“Go with World Heritage Network if you want to ride hot air balloons in Bagan”
We booked this hot air balloon ride from World Heritage Network via online on February 2017 that comes with a land tour excursion to explore all famous Bagan Pagodas. Apart from the flight, this included the transportation in Ford/Chevrolet "buscars" (converted military vehicles dating from World War 2) to the take-off area at Nyaung U and return journey to the hotel, baseball caps for the flight, coffee/tea and snacks before the flight, and champagne, fruit and cake on landing.
We booked this hot air balloon ride from World Heritage Network via online on February 2017 that comes with a land tour excursion to explore all famous Bagan Pagodas. Apart from the flight, this included the transportation in Ford/Chevrolet "buscars" (converted military vehicles dating from World War 2) to the take-off area at Nyaung U and return journey to the hotel, baseball caps for the flight, coffee/tea and snacks before the flight, and champagne, fruit and cake on landing.
Pickup was between 0530 and 0545 and it is quite cold at this time. I wore a light jumper and padded jacket. The inflating of the balloons near the Shwezigon Temple is spectacular in the pre-dawn light - a safety briefing is given before anyone is allowed to get in the baskets.
The balloons travel over villages, brick kilns (where bricks for restoring/building stupas are fired) and temples/pagodas - the best way to gain an impression of this vast area in the great bend of the Ayeyarwady. At times one appears to float through a black and white or sepia engraving. Everything is wreathed in mist and smoke until just after the sun rises and the light brings colour to the landscape.
Five or six balloons take off and travel together so there is plenty of opportunity for photos of the other balloons drifting past the temples.
Each pilot (all British) is constantly in touch with the others and with air traffic control, but from time to time they take pictures of the balloon's passengers from a camera suspended on a cord which are put on a disk together with a short film (available for purchase afterwards).
We felt perfectly safe and the landing - very smooth thanks to the ground crew preventing any jolts - came all too quickly.
After the hot-air balloon ride, we proceed to have our early land excursion on all the pagodas we had seen from the air. Many thanks to the very professional team and guide from World Heritage Network for this experience. We had a wonderful time! Good job guys!
...By Alex Gonzales, Philippine
Sunset viewing at Shwesandaw Paya
“We had the greatest adventure of a lifetime! Sky view & sunset view”
Before booking our trip to fabulous Myanmar we seriously considered not going on this balloon ride due to the cost. What a mistake that would have been. As we were floating over the temples we remarked many times that it was the best travel money we have ever spent. It was the highlight of our three weeks in Myanmar.
Before booking our trip to fabulous Myanmar we seriously considered not going on this balloon ride due to the cost. What a mistake that would have been. As we were floating over the temples we remarked many times that it was the best travel money we have ever spent. It was the highlight of our three weeks in Myanmar.
The early morning sunrise hot air balloon ride plus the land excursion to Bagan Archaeological Site on the same day arranged by World Heritage Network is actually a bargain when you consider the costs involved. I can't imagine how many "fees" have to be paid in order to operate this ride. Also, I doubt if any of the pilots live full time in Myanmar. For example, our pilot, who was Belgium, lived in Bagan with his family only during the tourist season and pilots balloons elsewhere during the rest of the year. It isn't cheap to transplant European families to Asia and pay them European wages and I doubt if you want the company to hire the cheapest pilots around. These guys (yes, all 6 pilots were men) were very professional and we felt safe throughout the trip which can last between 30 and 60 minutes depending on the wind.
A couple of tips: The cost of our balloon ride was included in a package we purchased from World Heritage Network (a global online tour company we highly recommend). However, I was able to calculate the price we paid for Balloons Over Bagan and it was less than the prices published on the website. You might consider booking through a travel agent to save some money, especially if you are arranging other activities through the agent.
You must climb into and out of the balloon basket and although we didn't have any problem, a couple of other passengers who were somewhat overweight had some difficulty (although they succeeded with the assistance of the crew).
Finally, the cost of the photos at the end of the trip is USD25. They take photos of you during the flight and these JPG files are included on a DVD that also has video of other flights. It is delivered to your hotel within a couple of hours. If you can afford the flight then don't scrimp and not buy this memory of a great trip.
Later after the hot air balloon ride, nothing could be more interesting that exploring the ancient Bagan Pagodas at the archaeologicial site on land. The land excursion experience was very much different than the hot-air balloon ride I must say as you were able to view these historical sites up close. The most interesting one was Shwesandaw Paya for sunset view. Though there were crowds around during sunset viewing, climbing the steps up to the top of this Pagoda and then watched the panoramic view of the ancient Bagan Pagodas across the plain with sun setting was a magical experience. Our local guide, Tee, who spoke good english was incredibly friendly and helpful, always making sure we stay safe and comfortable.
For World Heritage Network and especially Rorne, thank you for this incredible and unforgettable tour. Such memories will stay in our hearts for a long long time. Good job guys!
...by Jane Lowell Madison, Carlifornia, USA
