Search results for

Born free, today’s post-apartheid generation asks, what’s next?

Overview

An almost daily occurance in Park City: colorful hot air balloons dotting the big blue skies. The propane flame filling the balloons’ envelopes sounds like a dragon breathing his fiery breath. You might hear it from your condo or hotel room before you see it. Multiple balloon companies offer rides, all year long, which usually include a champagne finish (hot air ballooners traditionally carried champagne with them to appease farmers since they landed in their fields so often). The rides are a unique experience, the views of town unbeatable, but even if you only gaze at the color in the sky from below, it’s another beautiful element of the Park City landscape.

Overview

Overview

Overview

Overview

Overview

Overview

Overview

If a child constructed a world of wonders, it may look like Kenya: lions, elephants, sleeping in big beds under starry skies, white-sand beaches, sailing in hot-air balloons, and friendly people everywhere. Come experience the world of wonders.

On this Unpacked Mini, writer Peggy Orenstein—Afar’s slow-travel expert—visits Busan, Korea’s bustling coastal city.

Up, up, and away! Catering to romantics and adventure seekers alike, the Tiger Balloon Safaris company offers private hot-air balloon rides over Goa. Though the state has numerous picturesque spots that you can enjoy from the ground, nothing compares to viewing Goa’s spice plantations, multicolored coastline, and Western Ghats mountain range from above. There are several points available around central Goa to meet before transferring to the launch site, which varies according to weather conditions (but is generally in South Goa). Once in the air, the pilot will vary your altitude, generally ranging between 400 and 900 feet. Transportation is ready and waiting when you land, as experienced ground crews track the balloon during flight. Balloons fly throughout daylight hours in the winter, and in the morning and early evening during spring and fall; weather limitations ground flights during monsoon season.

Float Balloon Tours designs its outings in a way that keeps attendance numbers low and the experience an intimate one for guests. Balloons fly over the open Sonoran Desert, north of Phoenix and Scottsdale, above the craggy Bradshaw Mountains and across sprawling Lake Pleasant, floating peacefully above lush paloverde trees and towering saguaro cacti. Instead of signaling an ending to the proceedings, the balloon’s landing starts a celebration—first a toast to the ride with sparkling wine from an Arizona vineyard and then an alfresco breakfast or dinner made by a chef with local produce.

Get up, up, and away with Lake Tahoe Balloons. The company launches its colorful hot air balloons not from land but from the surface of the lake via the Tahoe Flyer, the world’s only certified balloon launch-and-recovery boat. Trips begin with a 5:30 a.m. boat ride to the mid-lake launch site. Once the balloon is in the air, passengers and pilot float up to 3,000 feet above the water’s surface for bird’s-eye views of the entire Tahoe basin. On the clearest days, views extend southward all the way to Yosemite National Park. After the flight, everybody celebrates with a champagne toast—then heads back to their hotel for a nap.