Hare And Hound Hot Air Balloon Flight In The 20th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Festival

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The Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta just had its 20th annual celebration last week and my sister and I were so grateful to experience this one-of-a-kind fiesta at least for a day. It was actually a four-day event which started from February 11 to February 14. I got the tickets from TicketNet and picked the last day, hoping that it is somehow more special than the rest of the dates since it was the finale. I was so selfish to borrow my sister from her boyfriend on Valentines Day but she said it’s okay because they really don’t have bigger plans that day (they just had their monthsary 3 days ago after all haha)20160214_062338_Richtone(HDR)tThe event was held at the Omni Aviation Complex in Clark Freeport Zone, Angeles City, Pampanga. It features multicolored hot air balloons with more than a hundred balloon pilots from around the world and it is considered as the largest aviation sports event in the Philippines (I’ve heard there will be another Hot Air Balloon event this coming April not in Clark but in Lubao Pampanga). 20160214_063153_Richtone(HDR)tIt’s our first Hot Air Balloon Festival and it is also our first time to visit Pampanga. We really had no idea how to get there but thanks to the power of Internet and Google Map, we were able to get there safely and on time. We had to take the 12am bus ride because it takes 2-3 hours before you get to San Fernando. From San Fernando, we rode a Jeepney bound to Angeles (Rotonda) which took another 15-20 minutes. From Angeles City Rotonda, we rode another jeep bound to Astro. The original plan is to take a jeep that will bring us directly to the Clark Main gate but the jeepneys bound to Clark from Angeles Rotonda will start to arrive at four and it was just around 3am at that time. Since we can’t afford to wait for an hour, we had to ride a jeepney bound to Astro and from there we can get a van or jeep that will bring us to the main gate. Luckily, while we are on our way , a van bound to Clark Main Gate passes by and the driver was kind enough to stop the van driver so we can have a ride all the way to the main gate of Clark Airport. From the main gate, we just had to ride another jeep that will take us the Hot Air Balloon venue. 20160214_062516_Richtone(HDR)tWe arrived at the venue around 3:30am and we were welcomed by a very long queue of people. I thought we could easily get an access since we already have the tickets but it turned out, there is also a long queue of people who already got a ticket so we have to bear the long queue and wait for almost an hour. 20160214_063217_Richtone(HDR)tLuckily, we are not that late and we still managed to get a nice spot. The event started with a light dance followed by Skydiving Philippine Flag jump. When the sun started to rise, the balloons started to inflate too!
20160214_063744tI’ve learned that this is not just an exhibition but a competition known as the “Hare and Hound Hot Air Balloon Flight”. According to Mr Wiki, here’s how the race works. The Hare balloon takes off a set amount of time before the Hound balloons and typically flies with multiple altitude changes to make it more difficult for the chasing balloons to match its flight path. After a set amount of flight time, the Hare will land and typically lay out a target cross for the Hounds to drop their weighted markers near. As above, the distance between a pilot’s marker and the target determines his or her score.20160214_063826tThe hare for that day is the Philippine Flag hot air balloon so it is expected that the Philippine Flag balloon is the first one to take off. 20160214_064013_Richtone(HDR)t20160214_064209_Richtone(HDR)t20160214_064308_Richtone(HDR)t20160214_064457tAll balloons are almost ready to take off20160214_064708t20160214_064952tP2143352ttAlthough the Philippine Flag Hot Air Balloon is supposed to be the first one to take off, this Alien-like Balloon was the first one to flew. 20160214_065011_Richtone(HDR)tThe Philippine Flag Balloon starting to take offP2143362t20160214_065025_Richtone(HDR)t20160214_065110_Richtone(HDR)t

Check Out that cute Baby Dino on Egg! So Cute!20160214_065201_Richtone(HDR)tAnother Dino and a huge Scarecrow20160214_065240_Richtone(HDR)tSome of the balloons starting to take off too20160214_065417_Richtone(HDR)tEverything is almost ready!P2143372tThe Scarecrow BalloonP2143380tP2143381tThe couple balloon is just perfect since it was Valentines Day!P2143397tLook at them (buti pa sila may FOREVER hehe)20160214_070000_Richtone(HDR)tThe Cathedral BalloonP2143394t20160214_070225_Richtone(HDR)tAll balloons floating up in the airP2143401tP2143402t20160214_070111_Richtone(HDR)tThe Hare and Hound Balloon Flight is also followed by a paragliding exhibition headed by the Twinz Acrobatic20160214_070106_Richtone(HDR)t

