Rockets soar to encourage rain in the Northeast, devout Buddhists climb a mountain in the North, kayaks race to qualify for the Olympics, just west of Bangkok, while country music lovers meet in the far western province of Kanchanaburi to fine tune their thoughts on the environment.These are just a few of the highlights on offer around Thailand in May.                     Residents of Thailand’s largest region, the Northeast or I-san, make merry in the month of May, demonstrating how the art of building homemade powerful missiles has passed down through the centuries. If they need an excuse to organise a party and indulge in their favourite pastime of stage comedy and folk musicals, then the onset of the rainy season provides it.                     Yasothon is home of the most famous rocket festival known as Bun Bang Fai early in the month, but for festival lovers who might have missed that opportunity to mingle and experience a distinctive I-san tradition, there is still time to catch the spectacle at Udon Thani and Khon Kaen, two well  known town in upper I-san.                      Following the popular format seen in most town that celebrate the start of the rice planting season by firing salvos of rockets, both towns will kick off their festivals with street parades that show off the rockets and the local beauty queens. Udon Thani Rocket Festival runs from 17 to 21 May, in Baan That district, offering three days of merry making leading off with a beauty contest and parade, while rockets of various sizes, from super missiles capable of an amazing lift off to small baby versions, are ignited on 20 and 21 May. In a similar fashion, the Khon Kaen Rocket Festival runs from 24 to 25 May, in Ka Nual district, with fun-filled hours of celebration and a rocket parade to show off the designs and technical prowess that can send these bamboo or plastic pipe rockets to heights of 1 kilometre or more. The actual rocket launches take place on the second day.