| Our trip to Thailand had been long awaited, originally | | | | of his own money into what is basically an impossible |
| planned for the winter of 94/95. My wife Karin had | | | | task. He has also been doing all sorts of stunts to |
| bought the maps and books and even packed; we | | | | show the people that he is trying to remedy the |
| were off. The balloon was ready at Thunder and Colt | | | | situation.We were asked to fly him over Bangkok to |
| with a heavy duty basket tailor made for hard use | | | | observe the traffic from the air, this being in their |
| overseas. And then they went bust. The delay meant | | | | words, a low cost solution. Permissions obviously had |
| that we missed the relatively short window available | | | | to be sought. We were summoned for our first |
| for flying in Thailand. So it was rainy old England for | | | | meeting with the CAA on Christmas Day, at 10 |
| most of the winter and a rethink of the plan for us. I | | | | O'clock, everybody apparently finding it amusing that I |
| had been asked to go out there by Jon Nunns having | | | | was missing my Christmas day. On arriving it |
| previously worked for him in South Africa flying | | | | transpired that they didn't really want us to fly as it is a |
| passenger ride balloons.Jon's interest in Thailand | | | | military state and they didn't want me to see anything I |
| comes from several commercial tours he's probably | | | | shouldn't. The Kings Palace is a no no to fly over as |
| had the most experience of flying in Thailand. Sky | | | | you should never have your head higher than his! |
| balloons agent in Thailand managed to sell one of the | | | | However the civilian run Prime ministers office had put |
| first balloons to roll off the production line to a pair of | | | | big pressure on and they felt they had to relent and by |
| business men who wanted to learn to fly and fly | | | | the way, what could we tell them about the other |
| advertising banners in I come again, this time to train | | | | balloon and airship in Chaing Mai ( are you getting the |
| and point them the right way.So after a fantastic | | | | picture that this is a warning). It transpired that we held |
| summer passenger flying in England, it was off on a | | | | the winning hand but they really had to tell us they did |
| Quantas Jumbo from a snowy December Heathrow. | | | | not like it first. There one and only request was that I |
| We caught a connecting flight from Bangkok to Chaing | | | | didn't fly higher than 500'. Now what! a pleasure. Royal |
| Mai, a city in the North which was hosting the South | | | | helicopters fly at 800' so that was that. I walked away |
| East Asia Games, ( SEA games ) our first port of call. | | | | on Christmas days with a piece of paper that ordered |
| Jon, returning from SAGA, was there for three days | | | | me to fly not above 500 AGL wherever I liked! A trip |
| to ease us into things.Our hosts had managed to find | | | | then to the tower at Bangkok International to let them |
| sponsor's a cell phone company and we had a busy | | | | know what was happening and pick up an air chart. |
| schedule ahead. The city was humming with activity | | | | They already knew all about us and wouldn't give me |
| related to the games and it was great fun to be there. | | | | an air chart: military secrets and all that. If I'd known I |
| We generally flew across the city in the mornings and | | | | could have brought them in England before we |
| over the main stadium in the evenings.The stadium | | | | left!Thus it came to pass that I was doing balloon |
| itself was about 10km from the centre of the city and | | | | traffic reports over the city of Bangkok with the |
| lay under an east facing slope which of course moved | | | | deputy Prime Minister on board and a film crew and |
| into shade in the evening allowing us to fly over the | | | | five TV crews following through the traffic. We flew |
| stadium and away into open countryside, the mornings | | | | two days doing four flights. The flights themselves |
| had the ability to take us up the slope and away to the | | | | were pretty exciting to the point that I wouldn't rush to |
| west which was not a good idea as there was about | | | | do them again. The tallest building is getting on for 1000' |
| 50km of forest and national park before the next | | | | and we flew right between a bunch of them of course |
| road.It was always fairly calm and finding places to | | | | stopping all the traffic as we went. For those that |
| land was not a problem. We were not alone in the air | | | | know we launched from just above Siam Square and |
| a Carlsburg balloon had been shipped in from Europe | | | | flew across generally towards the Queen Siriket |
| and a Cameron Gas airship from America. Strangely | | | | Convention centre and then over the river. The 500' |
| neither thought to visit or call the international airport | | | | level became a real pain in the afternoons as the OAT |
| 8km south of the stadium. This caused some amount | | | | was some 37C and thermals were popping off all |
| of trouble as Thai's love complicated permissions to fly | | | | over the place I may or may not actually flown quite a |
| and neither had any. As we did have permission we | | | | bit higher at the beginning of these flights and came |
| were contactable and received some amount of flack | | | | down when it cooled down, but perhaps I'd set the |
| from their CAA. We smoothed the path quite well for | | | | altimeter incorrectly!So after all the fun and games it |
| them, prison was mentioned on more than one | | | | was off to train three people in total: our agent and the |
| occasion!The airship did a fantastic job seemingly | | | | two business men. To start with we went off to |
| never out of the air and carrying a TV camera | | | | Rayong a Province to the SE of Bangkok renowned |
