Saturday, December 6, 2008

A Windy Day with a Great Tether

So as this front passed through the winds continued sadly today. Morning flights were canceled and I took to the road admiring Khao Yai and Pak Chong till 15:30 and then proceeded to the festival. The front was just dieing down however late afternoon but now the wind direction was a problem. If we flew we faced crossing a large (massive lake) and then having to land in either trees/jungle to the north or we could try and have a challenging flight of trying to get the right wind direction at certain heights and try to steer to the South West where there was better landing opportunities. We decided consequently not to fly.
Luckily for me however, a B.A 747 pilot and balloon pilot named Matt Nicholson had just arrived. I had flown with him earlier on in the year in Filzmoos, Austria, and he was tethering so I offered to help him with that. His set up was spot on! We tethered for 2-3hrs and slowly got through half the Thai Population pleasing both the crowd and passengers.
Pee, my Thai friend from the night before even showed up with his sister Pool. I managed to get him a quick flight for which I piloted. He was extremely grateful and felt honored to have the opportunity whilst I was just happy to get more burner time in an British Airways balloon!
We finished the tether in the dark with fireworks in the background going of, which the organizers and press loved! Afterwards Pee showed up again offering to take me for a meal and he also brought a drink for myself and Matt. We went to a local restaurant which a friend of his owned, it was gorgeous, we cooked a soup ourselves in a large bowl with charcoal beneath whilst eating shrimp, pork and rice.
I then returned back to my hostel again for a drink and good nights sleep.

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