Saudi Arabia

by Sangram Pawar, posted in Uncategorized

AL’ULA

If someone could say Arabian Nights and ask me to live that, that is what Alula would be for me. When I was first offered to fly in Saudi Arabia and I was told the destination was going to be Alula, I would not have imagined in my wildest dreams that it would be this magical and surreal. It took me sometime to first get the name right and when I did, I couldnt wait to fly over this beauty of a desert with so much of history buried under it.

I flew a balloon of 550 size / 14,000 cu. MTR, the capacity of which was 24 passengers. I was invited to fly by Hero Balloons From November 2023 till January 2024.

I flew over 700 people over a span of 2.5 months and met some incredible first time flyers, celebrities and Royals too. I think these are the perks of being a Hot Air balloon pilot that you get to share this incredible world of flying with people from all parts of the world and society. About 85% of the flyers were international tourist and the remaining 15% were locals which included the the Royal family as well.

Our typical flight would fly over the beautiful Hegra Rocks which is a UNESCO site which is one of the most exhilarating experiences.

The Hegra city boasts of 109 tombs which tell stories of the glorious past of the Nabateans. All the dated tombs go back to the first century CE and many displays carved eagles, snakes, mythological figures and sphinxes. The balloon ride lets us see the beautiful mountains and their unique stone formations from a never seen before view.

Let’s talk about challenges! well the only real challenge flying here was to decide the correct takeoff site in order to ensure we fly over the Hegra tombs and ensure a stunning view for our passengers.

This place has one of the clearest skies one can find in the world… witnessing the shooting stars, meteor showers, the jaw dropping colors of the sky at twilight and the beautiful Sunrise are just something you fall in love with on each flight. This is truly one of my most memorable places.

Like its said, “Live for the moments you can’t put in words.”

France

by Sangram Pawar, posted in Uncategorized

The Season of Saumur

The late winter and early summer of 2023 got me to one of the most quaint destinations to the west of France, Saumur. The history of Saumur dates back to the Battles of France in World War II beaming with French Patriotism. It is well known for its equestrian centre and is home to the Cadre Noir team.

I flew in Saumur from May till the end of October of 2023 which made me experience the winters of Saumur from May till August and the start of summers from September till October of my stay there.

I was a pilot for the company, Montgolfier Sensation where I flew a balloon which was 450 in size i.e 12,000 cu.mtr. It had a maximum capacity of 19 people. Over these few months of my stay in Saumur I flew about 2300 people out of which 80% were families & senior citizens from France, 10% young couples and 10% tourists from other parts of Europe.

Imagine, the first day of a pilot in France with little to zero knowledge of the local language there, in this case French and having heard of the shrewd nature of the French people, I was even more apprehensive. But Saumur not only gave me splendid views of nature in its purest forms but also broke age-old assumptions of the nature of French people. I always felt welcomed in Saumur and not once did the French make me feel like I did not belong there. The language barrier however was my own which was the greatest challenge for me, but it was something I had to overcome eventually.

Saumur was one of the unique places in the world where we could fly in the evenings. This made the destination even more special. Our landing sites would usually be lush green open fields usually about 15-20 km radius from our take off sites.

We flew over Château de Saumur, Loire River and the stunning vineyards. We would find these landing sites given strong wind conditions where navigation got tough and thereby finding the appropriate landing sites. But the challenges made the flying worthwhile.

Like its said, “Smell the sea and feel the sky, let your soul and spirit fly.” Van Morrison

Nepal

by Sangram Pawar, posted in Uncategorized

POKHARA

About 1500 kilometers away from my hometown was this heaven on earth, Pokhara a city in the country Nepal. Nepal being the neighboring country of India shares the beautiful Annapurna Mountain ranges.

I was flying with the Balloon Nepal pvt. ltd. company. It is the first ever company to offer commercial hot air balloon services in Nepal since 2018. I was flying with them from December 2022 till end of April 2023.

December to April is usually the wintertime in Nepal and December to February are the coldest months in Pokhara. The winter continues till March since Pokhara is at proximity to the Himalayas, the peak months are when tourists indulge in trekking and hiking etc. The weather starts to warm up from April.

I flew a balloon of 180 size / 5,000 cu.mtr having a capacity of 8 people. By the end of April, 600 pax flew with me over the season out of which approx. 90% tourists and 10% locals.

Flying amidst the beautiful snow-clad Annapurna mountains ranges was a dream come true and this was probably the smallest commercial flying area in the world.

The Annapurna Mountain ranges.

We flew as high as 9000 ft, and saw beautiful sunrises over the lake and Pokhara city on our flights. The passengers used to be mesmerized seeing the first sunrays touching the snow cladded mountains and giving us the breathtaking view.

The only challenge one would face flying in Pokhara would be how small the flying area is which is 1.5 kms by 3 kms and to do 3 hop in hop offs for flights in the same flying area. But the spectacular views Pokhara provided more than made up for all the challenges one faces to experience this beauty.

Like they say, “Success is in the journey, but the reward is the view from the top.” Larry Stevens

USA

by Sangram Pawar, posted in Evening Flights, Morning Flights, Uncategorized

Chester Springs, Pennsylvania

The next destination on cards was the United States of America. A company named Air Ventures Balloon Rides invited me to fly with them at Chester Springs in Pennsylvania. I spent three seasons from 2020 till 2022 flying at this beautiful destination. I used to fly at Chester Springs every year from 2020-2022 from approximately May till October sometimes June to October.

MONTHS I FLEW:

May – October 2020

July – October 2021

June – October 2022

Chester County colloquially referred to as Chesco is a county in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Chester springs is a beautiful county having beautiful landscapes and rolling hills. Our flying area covered green open fields surrounded by tall trees. Thus the beauty of the space sometimes became a challenge to land. Landing sites typically were green small open fields, sometimes backyards of houses, roundabouts of communities usually 8-10 kms radius from takeoff sites.

It was blissful to fly over rolling hills, beautiful landscapes and neighbourhood. Tall trees in the region made it very difficult to spot landing sites until last minute but that was the thrill of flying a balloon in different parts of the world.

I flew a balloon of size 160 size 4,500 cu.mtr having capacity of 6 passengers.1500 people flew with me over the season out of which approximately 50% were local families & senior citizens , 40% were young couples and 10% tourists from other parts of USA.

Chester Springs was a special place to fly not only because I came back every for 3 years but it is one of the few places in the world where evening flights were possible. During Autumn when the leaves changed their colours from green to yellow / orange it was a sight breathtakingly beautiful to fly over.

And similarly, when it snowed, the snow covered the beautiful fields with white plush snow and the entire earth looked like a ball of snow high up from the hot air balloon.

Like its said, “When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.” Leonardo DaVinci