Kaweewat Siwanartwong

The rain's finally buggered off for now, leaving the pavements slick and the air just cool enough to make you forget that mid-afternoon humidity hell. Bangkok isn't easing into the festive season, it's diving in headfirst. As temperatures drop ever so slightly, the city feels lighter, almost giddy. This weekend's line-up proves it. Start with the Taiwan Documentary Film Festival, where honesty beats polish and filmmakers capture the tender, awkward and beautiful bits of real life. Over at Khlong Toei Port, the floating bookshop MV Doulos Hope sails back in, inviting you to browse shelves stacked with stories that have travelled as far as the ship itself. Music lovers are sorted too. Mew: The Farewell Show promises one last singalong drenched in nostalgia, while RRR Rookie x The StandardX bring together rising local acts and late-night energy by the river. Still chasing the thrill of live gigs? Bangkok Comeback 4 offers a reunion of indie favourites who defined a certain era of sweat, eyeliner and distortion. If you'd rather sit than sway, Bangkok Theatre Festival returns with performances stretching from absurdist comedy to quiet, intimate drama – proof that theatre here keeps finding new ways to surprise. Now, enjoy. Get ahead of the game and start planning your month with our list of the top things to do this November. Stay one step ahead and map out your plans with our round-up of the best things to do in Bangkok.

Mention Song Wat and most people picture weathered shophouses with Chinese-style storefronts. What they don't realise is that tucked between these century-old buildings, something rather brilliant has been happening. The younger generation has been slipping bits of modernity into every corner, and it's now become one of Bangkok's most interesting districts to explore. Song Wat isn't just about the food, though there's plenty of that. The art scene here is properly thriving. Shopkeepers and artists have been working together, turning the whole district into a sprawling outdoor gallery. The recent buzz has given confidence to people who actually care about preserving history and culture in old commercial areas. Support it to grow with the times and what you get back is architecture that future generations can still see with their own eyes, not just in history books. Photograph: rongklannuea What's Song Wat known for? Song Wat has basically become Bangkok's hipster area without really trying. Art is everywhere throughout the district. Street art on walls, designer bits in unexpected shops, galleries that range from big impressive spaces to tiny rooms down alleyways or tucked behind coffee counters. If you love art, Song Wat is brilliant. You just need to know where to look. Right now there are loads of new places opening. Restaurants, cafes, galleries, bars worth staying in until late. If you fancy a change of scene and want to walk around taking street photos, stopping for sn

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

As the country mourns the passing of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, the Queen Mother, Bangkok's tempo shifts. Venues stay open and music still plays, but with a quieter grace. It's a month of small joys and thoughtful gatherings before the year slips away. Anyway, we're almost there – one month until NYE. November brings slightly cooler air, though 'cool' is pushing it. The 11th month unfolds with a gentler energy, making space for moments that feel both present and reflective. Kick things off with Ghost2568: Wish We Were Here, a surreal blend of art, nostalgia and light that lingers somewhere between memory and dream. Or escape reality altogether with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in Concert, where the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra breathes life into John Williams' score beneath a 40-foot screen. For something warmer, TYLA's We Wanna Party Asia Tour lands in Bangkok – all amapiano shimmer and attitude. Transport stretches a disco-lit day across 14 hours of pure movement at Chang Chui. Then swap sequins for strings at the Southeastern Old Time Gathering, a weekend of bluegrass, Irish trad and old-time tunes that feel like they've travelled across centuries to reach you. Get out there, enjoy! Stay one step ahead and map out your plans with our round-up of the best things to do in Bangkok.

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.

In Bangkok, the music scene has transformed over the past few years, led by crews of DJs and collectives – both Thai and international, who are tackling imbalances in the industry by carving out their own creative corners. These collectives do more than play music: they build communities, experiment with sound and space, and create opportunities for voices too often overlooked. And the number of groups pushing this forward is far greater than most realise. Collectives are the empowering force. DIY at heart, they share resources, skills and ideas, providing spaces free from discrimination and harassment. Each crew has its own identity: some focus on multidisciplinary arts, others on workshops and mentoring, and some simply craft nights that feel electric and alive. What unites them is a vision of equality, inclusivity and diversity – for their members and for everyone who joins. Detour is the one for those chasing tracks you hear once and immediately need to know more. RomRom bends genres and expectation, from Bhangra to Brazilian hip-hop, creating nights defined by atmosphere rather than label. Non Non Non gives a queer sanctuary, where electronica, EBM and techno collide and the crowd feels at home. Kleaning Service turn up once a month with their offbeat 'cleaning' sessions, a tongue-in-cheek disguise for nights that refuse to behave predictably.  Transport, meanwhile, are a softer, warmer embrace of the dancefloor. moor brings underground international talent rarely seen i

