What is it Like to Ride a Hot Air Balloon in Turkey?

“If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it, anything you want to, do it. Want to change the world? There’s nothing to it. There is no life I know to compare with pure imagination” -Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Sometimes in your life you will have amazing and extraordinary moments that take you by surprise. For me, one of those moments was on a hot-air balloon flying over Cappadocia in Turkey. About an hour before sunrise, a van picked up a group of us and we were off. It was dark and in the early summer morning, therefore all of my companions were quiet and sleepy. The van took us to a small shop were they had a full Turkish breakfast laid out and they explained the flight for today. It was supposed to be beautiful and hot summer Turkish day. After our breakfast we went out to see our balloon for the first time.

After a quick walk to a little field I saw the yellow and blue of the balloon and watch the mechanics methodically blow up the balloon. Unlike what I imagined this balloon could hold about 25 people. We all climbed in once the balloon was filled. Then we slowly pulled away from the earth. In the beginning it was still dark and all you saw where stars and the occasional glow from other balloons, also joining us on our journey. Soon the light broke over the horizon in all her crimson and joyous glory.

It was at that moment I noticed it. Hundreds of balloons. Thousands of people up in the sky celebrating the joy that existed in that moment. The balloon bobbed smoothly up and down, over hills and valleys, over vineyards and homes, exploring along with the travelers it carried. The realization and the beauty of being in the air with hundreds of balloons is something I will never forget. That sweetly simple song from Willy Wonka got stuck in my head as I watched this beautiful sonder, this connections with people that I might never meet. It felt so unreal and yet so rooted into the beauty the world can offer.  

Find the connections in the world, embrace them, take them, and trust yourself and you too might find yourself in a world of Pure Imagination.