0208 843 4444
People booking holidays to Thailand may be interested to know about a large festival taking place in Chiang Mai towards the end of the year.
Travellers planning holidays to Thailand later this year could be among the thousands of visitors expected in Chiang Mai for one of the country’s biggest festivals.
Celebrations are being planned to mark the king’s birthday and will run from November 30th to December 10th 2009.
It is anticipated that over 200,000 people will attend the event in the north of the country that will feature a number of attractions, including parades and dances, with the most elaborate spectacles being held on December 5th – the monarch’s birthday.
A fireworks display and the release of 999 kom loi (sky lanterns) are among the highlights of the ten-day festival.
Stalls selling souvenirs and handicrafts from local villages will also be on offer to visitors to Chiang Mai.
The king’s birthday is celebrated all over Thailand, with Bangkok also playing host to large-scale celebrations that includes a festival of music and culture at Sanam Luang in the capital.
The king is turning 82 this year and is the longest reigning monarch in the world.
Written by Erin Marshall