Luye

About 4 hours train ride from Taipei is the Taitung Highland. It hosts an international hot balloon festival for two months annually.

To get there by the Taiwan's high speed express trains, you get down at Luye station which also show the balloon icon on the station name's board.

Walking 4km or taking a 10 minute taxi ride brings you to the highland where the balloons are launched.

There are two time windows of two hours each during the day for the viewing, the afternoon one is between 5-7pm.

Several trucks bring the deflated balloons, hot air generators and the balloon baskets, and a huge mat to protect the beautiful green lawns.

Each teams lays out their mat on the grass and slowly draws the balloon fabric on it. The different vibrant colors on the green grass look fantastic.

As each team fills their balloon with the hot air, you can keep guessing what character the balloon represents.

Most balloons in this festival do not look like the traditional balloons but instead have a variety of interesting shapes.

The characters are huge, upwards of 100 feet in height.

Slowly the whole area has the different balloons inflated and it starts looking more and more exciting.

It looks surreal to see the huge balloon characters with the backdrop of green lawns and the mountains.

There are many spectators relaxing and seeing the scenes unfold.

People look at them, marvel at the details and take pictures or selfies.

There are many food vendors, ice creams, coffee etc. Loud rap music alternates with other hit American songs like the YMCA.

The balloons lose hot air and intermittently they need to get replenished, and you can see the flames shoot into them.

The whole area is scenic, with rivers, mountains, thick forests and it is a great place to visit.