Unlike the privately arranged Mae Jo event, the Yi Peng Festival in Chiang Mai is spread over three days, is free to attend and is always a good mix of local people and tourists. Tens of thousands of sky lanterns (far more than at Mae Jo) are released in and around Chiang Mai city throughout the duration of the Yi Peng and Loy Krathong Festival. With street parades, religious services, beauty contests, cultural displays and fireworks, it’s a great time to be in Chiang Mai. And if you head down to the Ping River you will also see a steady stream of hundreds of krathongs being launched on the water on Loy Krathong night.