Once a year, magical and outrageous festivals occur around the globe. If you fancy a life-affirming piece of the action, add these to your bucket list.
Yi Peng, Festival of Lights
When: 25 November, 2015
Where: Chiang Mai, Thailand
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Yi Peng, held each November, is part of the festival of lights in Northern Thailand which pays respect to Buddha. People in Chiang Mai release thousands of lanterns into the sky to bring luck and fulfil wishes. For the best seats in the house for this mesmerising spectacle, be at the biggest lantern release, held at the Lanna Dhutanka grounds behind Mae Jo University in Chiang Mai. Making Yi Peng an even more wonderful time to visit Chiang Mai, is the coinciding Loi Krathong celebration, where floating, decorated baskets are released on the river. To surround yourself in captivating light from above and below, relish the view from the Nawarat Bridge.
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Boryeong Mud Festival
When: July, 2016
Where: Seoul, South Korea
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While getting covered in dirt may not be your idea of a holiday, the two-week Mud Festival, held at Boryeong, attracts around two to three million tourists from around the world every year. Said to do wonders for the skin due to its curing and cosmetic values, Boryeong’s mud is the highlight of the world’s hottest new party scene. Picture it: mud slides, mud boxing rings and wrestling matches, colour mud body painting, and mud trampolines. Every night the festival boasts a huge concert featuring famous Korean and international musicians. The beach itself is packed, and perfect for a quick dip in the ocean when you’re ready to rinse off the mud. The best part? It’s all in the name of good health!
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Harbin Ice and Snow Festival
When: 5 January to 25 February, 2016
Where: Harbin, China
Every year, the city of Harbin hosts the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, featuring massive frozen sculptures. At night, the sculptures are colourfully illuminated and visitors can climb and play on some of the structures. Ice and snow sculptures are displayed in three venues: Sun Island Scenic Area, Ice and Snow World in the suburbs, and Zhaolin Park in the city centre. Ice and Snow World is truly the star of the show among Harbin’s winter attractions, wowing the crowd with sculptures, towers, and entire buildings made from blocks of ice.
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Konaki Sumo Festival
When: April, 2016
Where: Tokyo, Japan and other districts
The Konaki Sumo festival involves almost 100 cute little babies and is all about tears and crying. It may sound sadistic, but is actually rather amusing and ridiculously adorable. A Japanese proverb has it that ‘crying babies grow fast’ with the belief that the louder an infant wails, the more the gods have blessed it. In a tradition that has been around in Japanese temples for more than 400 years, two Sumo wrestlers, both holding a baby, face each other in a sumo ring and wait to see whose baby cries first. Surprisingly, it is the baby who cries first that is the ultimate winner. Even the best laid plans sometimes go awry, however, with babies often laughing instead. At that point the wrestlers don ferocious masks, which usually finishes the job.
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Holi Festival of Colour
When: 23 March, 2016
Where: India
When talking about the perfect Instagram travel shot, Holi festival of colours produces many contenders. Holi is celebrated the day after the full moon in March each year and anyone is fair game, with festival goers playing, chasing and colouring each other with dry powder and coloured water. You’ll find Holi festivities taking place in most areas around India. However, they’re more exuberant in some places than others. We recommend the northern states, especially Mathura in Utter Pradesh, as this is said to be where Lord Krishna grew up. The celebrations of paint splattering can last up to 16 days here, so make sure you take plenty of spare clothes.
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Image: @AdamFilipowicz/Shutterstock.com
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