Not Worth It.

Two tickets for a DHL Balloon ride have been laying around our apartment for a couple months. We received the tickets during Thanksgiving weekend at an annual party for Cody's work. Each year the group in Hong Kong has a black tie event, complete with theme and costumes. This year the theme was Festa Italiana. I can't say no to a fancy dinner and an excuse to dress up, so of course we went. I should have known better and trusted Cody's hesitations. I tend to want to do and try everything and eventually I get us stuck in some pretty awkward situations.

The invitation gave the impression the event was a masquerade. With some help from Shanna and Michelle, we were able to embellish a dress with some market purchases we'd turned into masquerade-type accessories. Not wanting to be flamboyant or look out of place, Cody settled for a suit paired with a costume shirt from Halloween a couple years ago. I'm still not sure if we fooled people into thinking it was formal enough, but it certainly was unique, not to mention freeeeee! A totally budget ensemble for a formal affair. {An awkward prom date picture.}

Michelle and I made the hairpiece and added the feathers to the mask to match.

We found it pretty humorous to get all dressed up for a fancy-shmancy dinner, then go hop on a public bus to get to the event. {Our classy ride.}
Of course the evening started with cocktail hour, so we arrived fashionably late (also saving us money on babysitting: double bonus). We shmoozed with a few people and then found our seats. {The table centerpieces.}
The evening had already started out awkward. I think there were between four and five hundred people at this Executive dinner, of which Cody knew approximately six. {A little entertainment.}
The evening continued with Italian opera, costume contest, dinner, and thoroughly uncomfortable table conversation. Everyone seemed timid and uninterested in talking with each other. It made for a loooong evening. Being the money-minded person I am, I was thinking as long as the balloon ride is cool, this night just might be worth it (calculating in my head the cost of babysitting vs. balloon ride ticket, etc.). {In front of the "Italian village."}
At first glance, I thought the tickets were for a hot air balloon ride over Hong Kong. Now that would have been incredible. Upon further research, the balloon was looking less and less appealing. So much so, Cody opted out of going. We only had one week left to use the tickets and he had to work, so it wasn't worth the effort to him. We had intentions to use them several times, but something else seemed to come up or the balloon was closed due to wind. Last week was our last chance; the expiration date was Friday.

I called up Michelle and she was kind enough to come along with us on Wednesday. The balloon is in Kowloon, close to the harbor front. It goes up 100 meters in the air for about 12 minutes and then back down.
That might seem kind of high, but Hong Kong has 112 buildings that stand taller than 180 meters, 6 of them exceeding 300 meters, and we were right next to ICC which is 484 meters.
Given the perspective, 100 meters is a bit too low to the ground in my opinion. There are plenty of other vantage points to get a better view of the city. I definitely wouldn't have paid the money to take the ride, but given it was free, it was a fun experience. And nothing beats getting outside with my little girl and a good friend on a blue sky day!
One thing that is unique about the balloon ride is from that location on Kowloon, we could see several of the views along Victoria harbor at once. {1: ICC}
{2: Hong Kong Island skyline (blue skies, but still hazy!)}
{3: Hong Kong shipyard}
Though it was a fun day, in the end I would say the balloon ride did not make the torture of the dinner worth it. And the price of a balloon ticket definitely is not worth the ride. Did you notice we were the only ones there?!