5th Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta

What comes to mind when you think of Hot Air Balloons?

Big, awesome, Cute, Freedom, FUN ! It can be anything. We pop over to Putrajaya’s 5th International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta last Friday, and took some photos with a SMURF !

Video : If you have not been near to a Hot Air balloon before, this clip should make your kids excited!

The night before, we stay at “CyberView Resort“. We will share more about this resort and Putrajaya/Cyberjaya sights in another post. GPS is a must as most road signs look identical.

We arrive at 0615 to catch the preparation. First ship will fly off around 0730 till 0900. Read the FAQs here. Families turn out in full force, excitement lingers in the air.

Gary from USA was a fun pilot, he keeps shouting 5,4,3,2,1 to attract photographers’ attention ! We can feel the flame from 5m away.

One bye one, the crew layout the basket and balloons over the square. There will be twenty balloons to wow the spectators.

The motor cranks up and blow air to fill the balloons. The balloons start to erect all around us. In less than 20min, a balloon is ready to take off !

Someone even peek at us from behind the tree line. Tethered rides are available for the adventurous.

For some reasons, everyone (especially photographers) wants to peep under the balloon 🙂

In cold surroundings (ie 7am), Hot Air Rises, balloons float easier. Be careful not to BBQ the Butt !

Meanwhile, kids are trying to identify which “monster” will lift off next 🙂

More photo opportunities.

We feel so tiny walking among the giant balloons. Kang with Buddy’s namecard.

20 balloons over 2 hours. “Excited and Thrill” cannot be used to describe our experience 🙂
It is a FUN experience for everyone !

We heard Darth Vader and Doraemon has even appeared in previous Hot Air Balloon fiestas !

Pity the sky seems a bit hazy.

We must come back again 🙂

Tips :
1) The gate officially open at 7am, but you can enter earlier. At 7am, only DSLRs are allowed into the compound. Those who arrive earlier (even without DSLR) will be allowed to venture real close to the balloons !

2) Hot air balloons only flys at 0700 to 0900, and 1800. Time your itinerary to capture the flights. There are fringe activities throughout the weekend.

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My friend enjoys the carnival and fireworks too ! Do pop by Milo’s blog 🙂

Do pop by SengkangBabies fanpage for more action photos. We can get family portraits from every angles. More information about the Annual Hot Air Balloons :

http://www.myballoonfiesta.com./index.html
Balloon Fanpage

ps.. Have you watch our video already? If not, go back to the top of this blog post.
You need to see it to feel the vibes !

Hong Kong Day 5 – DisneyLand

After enjoying our breakfast, we will be spending our last night in Disneyland. This will the highlight for the kids, 2D1N of Magical Disney experience !

Earlier, we have blogged about our Day 2 “Breakfast with Stars“. We love the experience, dining with Mickey, Daisy and Goofy !

When the kids saw the Mickey train pull into Disneyland station, you can almost hear everyone go WOW! The distinct Mickey ear, memorabilia from DisneyLand within the cabin.

We quickly checkin at Disney’s Hollywood Hotel, before heading back to the themepark. The other hotel in Disneyland is HongKong DisneyLand Hotel, and free coaches ply between the hotels.

During our stay, we got a promotion and second day Disneyland themepark tickets were waived, Magical Disneyland Yeah !

More Mickeys await us in the themepark.

Along Main Street, we await the “Flights of Fantasy” parade.

Since we were early, we browse through the souvenir shops first, enjoying some cool aircon. Even Donald and Daisy are seeking shelter.

Finally, the parade floats into action at around 3:30pm.

We see performers and floats coming down the street. All our familiar cartoon characters waving to us. Some in the crowd were also invited to participate in the parade 🙂

Little girls will shout to Cinderella and Sleeping beauties, while the boys will be jumping over Buzz Lightyear! Fantastic festive mood.

It will take 30min for the performers to cover Main Street.
Do pop by our Fanpage album for more photos.

(photo credit)

Next, we hop over to TomorrowLand’s Autopia. This car rocks ! Both kids and adults love the bumpy ride ! Actually, we are not supposed to treat Autopia like bumper-car, but look at Nai Nai and Yi-por (奶奶 and 姨婆). This is 奶奶’s first driving experience 🙂

After our rides, we attended Golden Mickey’s ceremony at FantasyLand.

As long as we can catch Mickey, Donald and Goofy on stage, no one is complaining. We like the Musical !

You must not miss Golden Mickey !

The sky is turning dark, we rode some Horses and Dumbos, before we gathered infront of a Castle.

Everyone who visits Disneyland must catch the spectacular Fireworks display.
Heng family (BPDG) agrees 🙂

At 7:30pm, the fireworks will be exploding above Sleeping Beauty’s Castle.

We heard the fireworks are even more dazzling during Christmas period.

Goodnight Mickey Mouse. We will visit you again tomorrow morning.

We welcome you to pop by our Day5 photos on our fanpage.

–> Our 6D5N Hong Kong Family Itinerary summary

Day 1 – Dim Sum, Ferry, Goose
Day 2 – Doraemon!, Tram, Ladies Street
Day 3 – Ocean Park
Day 4 – Buddha, ThePeak and Madam Tussauds
Day 5 – Street food, Disneyland !
Day 6 – Breakfast with Mickey, DisneyLand (part ii)

All photos from Day 1 to 6 are available on our Fanpage:
Day 1 photos
Day 2 photos (Doraemon)
Day 3 photos (Ocean Park)
Day 4 photos, and Buddha lantau
Day 5 photos (Disney)
Day 6 photos (Breakfast with Mickey)