I did a balloon ride a few years ago. I have a mild fear of heights - or rather, falling from them - so this probably was not the best decision. The problem was the height of the basket. I’m just a shade over 6 foot and the top of the basket only came up to my hip. If it came to your chest that’d be different. But it doesn’t. You’re not wearing a harness. You’re just standing in this basket that doesn’t come up damn near high enough. I was clutching one of the side poles so tightly that my hand ached for days afterward. Meanwhile the rough ridin' pilot was literally sitting casually on the edge of the basket the whole time like it was nothing.
I will say that it was super quiet up there and the air was very calm so I can understand why some people say it’s so peaceful, but it’s not for everyone. The landing is not exactly graceful - it’s a controlled crash. We landed in a church parking lot, and it turns out they were having some sort of youth function so the kids got quite a show.
A few years before that when I was living in south JoCo a balloon literally landed in my driveway.
