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Hot air Balloon Questions
1. Did anyone have the hot air balloon ride canceled due to weather or other situations?
2. Did anyone find motion sickness to be a problem?
3. Was this a highlight of the trip?
2. Did anyone find motion sickness to be a problem?
3. Was this a highlight of the trip?
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I can’t see anyone getting motion sickness on a balloon ride, it’s so gentle and peaceful.
It was not the highlight for our trips, there were too many to compare. But it was still wonderful.
Our next balloon experience was in Udaipur, India. The baskets were quite different...much shorter which I didn't notice until we were lifting off. However, I adapted quickly. While we did not have the same experience, it was also very special. WE were among the first groups to go on the ride from Udaipur, and it was something new to the population. As we flew over homes people came out on their roofs and on streets to wave and cheer us on. By the time we were landing, an entire village came out to see us...on foot, bicycles and scooters! We were an unusual sight, and the reception by the locals was very moving! Whenever the hot air balloon experience is available, take it!!
1. Flew as scheduled. It is all a function of wind. Balloons fly best in light and stable winds of 4-6 miles per hour. Maximum safe winds are 8-10 mph, both pretty slow. Too much wind makes it harder to lift off and land smoothly (wind really doesn't affect flying much). That is why they fly balloons very early in the morning when the winds are normally very light.
2. Absolutely no motion sickness with anyone in either of our two balloons- there is almost no sensation of moving other than horizontally- you smoothly and quietly drift over the landscape. Unlike aircraft that are easily and rapidly affected by winds or pilot controls, you will sense almost no motion in the balloon. As far as pilot inputs- he uses a very, very sensitive variometer, a rate-of-climb indicator also called a vertical speed indicator and his own senses, to tell when the balloon is going up or down. He has to almost anticipate the motion of the balloon to counteract climb and descent which happen nearly imperceptibly. Most non-pilots can't tell if they are going up or down except for the pilot turning on the propane burners every so often.
If you have visual acuity issues and are affected by (car, bicycle, boat, etc.) motion, especially in the periphery it is possible but unlikely to have the same problems in a balloon.
3. A big YES!
I'm not a pilot. Balloon flying over Kenya is definitely safer than balloon flying over the Valley of the Kings in Luxor (Egypt) where so many other balloon rides ended up in farmers' fields (or elsewhere). Tauck had an excellent balloon pilot for that trip so we had no worries. Of course, the wind was perhaps not as strong as it was in Kenya.