Iga Siemieniec

Besides the amazing food scene, parties and shopping, you might catch yourself wondering how to make your Bangkok experience a little more unique. And since the city’s overstimulation can sometimes hit the highest notes – between the heat, traffic, crowds and general chaos happening around you – taking some time to look after yourself might not be such a bad idea. Luckily, Bangkok has plenty of ways to do exactly that. From traditional massages and facials to hair treatments, spas and beauty services, finding somewhere to give yourself a little attention isn't exactly difficult. But if you're already here, why settle for something average? Look beyond the usual spa menu, and Bangkok has a much more interesting side to beauty and wellness. Treatments inspired by traditional techniques clearly rule the roost – some better than others, we may add – but have you ever had someone massage your face from inside your mouth? What about taking a hydrotherapy bath in milk? Or did you even think you could pay someone to go through your wardrobe and tell you what colours suit you and which ones to bin?  Suddenly, your regular massage starts sounding a little boring. And that’s exactly what this guide is about. Rather than sticking to the treatments we already know, we’re exploring some of Bangkok’s more unusual beauty, wellness and self-care experiences. Whether you want to relax, experiment with something new or simply give yourself a little extra care after everything Bangkok has put yo

Whether you’re a visitor or a local, Siam Square is one of those Bangkok spots you’ll probably end up coming back to. Unique clothes, accessories, good food and simply somewhere to spend an afternoon or evening, there’s little that Siam Square can’t provide. In the heart of Bangkok, Siam Square is the area folks here go to get their fashion fix. Packed with (mostly) affordable clothing and accessory stores, there’s a wide range of standalone boutiques and well known brands – both local and international – in a space that does the ‘mall’ experience a little differently. We take you on a tour of this famous shopping district and share the best it has to offer, as well as a few surprises along the way. What is Siam Square known for? Being here sometimes feels like walking through a never-ending maze. You wander down one soi, turn into another and somehow keep discovering new reasons to open your wallet – wisely, of course. Just when you think you’ve found your favourite store, the next one suddenly looks even better. Add coffee shops, restaurants, beauty and wellness spots, markets and plenty of places you didn't actually plan on spending money in, and it’s pretty easy to see why it’s a favourite hangout for the city’s coolest kids. And once it gets dark, Siam Square gets a completely different look. With bright neon signs, colourful storefronts and bright designs, all competing for your attention, it starts to feel a little like Bangkok’s very own Times Square. Add the crowds

Need a break from Bangkok? Swap skyscrapers, traffic and noise for bicycles, palm trees and jungle paths – just across the river.  Bangkok can be a tough one. The city moves at high speed, and with the combination of heat, smells, noise and crowds, it can easily get overwhelming. Luckily, I found a pretty good solution: escape it for a day, without actually leaving Bangkok.  Popping my head out from underneath the concrete ‘rocks’ of the city centre, I laid my eyes southeast just across the Chao Phraya River towards Bang Kachao –  a place many of us like to call Bangkok’s ‘green lungs’.  Between my studies in town, I needed a little break from the coursework and exams, and quite honestly, Lumphini Park just didn’t cut the mustard.  I needed to escape Bangkok’s concrete jungle and replace it with an actual one: palm trees, narrow paths, small ponds and bicycles.  If you’ve not been, or at least not been for a while, much is changing in this green corner of town – and all for the right reasons. After a few hours of cycling through greenery, getting slightly lost and stopping for an iced cappuccino along the way, I was ready to cross the river and keep up with Bangkok’s energy all over again.  So, if the city is starting to feel like a little too much, give yourself a day here. Here’s how I spent mine.   Start with a boat across the Chao Phraya River Photograph: Time OutThe best things to do in Bang Kachao Start your day relatively early and take a Grab to either Khlong Toei

