Hot Air Ballon Fiesta

Hi, I��m Michella and this is my friend Sascha.

Sascha Florian:
Hi, we��re in Luye, Taitung at the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta!

Ever wonder how they get air into these balloons? With gigantic fans! And when the envelope is full of air heated by propane, into the basket we go!

Luye from the air is really different and refreshing. In addition to the mountains and the valley, the other balloons are an interesting, colorful and happy sight too.

Trijntje Offringa:
When you see the trees go down, that means we��re going up. As soon as you see the trees grow, we��re going down.

How do you control where it goes?

Trijntje Offringa: We cannot.

Michella Jade Weng, Presenter:
So it��s wherever the wind carries you. What do you like so much about flying hot air balloons?

Trijntje Offringa:
Because you��re free. You know where you started, but you don��t know where you��ll end.

Unfortunately, time flies when one��s in a hot air balloon and we��re back on the ground again. But there��s plenty of other fun to be had at the fiesta, like tasting local delicacies and visiting the tea farms where you can take a small course in making a special black oolong tea, and the experience starts with picking fresh leaves.

Sascha Florian:
It��s all beautiful. You have mountains everywhere you look, full of trees and plants and everything is green. People are really nice, really friendly. The food is really natural as well. Tea is all natural.

Michella Jade Weng, Presenter:
How was it in the hot air balloon?

Sascha Florian:
Very, very nice. I thought we would go higher, but it��s still really cool. I liked it.

Actually, you can go higher with free flying, and we��re looking forward to that on our next trip here.