| beaming live pictures from the stadium. During the | | | | for it's beach resort Pattaya. The guys for some |
| evening we tethered next to the stadium and the | | | | reason where keen to train there. Unfortunately it |
| airship still plodded around dropping leaflets.Thai's are | | | | proved too coastal and the sea breeze knocked out |
| football fanatics and the Asian cup was also held | | | | the evening flights and the land breeze in the mornings. |
| during the games in the evening. Our tethers coincided | | | | Our permission was only for a 25 km square so we |
| with all the home team games. As Thailand | | | | couldn't go any further inland.Not a problem as one of |
| progressed through the ranks tickets sold out and it | | | | the guys had relatives with a farm near Kanchanaburi, |
| started to get ugly at the gates. For the semi final the | | | | home of the bridge over the river Kwai in the west of |
| fans burnt down the ticket tents in protest and several | | | | the country. It was here that most of the training was |
| thousand extra tried to get in causing an outbreak of | | | | done. It was an ideal area for ballooning, being generally |
| police brutality.We tethered high allowing us to see the | | | | flat with occasional 5-600 foot hills popping up like |
| matches and carried PR people, they tended to want | | | | islands. The fields are mainly of Sugar Cane roughly |
| to stay up a while as we had the best view in the | | | | three quarters and the rest are rice paddies. |
| house!On the first and last day of the games we flew | | | | Everything went fine and after three return trips to |
| into the stadium itself, the first flight by Jon, with me on | | | | Bangkok on business the guys where ready. They will |
| board and the last by myself. What a fantastic feeling | | | | be travelling to England to take their PPL's shortly.One |
| when you drop over the edge of the stadium roof and | | | | more surprise lay in store. Seeing as the flying into the |
| come to a dead stop amid all that noise and then pile | | | | stadium in Chaing Mai had gone so well I was asked to |
| out again, really good fun, it comes highly | | | | fly into another with a football to start The Thai football |
| recommended!The flights over the city were also | | | | league. Not such a big deal but the stadium as 500 |
| commendable. The airport required us to stay below | | | | metres from the sea with houses all the way to it. |
| 1000' and if we required to fly higher then we had to | | | | Luck was on our side once more and after two days |
| call them on VHF. It worked well and of course flying | | | | of strong monsoon winds on the day in question it was |
| across temples at low level was fascinating. Chaing | | | | calm. We inflated behind a five story building which |
| Mai old city lies within a square canel and contains | | | | was right next to the stadium and bang on for the |
| some 300 temples in total. It was here that we aimed | | | | wind direction. The signal for us to launch was a series |
| to overfly every day. The River Ping winds it's way to | | | | of fireworks the ninth being our go. At the practices |
| the east of the old city and was very handy for big | | | | which we couldn't fly into because of the wind we |
| direction changes. As a rule most wind directions could | | | | made sure that the marching bands had left and we |
| be found and staying over the city centre for an hour | | | | had a clear stage. You know whats coming |
| or so and then climbing and departing was fairly easy.I | | | | next.1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9 Go, we rose from behind the |
| have to say that Northern Thai's seemed more fun | | | | building to see that everybody was still stood |
| loving than their Southern countrymen. To this end they | | | | there,down between them all I came our official |
| enjoy letting off fireworks and tissue balloons carrying | | | | hopped out with the football and handed it to the |
| balls of burning rag to keep them aloft. Not uncommon | | | | President of Yamaha and we quickly deflated the |
| to see 10 or so cross the night sky glowing red when | | | | balloon,! no way was I going to fly out of that one!So |
| drinking a beer. They climb quite high as well I flew with | | | | thats briefly it, I haven't touched on the really infuriating |
| some at 3000'. On a couple of occasions, on landing | | | | stuff, the stuff thats supposed to add character |
| villagers let off tissue balloons in our honour. They also | | | | afterwards. I'll let you find out all those bits for |
| flew bigger ones with strings of fireworks blasting | | | | yourselves.If you are interested in going out there then |
| away underneath. All good stuff for balloonists to | | | | the man to contact In fact the head man of the brand |
| watch. The last night of the games saw the launch of | | | | new Balloon Club Of Thailand is:-YUTAKIT |
| in excess of 1000 of these balloons in about 10 minutes | | | | WANICHANOND |
| from all around the stadium, and as it was a calm night | | | | 125/135 CHANGWATANA ROAD |
| it was the prettiest balloon thing I've ever seen.So once | | | | PAKRET |
| that was all over it was off to Bangkok eight hours | | | | NONTABURI |
| South by road. Unbeknown to myself we had come to | | | | 11120 |
| the notice of the Prime Ministers office and were | | | | THAILAND |
| sought out for a job!The deputy Prime Minister, | | | | FAX 584 0042To update the story in June 04, the |
| Thakasin Shinawat, had said on coming into office | | | | deputy Prime Minister became the Prime Minister and |
| early in 1995, that by the middle of January 1996 (or | | | | is poised to buy a share of Liverpool Football club in |
| 2539 as it is over there) he would sort out Bangkoks | | | | the UK. I have since flown in Australia, Kenya and am |
| traffic problems. He has been pouring millions of Baht | | | | now back in South Africa with my own ride business. |