We reached the Fiesta in Putrajaya at about 6.45am and got into the queue which already had about 70 people in it.
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By the time we got the tickets it was past 8am. Then we had to queue up AGAIN
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for the actual ride...
which...
we...
finally...
got...
on...
at....
11.20am!! Yep, it was about 4 and a half hours of waiting. So in the meantime, we could only stand and stare at the other balloons..
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The other balloons from around the world did a fly-across-the-lake-and-back demo which was all over in less than an hour. There were supposed to be another 18 balloons but I don't recall seeing that many.
The most outstanding ones were the Darth Vader (yes, he did turn up)
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and the pair of Levi's jeans:
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and the Orange balloon
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An awestruck child.
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But the five balloons used for rides were shaped in the form of...well...
balloons. sigh.
First, they blow air into the balloon using a large fan.
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Then they burn propane gas into the balloon and it starts to lift..
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Two balloonists and two balloonies - can you tell one pair from the other?
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Even a tethered ride can excite some people...can you see the three other balloonies?
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View as we were going up... up...
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and un-away.
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Hey, how come it's time to come down already? Quick - cut the ropes! (whaddaya mean you didn't bring your blade knife cleaver shears axe sword scissors penknife??)
I think we only went as high as a double-storey house. Ok, maybe a little higher. It was all over in 3 minutes. (What did you expect for Ringgit Malaysian 10.00?)
Did I mention they were TETHERED rides? Remember that word. It means "tied down". I can think of other rides I am on where I feel tied down. But we're not going there, are we? hee hee.
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Another awestruck kid.
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If you ask me, the man who was selling these battery-operated bubble-blowers was making more money than the balloonists. In the three minutes we were with him, he had already sold two of these at RM15 each!
Was it worth the 4 and a half hour wait? Well, if it's on your list of things to do at least once in a lifetime, yes! I mean I don't wanna go to my grave just dreaming of hot air balloons..
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And I don't think my husband will approve of me painting our half-done bedroom walls like this..
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And since it took two days for my bones to recover from that trip...maybe next time I should just settle on making this.
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P/S
The writer would have you know that she is good at painting walls (and probably coffins, too). Quilt-making she will consider when she is old :)