Chiang Rai hosts largest international balloon festival in ASEAN



CHIANG RAI, 11 February 2016 (NNT) - Singha Corporation's Executive Vice President Rangsarit Laksitanonda and Managing Director Pongrat Luangtamrongcharoen have jointly launched ASEAN’s largest international balloon festival in Chiang Rai Province, titled "International Balloon Fiesta 2016.”

Residents and tourists have come to experience the beauty of the large balloon exhibitions in the midst cool temperatures at a lakeside garden filled with winter flowers.

The exhibition has gathered over 30 giant balloons from 14 countries with names such as Yellow Jacket, The Heart, Black Sheep, Pinky Pig, Blue Pumpkin, and Heart Hopper. The event will also feature a night show where the balloons will be illuminated in various colors. The event’s main giant balloon contest comes with a 500,000-baht prize.

Other entertainment activities at the event consist of cycling, giant balloon amusement parks and musical performances by famous Thai artists. The event will last until February 14, welcoming Valentine’s Day.


-- NNT 2016-02-11

Looks like we may be heading out that way today so perhaps I will have some photos to share tonight. Hopefully midday there won't be much traffic.

International balloon festival I'll take..big-brother-ASEAN can go stick itself back to the corrupt-political-abyss it came from..

What is the cheapest way to get to this place other than walking ?

...too bad they announce it after it has begun....

What is the cheapest way to get to this place other than walking ?

Balloon !

...too bad they announce it after it has begun....

Maybe something like this?

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/890559-singha-park-chiang-rai-balloon-fiesta-2016-to-launch-in-february/

What is the cheapest way to get to this place other than walking ?

Balloon !

I'm guessing balloon might be one of the more expensive ways to travel here. Just finishing our lunch and I haven't seen any balloons yet.

The restaurant was packed today but we did not stay until the balloons launched. There was a lot going on during the day preparing for the evening balloon show so I wandered around and took some candid shots. We went up the new tower for zip line and rock climbing and got a shot of the fairgrounds set up for the evening entertainment.

The rock climbing wall on the back of the tower looked interesting.

What is the cheapest way to get to this place other than walking ?

Songthaew would be the cheapest, but you would have to find those that take the 1211/ old Chiang Mai road route, maybe ask at the old bus station.

I'd suggest meter taxi, you could ask him to return at a certain time or maybe do a deal to wait for a few hours.

It would be about 150B one way.

The rock climbing wall on the back of the tower looked interesting.

Don't jump!

International balloon festival I'll take..big-brother-ASEAN can go stick itself back to the corrupt-political-abyss it came from..

Hope you enjoy the festival!

The rock climbing wall on the back of the tower looked interesting.

Don't jump!

Your supposed to jump but connected to the zip-line on the left.

Too often Chiang Rai is in the news for drugs, violence and trafficking, so it is nice to see events like this which show Chiang Rai in a very different light. It is great to see upmarket hotels, restaurants and events doing well here. There are still those who want to keep Chiang Rai as a petting zoo for visitors to come and experience poverty but that seems to be shifting. Singha Park is a great asset for Chiang Rai in my opinion.

What time is the balloon launch?

What time is the balloon launch?

I was told around 5 pm. We left around 3 pm and the inbound traffic was already starting. The amount of traffic shows just how popular events like this are. We have a guy at the house today who went in the evening yesterday and he said it was necessary to park very far from the event but that they had shuttles to get you to where the action is.

The parking area close to the venue is small and filled up early in the afternoon.

The road into this area has been upgraded this last year.

What a nice event!

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We went last night and have a lovely time. The traffic getting in around 4pm was utterly horrendous, though.

I only live about 15kms south and cannot believe that I've finally reached an age where traveling that distance with a little inconvenience to see a spectacle like that has become too much of a bother.

There are some great photos on the Singha Park FaceBook Page.

I am pleased the event was not suddenly banned with a heavy-handed "crackdown". Somehow found suddenly to be "illegal".