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 ar

October in Bangkok doesn’t tip-toe in. As the rains finally turn polite and the air dries, the city arms itself with spectacles that crackle in neon, shadow and trembling melody. Museums open new worlds. Theatres unfurl fresh tales. Bars and cafes welcome midnight whispers. On the music front it’s chaos of the best kind. The Smashing Pumpkins return after nearly three decades, giving a set that could flicker from 1979 to their new rock-opera. Mariah Carey is back too, hair flips intact, marking 20 years since The Emancipation of Mimi with seven-octave theatrics Bangkok hasn’t seen in years.  Sean Paul finally touches down for his Thai debut, bringing the riddims that once soundtracked every school disco. Connan Mockasin drifts in with his woozy dream-funk, while Blackpink stage a three-night stadium takeover that will probably sell out faster than you can open a group chat. Over at the Contemporary World Film Series, Something Like an Autobiography plants its flag. Penned by Mostofa Sarwar Farooki and his actress-wife Nusrat Imrose Tisha during lockdown, it folds their marriage into fiction, even as Farooki steps in front of the camera for the first time. It’s a quietly radical piece about memory, identity and how lives unspool when we least expect. And for those who sleep with their lights off: the Junji Ito Collection Horror House turns dreams into architecture. Over 1,500 square metres, you might find Tomie’s cursed beauty, balloon-headed predators or Souichi’s mischievous

Here we are again, only this time we’ve landed at Funky Lam Kitchen – a modern Laotian menu that doesn’t flinch from bold, full-throttle flavours. The cocktails and the wine list aren’t there to soothe but to spar, chosen deliberately to hold their ground against the fire. Step inside and you’re in a space that feels like someone’s memories turned into design: a renovated shophouse lined with old BMW motorbikes, walls hung with images that hint at histories both personal and political. Funky Lam isn’t simply another addition to Bangkok’s dining map. It’s the dream realised by Sanya Souvanna Phouma – the man who gave the city Bed Supperclub, Maggie Choo’s and Sing Sing – alongside his fellow Laotian partner Saya Na Champassak, whose grandmother, once the princess of the south, was famed for menus devised with the palace chef for royal tables. Together, they’ve built something more than a restaurant: a love letter to Lao cuisine, a revival staged with funk, grit and affection. Photograph: Funky Lam Kitchen And that’s why I’m here, to ask how two men who grew up in Paris, haunted by both French kitchens, the stories tucked between plates of olam and glasses of Beer Lao and Laotian memories, ended up here. The inheritance of nightlife and airways ‘It’s in my DNA,’ Sanya says when I ask if his father’s club influenced him. His father, Prince Panya Souvanna Phouma – Harvard graduate, son of a Prime Minister, head of Royal Laos Air – once co-owned The Third Eye, a psychedelic club

Let us tell you straight off: if someone in Thailand says they’ve never heard of Arak ‘Pae’ Amornsupasiri, I’d raise an eyebrow. He’s lived through so many chapters – starting out as a guitarist in Slur in the late ’90s, then branching into solo music and acting, and lately daring to helm his own films. His debut The Stone: Phra Tae Kon Ke didn’t just stir the Thai scene – it went international. We found a fitting place to talk in one go: REC.Bangkok, the sleek Wireless Road bar we’ve taken over for the afternoon. Its dim lights, sharp corners and relaxed energy felt like the perfect backdrop for Pae’s many facets – cool, intense, playful.   Photograph: STYLEdeJATE Each role, a fresh mountain to climb Pae isn’t someone you can pin down to one job description. Singer, actor, director – each title could be its own full-time career, yet he insists on doing all three. Not out of some restless inability to choose, but because every role offers him a new kind of friction to wrestle with. And he seems to enjoy the fight. What links these identities is a stubborn urge to not simply meet expectations but to vault quietly over them. As an actor, he’s always battling that silent question: how do you satisfy the director, the writer or the creative who hired you? Sometimes their request is modest, almost underwhelming. Yet Pae wants to push further, or at the very least match the depth of what they had in mind. When he switches to music, the challenge shapeshifts. He asks himself: how

