Putrajaya Balloon Fiesta 2015

Please excuse the delayed post……
So who says there are not many outdoorsy activities to be hyped about in Malaysia?

Yes, unfortunately, given the constant hot and humid weather, we try to avoid going out in the sun as much as we can. But it doesn’t stop this Putrajaya Balloon Fiesta from happening! It starts in the wee hours in the morning, so you can “sort of” beat the heat. This festival has been happening for the past 7 years and this is the first year that I knew about it! (shame on me! This is not the first time I failed at being a Malaysian! I’m getting better, don’t worry) Putting that aside, better late than never. I’m glad to have found this event (attended on: 14th March 2015) and was really excited to see what it’s all about.

This fiesta gathers expert “ballooners” from all around the world to showcase their ballooning skills and artwork. It is quite interesting, seeing as the balloons come alive in all shapes and sizes. It is held over two days over the weekend, allowing a quick getaway from the busy working days! It is basically your “meet & greet” session, be it with friends or family. I honestly love the concept of this festival but I must say, I wasn’t very impressed.

A few good things to mention. My partner and I drove early in the morning to reach just in time to watch the lift off. That was an interesting sight. We got to watch the “expert ballooners” prepare the balloons. They start with rolling out the envelope of the balloons flat onto the ground as it is connected to their wicker baskets. The baskets are well equipped with the burners that they constantly test from time to time. Each of these wicker baskets are connected to a truck that will pull them upright once ready for lift off. Seeing these being done live for the first time was quite enlightening. I was surprised at how much thought and detail goes into it.

Standing among giant balloons is probably an experience you won’t want to miss. Each balloon was different, belonging to different countries. We saw interesting shapes and designs including Humpty Dumpty and Vincent Van Gogh’s head! Before lift off, the burners work their way to pump in hot air into the envelope of the balloon and slowly expanding it until it was ready for lift off. The lift off only lasted about 30 minutes or so. After that is done, there is really nothing else to do. This is where I was a bit disappointed.

Actually, there were giant tents lined up during the even, split into zones (food, activities, picnic etc) including some fun activities (bumper orbing, cold inflation, solo sky rider etc). I was excited and wanted to try some of them! However, in the wee hours in the morning, after the balloons took off, not many of these were in operation. Also, perhaps the lack of people gave the impression of a small crowd. Secondly, NONE of the prices shown on the website matched the ones shown on the day itself! They were higher than what was expected. UTTERLY DISAPPOINTED. Some of the figures did not justify for me.

In the end, me and partner took off. The weather was hot & humid, so we didn’t even bother trying our luck at the picnic area, though it was really tempting, with a live band playing! They definitely could do with a lot of improvement. I think comfort is the key here. I only attended the event during the day, perhaps it will be better at night.