Luxor - Balloon Trip

After spending the night in Luxor, KW and I got up literally before the sun rose, so that we could go hot air ballooning.  That's right!  Hot Air Ballooning.  I totally loved it.  We didn't get up before the sun rose, but shortly after and I definitely had loads of fun trying to take pictures of everything that I could see from up above.  Apparently I have not yet found anything that scares me - from walking on logs, to moving to a brand new country, to going for hot air balloon rides.  Maybe I should try swimming with sharks.  

Anyway, back to the hot air balloons. I will include a number of pictures of the balloons followed by some pictures of what I could see while I was in the air.

This front balloon was the one I rode in.

And we have lift off.

Our reflection in an irrigation canal as we fly over.

Here a couple of the hot air balloons have landed.  That's our shadow that is in the middle of the picture.

This is the Temple of Hatshepsut.  Hatshepsut was a famous female ruler, who posed as a male to gain the throne.  After we completed our hot air balloon ride, we toured this temple.  With nothing to measure against when you are in the air, it's hard to judge just how big this complex is. After being there, let me tell you that it is big.

This fellow met us when we landed.  I thought he had come out to welcome us back, but instead he was out there trying to get us to give him some money. 

This was what the statues looked like from the air.  The pictures below are what they actually looked like from the ground.  It was interesting to be able to see something from the air and then later, up close and personal, from the ground.  I can't remember at the moment what their names are, but you can see that they are large.