One with the wind

There's nothing better than a hot-air balloon flight for a taste of the pure romance of flying.

When I was told to take a flight in a hot-air balloon, the rush of adrenaline was enough to lift me a few inches off the ground. Flying doesn't get more primal. Showing up on a freezing winter morning at the Samode Palace in Rajasthan was, therefore, no problem.

I was expecting a designated take-off area for the balloons, but all that arrived were two large pickup trucks loaded with wicker gondolas. With military precision the gondolas were unloaded and the balloon envelopes pulled out. And in no time the crew attached the massive burners and inflated the envelopes with portable fans.

The captain of my flight, Steve Trieber, beckoned me into the inflated envelope: "Welcome to my office." With a capacity of about 250,000 cubic feet of air, the size of the envelope was enough to make me gawk.

Steve set to work heating the air inside. The massive burners lit up the pre-dawn darkness as flames licked away into the envelope. It just took a few minutes and Trieber exclaimed: "It is always exciting to watch the envelope lift up for the first time purely on hot air."

I could make out the bold lettering on the blue and yellow envelope "" VT-FLY. That is the balloon's registration with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), and her sister balloon, with a red and yellow envelope and a capacity of 150,000 cubic feet of air, is seductively called VT-SKY.

Clambering aboard the gondola, there was a brief safety checklist and instructions on the brace position for landing. And then there was takeoff.

This is where the romance of hot air ballooning really hits home. A few roars of flame from the burner and you gently float off the ground. The rate of ascent is entirely dependent on the pilot and Steve made his stand clear: "The joy of ballooning is not how high you go but how close you can hug the ground."

The Samode Palace is nestled in a beautiful outcrop of sandstone hills separated by narrow canyons. This is where Steve decided to show off his piloting skills. The balloons are equipped with a vent on top which also allows for steering.

Barely a few feet off the ground, we were following the first canyon, with the envelope and the gondola almost grazing the sides. The thorny shrubs looked menacing during the slalom, but Steve had a reassuring I-know-what-I-am doing smile.

The canyon course ended with a pass over the magnificent Samode Palace and a climb to catch a gust of wind. There are restrictions on how high the balloon can fly primarily due to the amount of fuel it carries and also due to air traffic regulations.

But we did manage to get to about 1,000 feet and it was like navigating Google Earth in real life. The horizon was intersected by ridges and covered with intermittent green vegetable patches. A rising sun and morning haze only added to the ethereal scene. I could even spot some wildlife such as grazing nilgai and scampering hares.

"We have had whole villages turning up and following us," Steve said, before another round of showboating. The balloon swooped down on a hamlet and soon had a crowd of waving kids running after it. Steve decided we would pick up one kid and give him a ride.

The enthusiasm of the crowd dipped quite sharply when asked for volunteers but one was pushed forward. The young chap got on board and once we were up, his face said it all about the flight of his life "" his expression went from absolute fear to pure innocent joy.

The directions to our landing spot were radioed to the ground crew and they came bounding across the dirt in their trucks. It was more of a task for them to rid the landing spot of villagers than land the balloon itself.

The landing, as with the lift-off, was well under control with the ground crew pulling the balloon in with a nylon tether. There was hardly a bump to brace for. As for the crowd, they decided to pitch in with a breakfast of freshly harvested radish for the colourful visitors.

Fly with these details

Hot air ballooning is a very popular recreational activity abroad. Now for the first time it can be experienced in India, with the civil aviation ministry classifying it as "non-scheduled commercial services".

Sky Waltz, promoted by the adventure sports company E-Factor, is offering flights from Samode Palace, about 40 km from Jaipur. Their two balloons together have a total capacity of 11 passengers. They are navigated by highly experienced international pilots Steve Trieber and Bill MacKinnon.

The duration of each flight is a little more than an hour, with flights morning and evening six days a week, depending on weather conditions. The cost per passenger is Rs 14,000 and includes pick-up and drop from Jaipur, snacks, beverages and a flight certificate. For more information, visit www.skywaltz.com.