Things to Do

If getting lost is a prerequisite to good travel, Songkhla disorientates in all the right ways.  Ramvithi Road, where mini-vans drop off travellers from Hat Yai for B34, looks like any main road in Thailand. But as you stroll into the Old Town, you’ll soon be wondering which country, and into which century, you might have stumbled. North of the City Gate, past the golden-domed Banbon Mosque that anchors a community where Thai-Chinese and Muslims live side-by-side, rows of antique shophouses simply ooze charm. The Taoist temples and clan academies signpost the old Chinese quarter, while Wat Yang Thong, a redolent Thai temple complex near the city walls, marks the northern periphery of old Songkhla.  Photograph: Thomas Bird This unique cosmopolitanism is the product of commerce and conquest down the centuries. First established as the seat of the ancient Malay kingdom of Langkasuka, between the 10th and 14th centuries, Singora, ‘the lion city’ as it was known, emerged as an entrepot, attracting traders from India, Java, China and Persia. By the early 17th century, the Sultanate of Singora had taken shape, flourishing until 1680, when a protracted war with the Siamese saw the besieged city abandoned.    Under Siamese suzerainty, a settlement grew-up just across the strait from old Singora, which has subsequently thrived as a hub of fishing, attracting Chinese merchants to its bountiful shores.  Although Hat Yai has surpassed Songkhla in size and prestige, the provincial capital’s heritage and unique location on an isthmus between the Gulf of Thailand and Songkhla Lake, lend it a new lease of life as a tourist locale.

Old Town Bangkok makes you move like you have all the time in the world. It sits in the Phra Nakhon district, which literally means ‘royal city’. Here, things move at their own inherited pace, not the calculated slow of somewhere trying to be quaint, but the rhythm of a place that’s simply always existed this way. Rattanakosin Island, as it’s also called, sits snugly between the Chao Phraya and a maze of canals. Before Bangkok became the kind of city where ancient temples back onto phone repair shops, this was ground zero. Since 1782, lives have been building up here, one generation on top of another. The density’s part of the charm. This neighbourhood still holds its weight – you can feel it was once the centre of everything.   Photograph: Maksim Romashkin The Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Wat Arun: the big three temples holding down the district, the giant guardians still on duty. Holy ground that hasn't been museumed. There’s a faint smell in some alleys, jasmine mixed with coconut from street snacks that’ve been made the exact same way for decades. Tuk-tuks navigate impossibly narrow passages. They shouldn’t fit, but they always do. Bangkok’s racing ahead naturally, but somehow nothing that shaped this corner ever really disappears. The river flows. The flower market opens before dawn, same as it has for generations. People here just move differently, so you end up flowing through the neighbourhood in an oft-paused, wandering manner. You don’t even realise you’re doing it. What’s it known for?   Photograph: Wisnu Phaewchimplee A spiritual island. Old Town with a time zone of its own, held there by the water. Glass towers shot up everywhere else in the city, but this place didn’t fight it. Didn’t make a big show of staying the same either. Motor shops upgrade their equipment. New coffee spots and international restaurants squeeze in between the old storefronts. All of it peaceful, moving slow, together. Why do locals love it? Mostly because the real texture lives in the mundane rituals: shophouses keeping their original bones while cracks of change let modern concepts in. It’s a place where people hunt down a specific person for that specific something, with no aesthetic agenda, just the ordinary machinery of days cycling forward. Walkability exists here too. You just end up on foot somehow, navigating the area. And that matters more than it sounds, especially in a city like Bangkok, where sprawl keeps pushing everything further apart and highways and high-rises slice the map into isolated fragments. Being able to walk from point A to B without a strategy session is rare. How do I get to the area? First option is to take the MRT and get off at Sanam Chai station, where the design itself references temple architecture, a design choice that telegraphs location before anyone’s cleared the escalator. The boats matter though. There’s something about pulling up to Old Town by river that has this half-awake quality to it, riverside living with clothes airing out to dry, longtail boats and those wake patterns they leave when passing you. Walking then water, or the reverse, either direction opens up the neighbourhood properly.  Chao Phraya Express Boats run on coloured flags: blue for visitors, orange for everyday commuters, yellow for peak-hour runs and green-yellow for selective stops. Anyone can board any line, though blue boats angle themselves towards exploration: B150 unlocks unlimited pier-hopping for the day, or it’s B30 for a one-way shot. Tha Tien, Tha Chang and Tha Phra Athit are among the pier names worth knowing. Taxis and Grab handle the broader streets until the lanes pinch down to barely two people wide. Bicycles are everywhere! Locals navigate by instinct. Rental bikes lean against corners, green Anywheel scooters are lined up in their zones. If you could only do one thing A longtail boat ride through the khlongs while Bangkok’s water neighbourhoods are still rubbing sleep from their eyes. At Tha Tien or Phra Athit pier: you’re looking at B1,500-2,000 per boat. Most operators stick to their 9am schedules, timed for tour groups. But ask around a day early and a few cool captains will meet you in the dark and take you along on their everyday rides.

