Yen Tu Festival (19 Feb - 7 May, Vietnam) is held at Yen Tu Mountain in Quang Ninh Province. The festival is from the 10th day of the first lunar month to the end of the third lunar month. Every year, thousands of visitors visit Yen Tu after the Lunar New Year Festival to pray for good luck and health for their families.
Halong Tourism Week (Date TBA, Vietnam) is the most spectacular celebration in Halong, captivating a large number of local and international tourists. This yearly event creates a dazzling and colorful atmosphere, with traditional cultural events, fireworks and wonderful costumes on parade.
The Bali Spiritual Festival (1-5 May, Indonesia) brings together yoga practitioners and health lovers from all over the world.
With its origins in pre-Buddhist rain-invoking ceremonies, the Boun Bang Fai Festival (6 May, Laos) is a festival that coincides with the Laos Visakha Puja celebrations. Parades, songs, dances and partying all lead to an explosive climax as huge, ornate, homemade bamboo rockets are blessed and fired into the skies to invite the rains.
Bun Bang Fai Festival (10-13 May, Thailand) is an ancient local festival associated with Thai traditional beliefs in the supernatural powers that help promote the production of rice crops for the coming planting season. Enjoy rocket parades from each village in many sub-districts, music performance, local dances, local products fair, and rocket launching contest.
The Cheung Chau Bun Festival (15 May, Hong Kong) is a week-long event including Taoist ceremonies and music, a parade, lion dances, drum beating and an exciting Bun Scrambling Competition involving a tower of buns at Chung Chau Island.
The Aoi Matsuri (15 May, Japan) is one of Kyoto's three most famous festivals (along with the Gion Matsuri and Jidai Matsuri). The festival's main attraction is a large parade in Kyoto, in which over 500 people dressed in the aristocratic style of the Heian Period (794-1185) walk from the Imperial Palace to the Kamo Shrines.
The Gióng Festival (16 May, Vietnam) is held annually on the 9th day of the 4th month of the lunar calendar in Phu Dong Village, Gia Lam District, Hanoi. The procession starts from the Mother Temple to Thuong Temple with the performance of a religious service. After reaching the temple, a feast for the troops occurs. When night falls, a Cheo play is performed (a classical Vietnamese opera).
Sanja Festival (Date TBA, Japan) is one of the three great Shinto festivals in Tokyo. It is considered one of the wildest and largest. The festival is held in honor of Hinokuma Hamanari, Hinokuma Takenari, and Hajino Nakatomo, the three men who established and founded Sensō-ji. Sanja Matsuri is held on the third weekend of every May at Asakusa Shrine. Its prominent parades revolve around three mikoshi, as well as traditional music and dancing.
The two-day HSBC World Rugby Singapore Sevens Tournament (3-5 May, Singapore) takes place at the Naitonal Singapore Stadium and is a showcase of the game’s exciting seven-a-side format. It features the 15 best-ranked nations in the sport, including 12-time Series champion New Zealand.
A race in the Borneo island, the Borneo Marathon (5 May, Malaysia) is known for its wilderness and exotic culture. At this charity run, runners are treated with a scenic course overlooking the islands on the South China Sea and the sun rising behind Mount Kinabalu.
Ironman 70.3 (12 May, Vietnam) is a renowned triathlon event taking place in the picturesque coastal city of Danang. Participants swim 1.9 kilometers in the crystal-clear waters of the East Sea, followed by a 90-kilometer bike ride winding through the stunning Danang coastline and scenic countryside. The race culminates with a 21.1-kilometer run, taking athletes through the vibrant city streets and along the beautiful beachfront.
Watch the heavyweights in action at the Grand Sumo Tournament (12-26 May, Japan), one of Japan's most prestigious sumo events. This event takes place at Kokugikan in Tokyo.
The Java Jazz Festival (24-26 May, Indonesia) is a well-respected festival amongst jazz fans. Over the 10 years it has run, the festival has drawn names such as the late James Brown, Santana, Stevie Wonder and Jamie Cullam - with many more big names set to join their ranks.
This Langkawi Ultra event (24-26 May, Malaysia) will take place across the island of Langkawi, giving runners the opportunity to run in various disciplines of 100km, 50km, 42km, 21km, 10km. Meanwhile, this event also features events for children for the 1 km and 500 meter categories.
The Rotary International Convention (25-29 May, Singapore) is where friendship and learning come together to inspire. Connect with people of action from around the globe at Rotary’s biggest event of the year.
The CommunicAsia Exhibition (29-31 May, Singapore) is amongst the largest platforms organised for the ICT industry in the Asia-Pacific region. It draws global industry brands to showcase key and emerging technologies.
