Balloon Nepal, the only Nepali company representing the country, joined the ‘International Balloon Festival 2024’ in Chiang Rai, Thailand. Starting last Wednesday, the celebration ran for five days.
There were eighty balloons in all, twenty large and sixty small. Twelve balloons from various nations, including Nepal, participated in them. Each balloon displayed flags from various nations, with one showing Nepal’s flag, as mentioned by Director Dhakal. The event included sports competitions every day, supervised by Belun Nepal’s director Dhakal.
The festival ended with a grand dinner, including a ‘Nepali Night’ organized by Balloon Nepal, where pilots and crews were honored with traditional Nepali gifts, including Dhaka topis, Khada scarves, and a Buddha statue. Director Dhakal believes such events are good for Nepal’s development and shared information about Lumbini and Siddhartha Gautam to correct misconceptions about Buddha’s birthplace. He also mentioned plans to organize similar events in Nepal to attract tourists from around the world.
This was the first time a Nepali company participated in the International Balloon Festival, and the event attracted around 1 million visitors over five days, Dhakal added.
