Indonesia Dragon Boat Festival

Indonesia Dragon Boat Festival

The Dragon Boat Festival is a major international sporting event that is held in Indonesia. Held in the month of July, this event draws participants from all across the world. The location of the event is in Padang, Indonesia.

The Dragon Boats Festival in Padang basically involves a race amongst the Dragon Boats, which have their origin in China. Dragon Boat racing basically originated in China. Since Indonesia has a huge Chinese population, hence this event has also made a place for itself in this country.

The boats are long and narrow looking. They are richly decorated and painted with bright colors. The boats are fitted with the colorful heads and tails of a dragon.

Thus, when the race starts, it appears as if a large number of dragons are competing with one another. The crew of the boats consists of 22 people. Out of these, 20 people are the paddlers, one is the drummer and one is a steerer.

However, during the Dragon Boat Festival races you may find only 18 paddlers rowing the huge colorful boats. The drummers beat the drum in harmony with the movement of the paddlers. The drumming helps in keeping time and maintains coordination between the paddlers. The paddlers are made to sit facing the front.

The Dragon Boat Festival race starts on the sound of a huge gong. Participants from different countries like China, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan as well as the United States of America come to take part in this grand event. The festival is filled with fun and excitement. One can hear the loud cheers of the onlookers. As a large number of people come to attend this festival, you can get to see a large number of food stalls during this festival set up near the festival venue. You can enjoy the local food and delicacies served in these stalls while watching the boats compete with one another.

The Dragon Boat Festival in Padang is a much-awaited annual event. Watching these colorful boats race amongst one another is truly a marvelous sight.

The quickest and comfortable way to get to Padang is by air and there are flights connect to Padang from Kuala Lumpur as well as all the major cities in Indonesia. Minangkabau International Airport (Indonesian: Bandar Udara Internasional Minangkabau, Minangkabau: Bandar Udaro Internasional Minangkabau) is the principal airport serving Padang, it is located about 27 km north-west of Padang, in Ketaping, Padang Pariaman regency.