A Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Ride in Egypt

As a kid, I was obsessed with ancient Egypt. It's all I ever wanted to talk, think, read, dream, learn about. I'm not sure exactly where it all started, but I spent at least a solid year of my life exclusively reading books about Cleopatra VII. I made my grandfather build a wooden pyramid cabinet for me (that I insisted on spray painting a hideous bright yellow color because they were out of gold). I rode around the yard on his lawnmower pretending I was part of an ancient royal parade. Obsessed. 

You can only imagine my excitement, then, when we (my mom, my grandparents, and I) booked a trip to Egypt over winter break. We flew out Christmas Day and spent nearly two weeks exploring the country that had captured my imagination for....basically ever. We began in Cairo with the pyramids, spent a day in Alexandria, flew to Luxor, sailed down the Nile from Luxor to Aswan, took a detour to Abu Simbel, sailed back up the Nile, and ended our tour with a stop in Dendera. It would be impossible to include our entire trip in one post, so I figured I'd start with an experience that will stay with me forever. 

A Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Ride Over the Valley of the Kings

Though we've had a lot of cool experiences, Mom and I had never been on a hot air balloon ride before. And though we're not exactly height lovers, we knew we couldn't pass up this opportunity.

We departed from the hotel very (very) early that morning. I'm a morning person and even I thought it was nuts to be awake so early. We arrived at a huge open field with dozens of deflated hot air balloons lying on the ground. As we waited for our balloon to inflate, we hopped on one leg, wrapped ourselves tighter in the scarves Mom and I always had with us while traveling, and generally tried to stay warm. Did you know that it's freezing in the desert at night??

Finally, it was our group's turn. I could feel the heat of the enormous flame as we approached the basket and I swallowed whatever reservations burbled up from my stomach. I was chasing the warmth more than anything at that point, to be honest. I'm not sure why, but I decided to wear one of my long skirts that day. I guess I assumed that there would be a little door in the side of the basket so we could just walk in. Spoiler alert: there was not. The lip of the basket sat at my bellybutton, and the only way in was over the top. I don't think I flashed anyone......Pro tip: don't wear a skirt to go hot air ballooning.

The sun finally cracked over the horizon as our balloon began to lift.

I'm not sure I'll ever be able to accurately encapsulate the tangible magic of this experience. Our balloon guide kept us rising gradually, and the entire ride was so smooth that I genuinely couldn't tell that, at one point, we were over 3,000 feet in the air. Even on our eventual descent, we floated towards the ground so gently that I felt suspended in midair. Whenever the pilot stopped the flame to let us glide, a peaceful quiet settled over our basket of awed tourists. 

The sun continued to rise steadily, gently coloring the previously dark sand of the valley floor a glowing yellow. The Valley of the Kings, final resting place of infamous Kings and royals of ancient Egypt including King Tut, is an expansive network of caves that burrow into the rocks. As we continued to float, we hovered over lush green farming pastures, at some points coming so close to the ground I felt like I could've reached out to pet a camel drinking water from his trough or pinch a palm leaf. 

We floated for about an hour, just watching the world wake up. By the time we landed in a squishy mound of mud, the rest of our tour group (including my grandparents) were awake, fed, and waiting for us on the bus. We started our day of exploration at these massive statues that Mom and I had already floated over. As impressive as they'd been from the air, the sheer scope of them could only be appreciated from nice, flat ground.

If you ever have a chance to take a hot air balloon ride, do it. Mom and I were completely awed by the experience and it's one of my favorite memories from the entire trip.

Next up from Egypt: A Camel Ride at the Great Pyramids