Isaan comes to Old Town Bangkok in April

Isaan is Thailand's vast, spirited northeast: the region that gave the country its fiery food, its most infectious music, and a word for carefree, wholehearted fun – muan – that simply doesn't translate.

That's the heart of Muan Muan Market, a cultural celebration that’s lifting the warm, wonderfully chaotic joy of an Isaan festival and dropping it into one of Bangkok's most storied corners: the grand historic precinct of Na Phra Lan Road.

The weathered, beautiful bones of Silpakorn University’s Wang Tha Phra campus. The smell of pla ra on the breeze – a fermented fish staple at the heart of Isaan cooking. The twang of a phin, the region’s three-stringed lute. And everywhere you look, handmade goods from a younger generation proud of their roots.

Food-wise, expect handpicked Isaan dishes – the sweating-and-grinning kind. Live music serenades you: folk rhythms laced with something more contemporary, perfect for a slow wander as the afternoon softens and the old palace walls catch the last of the sun. There are workshops too, if you want to get your hands to work – the kind that offer a real, felt sense of what muan means. Carefree, wholehearted fun.

Bangkok locals, curious wanderers, or Isaan exiles chasing that full-body feeling of home – this one's got your name on it.

April 2-4. Free entry. Silpakorn University, Wang Tha Phra (Na Phra Lan–Suan Kaew), 2pm-8pm.