Next Entry : Kite Flying, Car Drifting And other Activities At The 20th PIHABF

Hare and Hound Balloon Flight β”‚ Activities AtΒ 20th PIHABF β”‚PAF Booths And Exhibits β”‚ Real Tanks and Aircrafts

16 thoughts on “Hare And Hound Hot Air Balloon Flight In The 20th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Festival

  • February 18, 2016 at 3:14 am
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    wow, very nice especially when all the balloons were up there floating in the sky, it is such a beautiful sight!! love those colorful balloons but i would have to say i like the cathedral balloon the most, it’s so unique and taking the limelight.. those cartoon character balloons are also very cute, i especially like the dinosaurs (with and without egg), hehehe~~

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  • February 18, 2016 at 4:36 am
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    The hot air balloons are so colourful and beautiful. They make the skies so vibrant and pretty as the float to heavens. i wish to ride on one someday.

    All your photos looked like postcards! Are they for sale???

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  • February 19, 2016 at 4:28 pm
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    I missed this again for the nth time.. been planning to witness this for years already but still we couldn’t find time.. I hope next year we can nail this on our calendar! The balloons this year are so enticing! πŸ™‚

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  • February 19, 2016 at 7:57 pm
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    How exciting; and I just adore all of these balloons they’re all so cute. I absolutely am fascinated by the way this looks and how they play that game. Hot air balloon festival has always been on my bucket list

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  • February 20, 2016 at 2:01 am
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    Wow, beautiful photos! I’m actually from Pampanga but I didn’t get to go πŸ™ Hopefully next year I’ll be able to go. Thanks for sharing!

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  • February 20, 2016 at 3:43 am
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    I’m in awe by looking at your photos and seeing those beautiful hot air balloons flying in the most glorious sky. I’ve been wanting to experience this since 2010 but couldn’t find time. I’m glad that you have already witnessed this event with your sister.

    P.S
    I have a friend who went there maybe 3 years ago and they just had a not-so-bad memory about it. When they are on their way home, it took them 4 hours in the car because of the traffic jam. And unfortunately, ran out of gas. LOL!

    Cess Piano
    http://www.cesspiano.blogspot.com

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  • February 20, 2016 at 5:15 am
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    Ahhh, was supposed to go here too, but Clark is too far from Bicol! XD Sayang. From the pictures everyone’s been taking, it must’ve been a real treat to see the balloons personally. Next year, I HAVE to really go and ride on one of these. The price will be worth it for sure, right? πŸ˜€

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  • February 20, 2016 at 6:00 am
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    Love the photos! And the sun flare, WOW! haha what camera do you use? πŸ™‚

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  • February 20, 2016 at 9:49 am
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    What filter are you using? Your photos look so nice, it’s like you have this trademark color.

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  • February 20, 2016 at 12:48 pm
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    “I was so selfish to borrow my sister from her boyfriend on Valentines Day”

    Next year, get a girlfriend and bring her there for a date, haha!

    Two things that may prevent me from going there are (1) traffic and (2) parking. For sure, hotels are fully booked as well during these events.

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  • February 20, 2016 at 2:52 pm
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    I think its more convenient if you have a car talaga when you go to Clark. Good thing you were able to hitch a ride. But I guess it must be worth the hassle since your photos are amazing πŸ™‚

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  • February 21, 2016 at 12:23 am
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    Grrr, wow Hot air ballon is one my wish list for next year, will look forward to experience this soon thanks for sharing πŸ™‚

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  • February 21, 2016 at 1:45 am
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    The sky was filled with beautiful things that day huh. The cathedral is so awesome!

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  • February 21, 2016 at 3:47 am
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    What’s special about this Hot Air Balloon Festival? I think it’s the flamboyant and playful colors of the balloon seeing it above adding more hue in the sky. This is truly magnificent! πŸ™‚

    Reply

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