Experiencing Hot Air Balloon During the 9th MyBalloonFiesta

Never have I imagined that the next thing I was about to witness, was a breathtakingly magnificent view like from birds’ eyes people always dream to have.

By Muhammad Hasif Mohd Jelani on March 13, 20173 minutes read

It was a very serene morning at Monumen Alaf Baru, Putrajaya. As I arrived, I joined a group of balloon pilots and medias for a short briefing by the organiser, before got assigned to fly in a giant, green balloon named BBK or also known as Bradley Kooper. Never have I imagined that the next thing I was about to witness, was a breathtakingly magnificent view like from birds’ eyes people always dream to have.

I considered myself lucky that day because my pilot was a highly-experienced, easy-going balloonist named Syed Karimulla, 30, from India. To date, he has been flying for 10 years within 15 countries.

He praised Malaysia, particularly in Putrajaya, as a very beautiful place and he felt great to be in here, joining the annual event for the third time. Well, he’s a got a point there; if I were not a Malaysian, I would be impressed too. Travellers would be in awe witnessing such panoramic Putrajaya from up above early in the morning. Not to mention, the sunrise and the gentle breeze really made my experience even more glorious.

Mr. Syed Karimulla told me that the highest altitude that the balloon could fly was 500 metres, however, we only managed to fly the highest at 269 metres due to the safety reason. Nevertheless, the view was nothing short prodigious and after all, the experience that really matters to me.

After 40 minutes of flying, we finally landed near Cyberjaya. I was delighted to find out that in Malaysia, there is a tradition for the pilot, passengers and crews to have breakfast as soon as they safely landed on the ground. So, to the mamak restaurant we went!

I was then brought back to the take-off field, where I was proudly received a certificate indicating that I have ascended to the sky in a balloon.

In the afternoon, I checked out the new venue for the 9th MyBalloonFiesta at Desa Park City, Kuala Lumpur. Yes, you read it right – the venue was changed for the first time, bringing the event closer to the heart of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur!

I found out that there were also more activities to experience this year; either by having a relaxing, quality time with your family or challenging yourself for spine-tingling sports, they had it all here! For food lovers, there were also stalls and trucks offering wide arrays of foods.

While the morning session was exclusively dedicated for MyBalloonClub members – with access to jazz live performance, gourmet buffet breakfast and complimentary balloon tethered ride – the general admission ticket holders can, however, enjoy the fiesta on the evening. The spotlight of the event on all three days were, of course, the Hot Air Balloon Display and Night Glow Show.

As many as 18 balloons from 11 countries were brought to the sky of Kuala Lumpur this year. Besides Mr. Syed Karimulla, other reputable international pilots participated for this year event were Nghia Le Trong (Thailand), Josep Punti (Mexico), Alex Choi (Philippines), Kwang Il Jeon (South Korea) and Tawim Dumkhum (Vietnam).

With the theme ‘Balloon in the Park’, there were a lot of spaces where visitors can sit back, relax and enjoy the view of hot air balloons. I also visited the Wonderful Indonesia’s pavilion and it truly offered so much fun! For this year, Ministry of Tourism, Republic of Indonesia participated as the Presenting Sponsor.