Have you ever wondered what riding in a hot air balloon was like? I certainly did. When I was given the opportunity to go through my tour provider as an optional activity while in Jaipur, I thought, why the heck not?

The hot air balloon ride is done through the company Sky Waltz. It starts on the outskirts of Jaipur. You’ve got the option of a departure that takes off during sunrise or sunset. The time spent in the air is approximately 45 minutes to an hour. I chose to do mine first thing in the morning to get a glance of that gorgeous sunrise. For a morning session, you’ll need to get up early as your takeoff is at 6 am and it takes about 30 minutes by car from Jaipur to get to the starting point. Trust me, getting up that early is worth it.

In the countryside close to Jaipur you’ll fly over castles, farms, mountains, and forests. I had the pleasure of seeing many animals like camels, livestock, and lots and lots of barking dogs – I think they hate hot air balloons. The local village children will chase the balloon for as long as they can. I think one boy ran for at least a kilometre and a half. He had good stamina. I lost count of how money times I waved to the locals going over their land. I felt a little famous, it was great. We ended up landing on a local family’s farm and they greeted us with the biggest smiles and even some tea! If that doesn’t tell you how hospitable Indians are, I don’t know what will!