress as they figured out how safe it would be, and eventually we set
off in our minivans.
As we drove to the balloon site, we were greeted by the
sight of dozens of balloons in various stages of fueling; from those still on
the ground to the ones which were fully inflated and were floating above
ground. Even watching the balloons being fueled at dawn at close range was kind
of magical, to see the flickering fire slowly breathing life into the balloons.
The balloons held from 16-20 people and you had to climb up
into the basket where there were different compartments – about 4 people to one
compartment. They had harnesses for us, although we weren’t told whether it was
mandatory or not to actually put them on.
Despite my fear of heights, it was a very smooth takeoff and
the actual balloon wasn't as shaky as I thought it would be. We glided up so
smoothly as the skies slowly brightened as the sun started to rise and streak
the sky with its golden rays, painting the sky in red and gold.
I had a moment of momentary panic when I realized how far up
we were (3000 feet at one point!!), especially when I looked down and realized
how far off we were! Our balloon was a bit bigger so we probably could go up a
bit further than some of the smaller balloons – so it was especially
nervewrecking to be one of the few balloons out of dozens to be floating up
this crazy height, but then I eventually got used to the height.
The view was AMAZING. I got blown away by how stunning
everything was despite the partially cloudy weather, especially since the
Cappadocian landscape in itself is such a strange and magical view. It wasn't
just about the height, but the amazing Cappadocian scenery was quite the
experience- dipping in between valleys and going up high in the sky.
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| Nervous smiles as we got used to the height! |
We would fly near enough for Murat to point out the details
in the cave residences, and glide up a slope the next moment. He seemed to take
particular pride in how smoothly he was able to navigate the balloon, and it
was fantastic to have an aerial view, something that you might not always get.
It was an interesting experience seeing how they actually
land the balloon – the team actually has to chase the balloon with their truck
as the pilot then lands the balloon on the back of the truck once they’re near
enough.
We ended the experience with juice and champagne, and even
got a certificate out of it!
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| I survived the balloon ride! |
It was absolutely fantastic – if you’re ever in Cappadocia,
you should definitely try it out.
We went with Kappadokya Balloons, and we paid about EU150
for an hour flight. It actually seems to be a bit cheaper to book in Cappadocia
through your hotel, or directly at the company all through, so I would
recommend doing that instead of booking online! You can find them at Kapadokya Balonculuk, TR-50180 Göreme, Nevşehir, Türkiye.
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