Hot, high and fun

Taneesha Kulshrestha
Posted: Sunday, Mar 23, 2008 at 0058 hrs IST
Updated: Tuesday, Mar 25, 2008 at 0120 hrs IST

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: It's the weekend and you are bored of doing the same things yet again. Movies, clubs, drinks with friends, dinner, you’ve done it all. You are desperate for change and are looking for a hint of adventure. Enter the aptly called Skywaltz, promoted by the adventure sports company E-Factors and the first commercial hot air balloon flight company in India. At present, it has two hot air balloons with a capacity of seating 11 people. For a sum of Rs 14,000, the company will pick you up from your hotel or residence, drive you 40 km to the picturesque Samode Palace, one of the best preserved heritage properties in India, serve you cookies and snacks, take you up in the skies for an unforgettable ride and a feast for the eyes, and then drop you back with memories of time well spent and an adventure to share and talk about.

This is what I got to do one fine weekend. My journey started from the country’s capital. Jaipur was a mere five hours away and we soon arrived at the stately Raj Mahal Palace Hotel built by the founder of Jaipur, Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh for his favourite maharani, Chandra Kunwar Ranawatji. The place has been a host to celebrities like Prince Charles and Lady Diana, Jacqueline Kennedy and Queen Elizabeth II.

My flight was at eight the following morning. I woke up looking forward to the day and as I nibbled on my toast, promptly at six thirty, arrived my cabbie. An hour later, the yellow façade of Samode Palace came into view and we drove towards a group of people amidst hectic activity. Our balloons lay as yellow, blue and red fabric on the ground.

“Welcome to my office,” said Steve Trieber, the pilot, as he took me and a fellow traveller inside a fast inflating balloon. “We should be ready to go in 10 minutes,” he added. And true to his words, the giant that could hold 150,000 cubic feet of air, was ready to be airborne just in that time.

We hopped on. My flight captain, Bill MacKinnon, an Irish policeman in his other avatar and one of the most adventurous men I have met so far, introduced himself and gave us some instructions that primarily included listening to him and not making any sudden movements when the balloon started its descent. The rope holding the balloon to...

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