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| Sunday, 7 March 2004 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Floating with the wind in a giant envelope by Vimukthi Fernando
Palm fronds rush up to my face. A feathery touch, and in a flash they go bobbing their heads behind me as I float by. With my head in the clouds and no care for the rest of the world - "Oooh"ing and "Aaah"ing at the wonderments I drift. Talk about being carried away... casting your fate to the winds! Well, it is not everyday that I get to enjoy literally 'looking down' on our feathered friends! The parakeets, swallows, swifts, pigeons, painted storks, a paradise fly catcher!! You guessed it. It is a flying experience. Being carried away - by the winds high and low. In a hot air balloon of course. It is colourful and large. Fifty meters in length to be precise. The BIG 04, with the carrying capacity of 14 persons. Containing over 150,000 cubic feet of air and powered up with 04 gas cylinders sending yards of hot flame up in the air. Today there are 11 passengers, including the Sunday Observer team . We watch as the ground crew labour away inflating the balloon.
The giant envelope (as balloon enthusiasts call it in the ballooning jargon) rises up in the air, slowly turning the passenger basket lying sideways. "All passengers in" commands the Chief Pilot, Capt. Allan Calder. We listen to his briefing on the equipment in the basket, the surrounding sights and the safety procedure on take off and landing. "Do not get out of the basket until I ask you to" he cautions and jests that if anyone is planning to get off on the way, to let him know beforehand. With the last rope securing the ground position taken in the Pilot's hand, we rise slowly but surely from the banks of the Kandalama tank to greet the panorama of the Kandalama Hotel, Kandalama tank, Sigiriya, Dambulla rock and a range of surrounding hills, while a sea of hands wave at us below. We begin to float with the wind, and rise up in the air, as the flames gush in to heat the Helium inside the envelope. It seems as if we are the talk of the town. Children and their mothers, farmers working their chenas and paddy fields - villagers young and old all start waving at us. For the canine race however, we are unwelcome. They start barking without a break at the giant intruder in the air. The cattle do not seem to like its presence either. "Look at that!" someone points out a wild boar racing through the bush. The wind takes us away from the Dambulla town and rocks. The golden Buddha Statue of the Rangiri Dambulu Viharaya and the international cricket ground bathed in the morning light are pleasant sights. So, is the sun shining through the clouds and the distant hills wrapped up in misty clouds. The symmetry of paddy fields, winding brooks bubbling with life. Network of roads, houses, schools, temples. The tapestry on the ground holds me speechless. After nearly an hour in the air, we head towards Galewela. Allan looks for landing ground. With a bump and a thud, we land safely on a dry paddy field. "The paddy field could have been wet. But, it's all part and parcel of the ballooning adventure. I would certainly not have liked to land there" says the Pilot pointing at the range of hills covered with thick jungle. He keeps the balloon afloat. A sure sign for the ground crew of our whereabouts. Instantly, a crowd gathers. The ground crew arrives within minutes. Inability to deflate and fold the envelope in the paddy field requires us to get close to the road. Heave-ho and a few yards of flame - but we do not rise more than a few feet. The lower air is turbulent, a tree stands on the way... and again we land in the paddy field, and this time a good one with a maturing and well nurtured crop. The farmers are not very happy and express it as the ground crew try to pacify them. Out of the basket - into the paddy field. We follow a farmer to the road. Muddy and slippery shoes are not the best to coordinate your weight on the narrow 'niyara.' With a slip here and a fall there - we negotiate the circuitous route. Back at the vehicle, it is time for small talk, champagne, orange juice, fruit and ballooning yarns. Feeling a little sad that it is over, we turn back to the hotel. However, hot air ballooning, that out-of-this-world experience will live on - etched in memory aided by the many beautiful photographs. Hot air ballooning with ACA Hot air ballooning, the thrill of being carried away casting one's fate to the wind! Who would not have wished that they were up there, seeing a hot air balloon? Being re-introduced in the 1950s in its entertainment capacity, hot air ballooning is said to be the most enjoyable group activity in the air. Though a popular adventure sport in many a country - Australia, Canada, USA, UK, India, Pakistan, and some African and Nordic countries ballooning came to Sri Lanka as a third millennium activity. Adventure Centre Asia (ACA), a company involved in adventure sports such as canoeing, kayaking, mountaineering, canyoning, ultralights, parasailing and more in the Himalayas and other interesting areas in the Asian continent for the past 17 years has come to Sri Lanka offering ballooning. What made ACA offer ballooning in Sri Lanka? It is the lush and beautiful landscape in the country, says Peter Stweart, Director, ACA Balloons. Interested in business in Sri Lanka he 'kept an eye on the country and as there was relative peace, moved in with the business last year" he explains. Though there is more than one company offering balloon rides, ACA claims to be Sri Lanka's only commercial ballooning company. ACA is the only company with clearance from the Civil Aviation Authority and the Air Force, says its Director. "Ballooning is an activity with less risk of accident, than motoring or even walking on the pavements" adds Capt. Allan Calder, ACA Balloons' Chief Pilot, who mans BIG 04, their big balloon. With 25 years of ballooning experience, in the UK, USA and Africa he immensely enjoys ballooning in Sri Lanka, he informs. "It is a good activity to attract tourists, for you can get an opportunity to see a lot of normal village life. When the balloon lands, they come out to greet them. The tourists get an opportunity to meet and interact with ordinary people he says. ACA ballooning operates regular rides from the Kandalama hotel in the vicinity of Sigiriya and Dambulla. More than 100 guests have already tasted the joy of ACA balloon riding, says Ravi Kurukulasuriya, Assistant Manager, Kandalama Hotel. Built on the theme of being one with nature Kandalama plans to offer more adventure sport activities such as paragliding and bungy jumping to its guests in the future. Some interesting ballooning facts... * The invention of ballooning took place in November 1782, when the two French brothers Joseph and Etienne Montgolgier's experiments finally raised a taffeta envelope filled with hot air, to the ceiling. * The first public experiment was performed in June 1783 with a 12-meter balloon or 'aerostat' made out of wrapping fabric lined with paper, with over 2000 buttons holding the different sections together. It rose about 2000 meters and later found about 2 km away from where it had taken off. * The first Hydrogen balloon was sent off in Paris in August of the same year and the first accompanied flight with a sheep, a rooster and a duck on board in September, from the gardens of the Palace of Versailles. * The first manned flight was in November 1783. * The first ballooning festival was held in Lyon, France in January 1784. |
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