Local villagers parade their balloon through the streets of a village outside of Taunggyi last week. Pic: Becky Palmstrom

LAST week saw Taunggyi erupt in a frenzy of fire and festivities to celebrate the largest event of its kind in Myanmar – the Lu Ping Festival, which ran from November 7 to 12.

Thousands flocked to the capital of southern Shan State for the traditional Pa-O festival, which aims to destroy evil through the offering of money, robes and goods to Buddhist monks.

The highlight of the festival occurred when night descended and teams from local villages released their 30-foot-high, handmade hot air balloons into the sky.

Some balloons never made it off the ground, while others rose rapidly only to descend in a deluge of fireworks. But those villages skilled in balloon-craft managed to see their enormous creations float out of sight as the fireworks and lanterns strapped to the baskets beneath entertained the crowds.