November in Bangkok means art season running at full tilt, with the city's beautiful contradictions on full display – gridlocked traffic outside, hushed white cube spaces within. Art lives everywhere here: sprawling museums with cathedral-high ceilings, scrappy project rooms above third-wave coffee spots, galleries that look structurally questionable yet house work capable of stopping you mid-stride. Need to feel confused, delighted, unsettled or quietly gutted? Bangkok's got you sorted. The range is genuinely unruly. One evening you're facing neon installations unpacking migration politics, next morning you're locked eyes with a centuries-old portrait that feels disturbingly alive. Contemporary pieces question what existing in this particular metropolis actually means, modernist works get reinterpreted for right now, and the odd old master hangs about with surprising swagger. What makes things tricky is sheer choice. New shows open constantly, so deciding where to spend your Saturday afternoon becomes its own minor ordeal. Consider this less a definitive ranking and more your orientation map through a city that simply won't quit making, showing and interrogating through visual culture, monsoon season be damned. Everything below we've visited personally, stood in front of and probably Instagram-stalked first. Every single exhibition here deserves your time. Stay one step ahead and map out your plans with our round-up of the best things to do in Bangkok. Get ahead of the game and start planning your month with our list of top things to do this November. Whether you're a regular gallery-goer or just art-curious, these are Bangkok’s best spots to live the art life. From alleyway masterpieces to paint-splashed corners you might walk past without noticing, here are our top spots to see street art.

Planning Halloween already? It maybe a little early, but the nights are drawing in, the air feels cooler, and before long, the season’s most mischievous celebration will be upon us. Thailand may not have the same obsession with ghosts and ghouls as other countries, but Bangkok knows how to throw a night worth remembering.  Soon enough, downtown Bangkok will shift into a carnival of costumes, flickering lights and characters that seem plucked from another world. Streets, bars, galleries and rooftops will offer everything from quirky pop-ups to immersive experiences, leaving little excuse not to get involved. It’s never too early to start plotting your own night of mischief, assembling your coven, or deciding which haunted corners of the city you’ll explore. Looking for something strange, eerie or delightfully absurd? Time Out Bangkok has your back. While we might not carry proton packs, we know where the best thrills are hiding. From haunted bars and rooftop rituals to costume competitions and spooky markets, our ever-growing guide will keep you informed and entertained. By the time the last lanterns flicker and the city’s ghosts retreat, you’ll know that Bangkok’s Halloween is not just a night on the calendar – it’s a festival of mischief, style and just enough fright to make it unforgettable.

