If you have been a millennial engaged in any sort of travel in the past five years, you’re going to have seen the balloon pics from Cappadocia. It is inevitable, the only objects that have been more instagrammed are those white and blue buildings in Santorini.

I like to avoid hype when traveling. For this reason, I have no desire to go to Venice. I avoided Mykonos and Santorini when I went to Greece (although I did love Athens to bits). Sometimes, this is warranted (my friends tell me Mykonos was an overpriced tourist trap) while other times it’s silly (Paris is always a good idea). So I was originally hesitant about taking a bus by myself 10+ hours to a region in Turkey I had barely researched to see some hot air balloons take off. I mean balloons are cool. I have always dreamed of riding in one. I read Jules Verne religiously as a kid. However, I was not going to do the balloon tour, no way, no how. At best, I would ask a sympathetic stranger to snap a pic with some balloons behind me and call it a day.

Then I made it to Cappadocia. And they were having Turkey’s first-ever Hot Air Balloon Festival. And my guest house owner was an international balloon pilot from Madrid. And they were just lying there, giant sleeping giants full of gas and air and magic and…

Yes, I rode the balloon. And it was once-in-a-lifetime incredible.

Cappadocia is not a specific city, but a region encompassing several towns and villages. The most famous (aka where everyone stays in those cave hotels) is Göreme which is smack dab in the middle of a national park. It’s pretty easy to access as there are direct buses from Istanbul and Nevşehir (a fairly large town you can get to from Ankara).

I stayed in Uçhisar which is a little trickier to do trips from as not as many solo tourists stay here. It has better views and more upscale hotels, but if you want to have access to day tours or are without public transport, it may be better to stay in Göreme. Other options include Ürgüp, which is slightly larger and was hosting the balloon fest when I arrived, and Avanos, which is where more Turkish tourists stay.

Although I was traveling alone, I met some great female travelers: two friends, one Turkish girl and one Thai girl, who were traveling together, and a girl from Japan, who like me, had left her Turkish friends in Istanbul and was heading out on her own. We met up for tea and beer, and they told me about their adventures taking ATV tours and seeing the Underground City. Since I was on a limited budget, I could only pay for one tour, the hot air balloon, but that was more than enough for me.

I also did some hiking in the incredible Pigeon Valley, watched the sun set from the top of Uçhisar Castle and had an amazing meal for less than five dollars.

Overall, Cappadocia is a visually stunning region with lots to explore. I didn’t love Göreme because it seems to operate purely for tourists, but locals are friendly and most people seem to be trying to make a decent living and will help you when you need it.

For instance, when I was trying to get the bus to Uchisar, an elderly Turkish woman and her daughter invited me to sit with them and made sure I found the right bus and that I was cared for. Throughout this country, people have been extremely hospitable and welcoming. I recommend a visit to Turkey 100 percent, and if you can, ride the balloon.