On No Wing and a Prayer in Yangshuo

This is perilously close to boring your guests with your holiday snaps, but there you are. Taking a few days off in Yangshuo in the southern province of Guangxi, I was persuaded (reluctantly: I am a white knuckle flyer) by my wife to take a trip up in a hot air balloon. On first sight this contraption resembles a circus tent attached to a couple of bunsen burners (think chemistry class), under which is strung an oversize dog basket. That's also pretty much the way it looks on second and other looks: insanely flimsy. However, ours is not to reason why.....

Here's how they get it fired up, as it were.

Takeoff.

I am totally calm, cool and collected. This is lucky as there are people in the basket who make me look like McCain on debate night, including an Irish gentleman who has his arms wrapped around the guy ropes (or whatever they are called) and won't let go.

Gradually, the beauty of the scene trumps primal fear, though I do ask the pilot, a gentleman called Zuo Dan who is only one of seven class 'A' hot air balloon pilots in China, to perhaps considering not going for any height records.

Not much more comment needed. This really should on any '100 things to do before you die' lists.

And finally, a nod of thanks to our pilot, the genial Captain Zuo. He's going off to represent China in a hot air balloon racing competition (don't ask) in Japan and we wish him the best of luck. If his ability to drift along inches about the river and then soar smoothly to half a kilometer up is any indication, as well as being able to land more or less on a dime, he should do fine.