Halloween’s creeping up and the city’s got spooky activities lined up for this haunting season on every major soi (full lineup here). But before you reach for the witch’s hat or vampire cape, here’s a thought: why not dress up as Bangkok itself – its beloved faces, its everyday heroes, its homegrown icons? Bangkok has more personality in one street corner than most places have in their entire downtown. It’s colourful, unpredictable and iconic, so wear that energy on your sleeve, literally. Be the one at the party who thought outside the box, or in this case, outside Chatuchak’s costume stalls. Here’s some inspo to get you started: Tuk-tuk  Photograph: TAT Start strong with a local icon. Go DIY by grabbing a large cardboard box, paint it that unmistakable blue and red combo, strap it around your waist. Throw on a short-sleeved button-up (bonus points if it’s slightly faded) and you can optionally layer a vest over it to give that motorbike jacket energy. Khaki or dark blue work trousers keep it authentic. Maybe tuck a mini Bangkok map in your pocket. Finish with worn trainers or sandals and, really important, a neck towel for that ‘I’ve been driving all day’ effect. What you need: Cardboard box, blue and red paint, short-sleeved button-up (any colour, faded preferred), dark vest, khaki or navy work trousers, folded map, neck towel. If Thailand could win Best National Costume at Miss Universe 2015 with a tuk-tuk, we’re betting hard you’ll win best dressed at your Halloween party. Nanno from Girl from Nowhere   Photograph: Girl from Nowhere   Nanno’s unexpectedly became a global horror icon. She’s a Thai high schooler with mysterious powers who some say echoes Junji Ito’s Tomie, so short description: beautiful, manipulative and impossible to kill. The costume itself is easy and can be elevated to sexy. Button up a white shirt, tuck it into a navy or black pleated mini skirt and commit to the bangs and short hair (thick, blunt bangs need to be straight across) – fake it with a wig if you’re not ready for the chop. White knee-high socks, black Mary Janes and you’re there. Add a small bow or ribbon at the collar if you want that Thai school uniform accuracy. What you need: White button-up shirt, navy or black pleated mini skirt, blunt-bang bob wig (if needed), white knee-high socks, black Mary Jane shoes, optional bow. The real work is in the attitude: slow, haunting eye contact. Stand still when everyone else is moving. Walk up to someone in line for drinks and say, with a sweet smile, ‘Sawasdee ka, I’m Nanno. New here at the school. Please take care of me.’ Goosebumps guaranteed. Muay Thai fighter   Photograph: MU Thailand   This one’s been around the block, yeah. But you can still make it sexy, scary or both and call it yours. Wrap your hands in traditional white hand wraps (you can grab these from any sports store), tie on a mongkon headpiece (DIY it with rope and fabric if you need to) and get those satin Muay Thai shorts: red, blue or gold. Go shirtless or throw on a tiny tank top or sports bra, then add fake blood on your knuckles, lip, maybe a bruise under your eye for effect. Finish with ankle wraps. What you need: White hand wraps, mongkon headpiece (buy or DIY with rope/fabric/ribbon), satin Muay Thai shorts, tank top or sports bra, fake blood, bruise make-up, ankle support wraps. Fun fact: Thailand rocked this as their National Costume at Miss Universe 2021, so consider yourself in elite best-dressed territory. Lisa the rockstar   We’re recreating BLACKPINK’s Lisa at her most untouchable in her Rockstar music video, filmed in Bangkok’s Chinatown. You know the one with the famous verse ‘BKK so pretty!’ To pull the look, you’ll need low-rise or baggy straight-leg jeans, a metallic or sequinned star-shaped bra top (craft stores sell iron-on stars if you want to DIY one onto a sports bra) and plenty of hair gel for that wet, slicked-back ponytail. What you need: Baggy blue jeans (low-rise preferred), star-shaped crop top or metallic bra top with star appliqué, hair gel, silver chain necklaces and bracelets, bold black eyeliner, glossy lip gloss, silver or holographic accessories. Pile on those silver chains, go wild with the silver jewellery, add sparkle wherever you can fit it. Platform boots or chunky trainers seal the deal. Hong Thai inhaler View this post on Instagram A post shared by Time Out Bangkok (@timeoutbangkok)   We all know it, we all love it. The little green stick that fixes everything from headaches to heartbreak. A cardboard tube (wrapping paper tube or poster tube) painted green with yellow accents works. Recreate the label with a marker: write ‘Hong Thai’ in bold letters and add the trademark details. Or wear all green clothing underneath (green dress, jumpsuit or matching set) and tie it together with a yellow belt or sash. Wear one on a chain as an accessory or fully commit and go as a giant inhaler (especially timely since the Hong Thai lady just went viral). What you need: Large cardboard tube, green and yellow paint or paper, markers for label details, all-green outfit (dress, jumpsuit or separates), yellow belt or sash, actual Hong Thai inhaler as accessory or the whole fit. Walk around offering to ‘help people breathe easier’. Instant conversation starter and everyone on Thai soil will get it. Moo Deng the pygmy hippo Photograph: SNL Pay tribute to Thailand’s most adorable celebrity. Dress head to toe in soft grey, so this one can be real comfortable (maybe even grey face paint if you’re feeling ambitious). Add rosy pink blush to your cheeks and go heavy with it. What you need: Grey sweatshirt or hoodie, grey sweatpants or leggings, grey beanie or hood, rosy pink blush (lots of it), grey face paint (optional), small ears made from felt or craft foam. The fits are easy to find now that she’s truly famous. Official merch from Khao Kheow Open Zoo includes hippo-patterned T-shirts, pyjamas, stickers and hats. Plus, the money supports the zoo and her friends, so it’s a win all round. Premika from Killer Karaoke Photograph: Killer Karaoke This one’s niche, but it’s fun, especially if you love karaoke culture. Premika’s look is easy: white button-up shirt, navy or black mini-skirt, white knee-high socks, black Mary Janes (basically a school uniform). But necessary is the bright red wig with thick bangs and a fake microphone covered in blood splatters. What you need: White button-up shirt, navy or black mini-skirt, white knee-high socks, black Mary Jane shoes, bright red wig with bangs, toy microphone, fake blood, pale make-up, dark under-eye circles. The backstory makes it even better. Premika dies in her school uniform and her spirit gets trapped in a karaoke machine. When someone plugs it in years later, she wakes up and she’s pissed. The vengeful ghost is determined to find her killer, knowing only one clue: they’re a terrible singer. So she begins a deadly singing test. Anyone who sings off-key or scores below 80? Death. It’s campy, it’s scary and if you can have an excuse to belt out a Thai classic mid-party, even better. The Hangover Part II crew Photograph: The Hangover Part II Perfect for a trio. Go as the crew who lost everything in Bangkok and somehow lived to tell the tale. Person one must go with a baby carrier with a stuffed monkey inside, Hawaiian shirt or casual button-up, cargo shorts, sunglasses and dishevelled hair. Person two will be in a striped polo shirt (wrinkled), khaki shorts, confused expression and one missing shoe if you’re committed. Person three wears a sleeveless tank top or ripped tee, fake face tattoo across the side of their face (use temporary tattoo paper or eyeliner), messy hair, sunglasses and a generally destroyed look. What you need (collectively): Baby carrier, stuffed monkey, button-up shirts, striped polo, cargo shorts, sunglasses for everyone, temporary tattoo supplies or face paint, optional sweat stain effects (water spray bottle plus dirt) and expressions of pure confusion. Add that universal ‘What happened last night?’ expression. Walk around asking random people if they’ve seen your friend Doug.