If lying down while someone else takes care of you is starting to feel a little too easy, it might be time to get on all fours instead. At KROSS PARK, a rooftop training club in Phrom Phong, you can try Animal Flow – a workout based around ground movements inspired by the way animals move. And yes, at first glance it might look like a group of adults collectively deciding to become very athletic monkeys, but there’s considerably more technique involved than randomly crawling around the floor. The bodyweight workout combines fluid sequences designed to challenge your mobility, coordination, core strength and overall body control. You’ll move through different positions close to the ground, linking them together until eventually you’re actually “flowing” between them. Personally, I think this is exactly the kind of workout that could very quickly expose muscles you didn't know existed. But if your usual gym routine is starting to bore you, learning how to move your body in a completely different way sounds like a pretty good excuse to unleash your inner animal for an hour. KROSS PARK. 5/9 Soi Phrom Si 1, Phrom Phong. Open daily 8am–10pm.

You’ve probably heard someone talk about “good vibrations” before, but at Ice Sound Healing, they take the phrase quite literally. The practice uses Himalayan singing bowls to create different sounds and vibrations while you simply lie down, close your eyes and let the session unfold around you. The studio offers Sound Bath Meditation as well as more personalised sessions involving practices such as chakra balancing and brainwave entrainment, all centred around using sound as a tool for relaxation and meditation. Basically, your main responsibility here is to get comfortable and listen – which might be one of the easier self-care commitments you’ll ever make. I’ll admit, anything involving chakras and healing frequencies usually requires me to surrender a little bit of scepticism at the door. But there’s also something genuinely intriguing about experiencing sound as more than background noise. Worst case, you spend some time lying down listening to singing bowls. Best case? Maybe those good vibrations actually live up to their name. Ice Sound Healing at Attuned Studio. The Upper Ground, A1, 4/F, Kamphaeng Phet 3 Road, Chatuchak. Open by appointment only.

If a regular facial massage feels a little too predictable, Maison Ysaé has another suggestion: let the therapist put their hands inside your mouth and massage from the inside out. No, we’re not joking. It’s known as ‘buccal massage’, an intraoral facial technique that involves massaging from inside the mouth (while wearing gloves, thankfully). By working on the cheeks and jaw from both the inside and outside, the therapist can reach facial muscles that are considerably harder to access during a regular massage. Maison Ysaé incorporates the technique into its facial sculpting treatments, alongside other manual massage methods. And if you think hands can do only so much, there’s another technique worth knowing about: maderotherapy, also known as wood therapy. This treatment uses specially shaped wooden tools that are rolled and pressed across different areas of the body. And yes, some of them look like they come straight out of the kitchen. These therapists be cooking, amirite? At Maison Ysaé, the treatment combines manual massage with a selection of wooden rollers and sculpting tools, each designed to work on different parts of the body. The technique originates from massage practices that were later developed into modern maderotherapy, and today you'll often see it associated with body sculpting and lymphatic drainage treatments.

If you’re anything of an impulse shopper like our Time Out editorial team, you’ll likely already have a Gua Sha tool sitting somewhere in your bathroom, probably unused. And while it sounded like a good idea, god knows how to use it.  Having the treatment done professionally is, we think, a good way to learn.   At Chandee, the Gua Sha Facial combines the ancient stone technique with deep cleansing, lymphatic drainage massage and cooling ice therapy. The smooth stone is gently moved across different areas of the face, turning something that might look slightly intimidating into a full facial treatment. Chandee describes the combination as helping to create a more lifted and contoured appearance while leaving the skin glowing. And while social media might have convinced you that a few strokes of Gua Sha will magically give you an entirely new jawline, we’d approach this one with slightly more realistic expectations. If anything, it’s an opportunity to experience a traditional technique as part of a proper facial – while letting somebody else do all the work instead of standing in front of your bathroom mirror wondering whether you’re even moving the stone in the right direction. You can choose between a 60-minute treatment for B1,700 or give your face a little more attention with the 90-minute version for B2,300. Either way, your forgotten Gua Sha stone at home might see some use after you’ve seen it in action.