Brightly coloured balloons with hundreds of homemade fireworks woven into their frames were sent soaring into the night sky, showering down cascades of sparks onto adoring crowds. "I'm very happy and also afraid," 22-year-old Maung Maung Myint, who travelled to the capital of Shan state from Mandalay, told AFP on Friday night. The November celebration has become a highlight of the annual Tazaungdaing festival of light that marks the end of Myanmar's rainy season. The huge crowds, lack of safety precautions and homemade fireworks have proved deadly in the past. Even so I have never got less than third," said Thaw Thar Win, who led a group of balloon makers.

Source: The Nation Bangkok November 12, 2016 07:26 UTC