October arrived with a bit of rain, but Bangkok doesn’t really do dull seasons. The city thrives on contrast – traffic outside, white-walled calm within. It’s a place where art lives in every possible corner: vast museums with echoing halls, hidden rooms above coffee shops, galleries that look like they might collapse yet hold works that could floor you. If you want to be confused, delighted, unsettled or quietly moved, this city rarely disappoints. The variety is unruly. One evening you might stumble across a show where neon tubes light up the politics of migration, the next morning you’re staring at a centuries-old portrait that feels impossibly alive. There’s contemporary work that questions what it means to exist in a city like this, modernism reinterpreted for the present, and the occasional old master hanging with surprising confidence. What complicates things is choice. With new exhibitions opening constantly, picking where to spend an afternoon can feel like work in itself. So think of this less as a definitive guide and more as a starting point – a way to orient yourself in a city that refuses to stop making, showing and questioning through art, no matter the weather. Stay one step ahead and map out your plans with our round-up of the best things to do in Bangkok.   Get ahead of the game and start planning your month with our list of top things to do this October. Whether you're a regular gallery-goer or just art-curious, these are Bangkok’s best spots to live the art life.   From alleyway masterpieces to paint-splashed corners you might walk past without noticing, here are our top spots to see street art.

Bangkok’s climbing scene is having a moment and the city’s walls are no longer reserved for hardcore climbers. With a new wave of urban bouldering gyms and sleek rope walls opening across the city, the sport’s appeal is clear: physical challenge, mental focus and a social vibe that spin classes can’t quite touch. Whether you’re a total noob looking for a weekend thrill, on the search for a quirky first date idea, or already chalking up for your next V6, there’s a gym out there for you.  

The Museum Star 2025 awards have just been launched by the National Discovery Museum Institute to spotlight the venues that truly shine. The winners were chosen not just for their collections, but for their overall vibe – from excellent service to a truly unique and welcoming experience for guests. Only 10 pioneering Bangkok institutions made the inaugural list, giving them a well-deserved badge of excellence. Consider your next cultural outing sorted.  Here are 10 award-winning spots to check out now.

We’ve hit month nine of 2025, can you believe it? The year has been a whirlwind, yet Bangkok’s art scene keeps blooming like it’s on its own schedule. Bangkok Design Week might have taken its energy south to Songkhla for Pakk Taii Design Week, but don’t worry if you’re sticking around the capital – the city still has plenty to keep you wandering, pausing and occasionally losing yourself. Bangkok has this way of surprising even the most seasoned art lovers. Exhibitions pop up with startling frequency, each one a chance to step into someone else’s imagination, whether it’s a tiny gallery tucked down a soi or a sprawling installation demanding all your attention. We’ve wandered through them, lingered in the corners, and scribbled our own impressions. The list below gathers the exhibitions that genuinely stand out – each one offering something distinct, a little spark to shake up your routine. If you’re planning a weekend, or even a short wander after work, these shows are worth the detour. Trust us, they’re the kind of experiences that make you remember why you fell for the city’s creativity in the first place. Stay one step ahead and map out your plans with our round-up of the best things to do in Bangkok. Get ahead of the game and start planning your month with our list of top things to do this September. Whether you're a regular gallery-goer or just art-curious, these are Bangkok’s best spots to live the art life.

August arrives like a slow sigh, heavy with rain yet stubbornly fierce with heat – the city’s contradictions tangled like the wires overhead. It’s the kind of month that begs for escape, preferably somewhere air-conditioned and electric with possibility. And Bangkok delivers, quietly unfolding moments that flicker between the familiar and the fantastical. At the heart of it all is Capture Bangkok, a fresh lens on the city’s restless rhythm. 10 photographers, alongside campaign winners, pull back layers of noise and neon to reveal unexpected poetry – traffic snarls that pulse like music, tangled wires transformed into romance, and fleeting pockets of calm tucked between chaos. It’s a project that invites you to see the city anew, through eyes both seasoned and young. Meanwhile, Jurassic World: The Experience thunders into town with a breath that’s almost alive. More than 10 zones immerse visitors in Isla Nublar’s prehistoric pulse, where life-sized dinosaurs lurk just beyond sight and scenes from the film unravel around every corner. It’s not theatre – it’s a summons to step out of time, to feel what’s stirring just beneath the surface. Not far from this primeval roar, the Dragon Ball Heroes Rise exhibition offers a different kind of energy – electric, spiky and unmistakably alive. Over 40 life-sized characters stand poised for selfies and challenges alike, while immersive zones beckon visitors to fuse, fight and hunt for dragon balls in a vivid playground where nostalgia and futurism collide. Then there’s Mali Bucha, where dance becomes ritual reborn in the digital age. Pichet Klunchun invites audiences to engage not as spectators but participants – submitting wishes to a digital shrine, watching as dancers carry prayers into the unseen. Each night unfolds differently, shaped by faith, energy and the delicate choreography between human and virtual worlds. August, it seems, is a patchwork of worlds – ancient and futuristic, intimate and epic, all held together by the city’s unyielding pulse. Stay one step ahead and map out your plans with our round-up of the best things to do in Bangkok. Get ahead of the game and start planning your month with our list of top things to do this August. Whether you're a regular gallery-goer or just art-curious, these are Bangkok’s best spots to live the art lifeFrom alleyway masterpieces to paint-splashed corners you might walk past without noticing, here are our top spots to see street art.