Your ultimate guide to Bangkok

Jason Momoa's surf-bro superhero is a welcome addition to a ponderous genre, but his movie as a whole is waterlogged. If you’ve ever wanted to watch a five-course seafood dinner have an epic battle before your eyes (as infantile and wonderful as that sounds), Aquaman’s final 20 minutes will be your new favorite thing. Gargantuan lobsters and crabs—hailing from the “Kingdom of Brine,” of course—rumble against weaponized sharks and an armada of creatures that swim by in a blur of bubbles. Howling above the din with his trident and golden armor is mega-tattooed Arthur (Jason Momoa, wearing this superhero stuff extremely lightly, and all the more charming for it), or, as he’ll come to be known, Aquaman. As helmed by director James Wan, who has grown from 2004’s rough-and-ready Sawinto a playful steward of big-budget ridiculousness (Furious 7), Aquaman seems inspired by some of the more psychedelic panels devoted to DC Comics’s water-breathing warrior—pages filled to the brim with gob-smacked fascination with the world below, in all its colorful diversity. But getting to that delirious showdown feels like holding your breath for two hours. Certain audience members will care deeply about who becomes “Ocean Master,” the ruler from among the warring factions of the mythical city of Atlantis and elsewhere, just as there must be those who wonder about who will win Game of Thrones. But all the exposition is deadening, even with brave actors like Nicole Kidman and Willem Dafoe delivering it. “The king has risen,” Dafoe intones, answering the film’s least suspenseful question (and possibly remembering when he starred in stuff like The Last Temptation of Christ). Instead of trying to surf every wave, it’s better to let this one flow over you, like composer Rupert Gregson-Williams’s bloopy score, a lovable throwback to the 1970s work of synth wizard Jean-Michel Jarre. Some fleeting moments are inspired: a dark, plunging escape from the Creatures of the Trench, illuminated by a single red flare; a striding emergence from the sea scored to a dance cover of Toto’s “Africa”; a Sicily-set sequence in which Arthur and his redheaded squeeze Mera (Amber Heard, committed to the crazy) come off like honeymooners—until they start destroying priceless statuary like a pair of ugly Atlantean tourists. Aquaman is more seawater than bongwater, unfortunately, but when it gets trippy, it floats within hailing distance of Doctor Strange.

If you visited Doi Tung, one of Chiang Rai’s northernmost peaks, some 30 years ago and never had a chance to return, you’d barely recognized it today. The once desert-like mountains suffered from mobile plantation and—worse—opium planting; now, it’s one of the lushest areas in the north. Everything changed when Princess Srinagarindra, the grandmother of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, set up the Doi Tung Development Project in 1988 with an aim to improve the quality of both the people’s lives and the area they lived in. She even had a house built in the vicinity so she could watch her project grow at close range.     Learning from the consequences and successes of previous projects initiated by her son King Bhumibol, the Princess Mother opted to start out “small,” taking a slow contemplative pace—like with everything in her life. She didn’t want to merely give money to those in need; she wanted to help the people stand on their own feet, which is why she carefully created an environment and cultivated micro-industries that the community could benefit from. Thirty years have passed and, though Princess Srinagarindra didn’t get the chance to see Doi Tung in full bloom, her wish did come true. The once scraggly mountainside is now a lush plantation that produces gorgeous textile, paper and pottery—all trice handmade—and, most importantly, some of the world’s best macadamia nuts and coffee beans. Opium was replaced by harvests more beneficial to the community, both morall

November marks the beginning of the travel season in Thailand and Asia, and Maldives is one of the best holiday destinations you may want to consider.

For the second year, Time Out Bangkok’s editor (okay, that’s me) was invited to be one of the judges of Time Out Tokyo’s Love Tokyo Awards, which celebrates the best that the vibrant Japanese capital can offer. I joined editors from London, New York, Barcelona, Australia (Melbourne and Sydney), and China (Beijing and Shanghai). Like the year before, it was more or less like a treasure hunt—we were individually tasked to visit and experience (that means eating, drinking, shopping and, well, beyond) the shortlisted nominees for this year, all in three days. Time Out Tokyo staffers accompanied us to some venues to help communicate with the locals and to act as translators, but, for the most part, I got to visit and discover some places on my own, which was not a problem as—like many Thais—Tokyo is my holiday playground and very familiar to me. The complete list of winners and nominees is available on the Love Tokyo Awards website, but I’ll go ahead and share my best finds, greatest discoveries and most exciting experiences. Hopefully, it can come in handy especially for those who are visiting Tokyo this coming holiday season.

Pai in the '80s was a small village populated only by a cluster of locals and few backpackers in the know. But secrets can't be kept for long. In recent years, it's been transformed into one of the most visited mountain destinations in Thailand—with numerous tourist sites (and traps), guesthouses and restaurants sprouting along its dusty streets. However, Pai is far from losing its charm. Despite now catering to more tourists than ever, the village is still a beautiful and peaceful place everyone can fall in love with.    Come in November, when the rains let up and the temperature dips, Pai invites the intrepid to witness the different facets ofits humble beauty. Here are the reasons why Pai should become the next destination on your bucket list.    You can now say "no" to the life-threatening minivan ride    There used to be only one way to get from Chiang Mai to Pai — via a minivan ride through the notorious Route 1095 that takes you through 762 steep and winding curves. Now thanks to Kan Air, there is a daily connection from Chiang Mai (weather permitted) on a small 12-seater, single-engine turboprop that looks slightly like a run-down minivan from the inside (you need to buckle up and no cellphone is allowed on board). Though a claustrophobic nightmare, the 25-minute ride unveils a stunning bird's-eye view of Pai's lush geography. Roundtrip from B2,380.       There are plenty of lnstagram-worthy viewpoints   Surrounded by mighty mountains and dense jungles