If you wanted to make a film, how would you promote it? A trailer, perhaps. A poster campaign. A carefully timed festival debut. What you probably wouldn’t think of – unless you’re Note Pongsuang – is opening a bar. I’m sitting inside Doi Dum Punk, the small bar decorated with bits of art on the wall, newspaper pasted as wallpaper and a guitar that looks like it’s never been touched. Outside, a tag hangs on an electric post declaring, almost gleefully, ‘fun fact, punk is dead’. Before sitting down, Note handed me a hand-drawn tag with a list of movie roles to choose from: a lonely punk boy, a heartbreak monk, a drunk tourist or a mountain zombie. Of course, I go for an ‘undercover prostitute’. Now, with a gin and tonic in hand, I watch him talk through this improbable scheme with the easy certainty of someone who has, more than once, bent Bangkok nightlife into new shapes. Photograph: Note Dudesweet Photograph: Note Dudesweet Note is the founder of Dudesweet, a name still uttered like an inside joke that turned into a generational movement, and of National Bar, a space that looks like it tumbled out of his Silpakorn sketchbooks. As a living archive of the city’s indie scene, and for me – someone who grew up hearing stories of early-2000s warehouse parties with badly photocopied flyers – it feels like slipping behind the curtain of a myth. His legend is well known, but Doi Dum Punk, a pop-up bar designed to fund and promote a screenplay, is the reason I’m here with a came

This list is from 2024. Our latest ranking for 2025 is live here. In 2024, what exactly makes a neighbourhood cool? Craft breweries, natty wine bars and street art are well and good, but the world’s best, most exciting and downright fun neighbourhoods are much more than identikit ‘hipster hubs’. They’re places that reflect the very best of their cities – its culture, community spirit, nightlife, food and drink – all condensed in one vibey, walkable district. To create our annual ranking, we went straight to the experts – our global team of on-the-ground writers and editors – and asked them what the coolest neighbourhood in their city is right now, and why. Then we narrowed down the selection and ranked the list using the insight and expertise of Time Out’s global editors, who vetted each neighbourhood against criteria including food, drink, arts, culture, street life, community and one-of-a-kind local flavour. The result? A list that celebrates the most unique and exciting pockets of our cities – and all their quirks. Yes, you’ll find some of those international hallmarks of ‘cool’. But in every neighbourhood on this list there’s something you won’t find anywhere else. Ever been to a photography museum that moonlights as a jazz club? Or a brewery with a library of Russian literature? How about a festival dedicated to fluff? When communities fiercely support and rally around their local businesses, even the most eccentric ideas can become a reality. And that, in our eyes, is

Oskar Bistro slips through the looking glass this weekend with Wonderland, a night where logic takes a well-deserved break. Think glowing teapots, mischievous beats and a dancefloor ruled by queens rather than kings. DJ Jules Blons teams up with Pulsa on drums to spin a soundtrack that feels delightfully off-kilter. The dress code is simple enough: go down the rabbit hole. Neon cocktails glow in the dark, macarons appear like edible riddles, and the whole place will be a playful delirium. It’s the sort of evening where time forgets itself, and you end up staying longer than you meant to, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. November 14. Free. Oskar Bistro Bangkok, 9pm-2am  

Artist LOLAY, also known as Thaweesak Srithongdee, returns with a solo exhibition layered and unexpected as one of his favourite muses – Thai noodle salad. The humble street dish, a lively mix of Thai and Chinese influences, becomes his metaphor for modern life: tangled, flavourful and inseparable from the swirl of local and global culture. His paintings play with the familiar and the absurd, using humour to question how we absorb and reflect the world around us. Each work feels like a snapshot of everyday encounters stitched with personal memories, friendships and soundtracks that colour his days. Playful yet quietly sharp, LOLAY’s art reminds you that life’s complexity doesn’t always need unravelling, sometimes it’s best savoured as it is. Until November 23. Free. Fazal Building, 11am-7pm

PASAYA invites you to rethink what wellness can feel like, offering a weekend dedicated to better sleep and sustainable self-care. Designed by health experts, the Longevity Wellness Experience encourages restorative rest while nurturing both body and mind. Guests explore four pillars of wellbeing; eat, sleep, pilates, and heal through hands-on activities that quietly shift how you move, breathe and unwind. Aqua Pilates guides you through fluid movements that stretch and release tension, while sound healing washes over you in waves of serenity, wrapped in PASAYA’s signature blankets. Hot-cold therapy alternates between ice baths and steam to invigorate circulation and ease fatigue. Massages by GoWabi complete the ritual, restoring muscle and mind for those ready to slow down, breathe deeply and leave feeling remarkably renewed. November 16. B450. Marriott Townhall, midday-8pm

Bangkok’s performing arts scene gets its moment this year with a festival dedicated to giving artists space to create, experiment and share. For professionals and newcomers alike, the stage becomes a playground where ideas meet skill, and every performance is a chance to connect with an audience hungry for something fresh. Over 70 shows from across Thailand span genres from drama, dance and musical theatre to mime, puppet shows and stage readings. Stand-up, visual theatre and multimedia experiments push boundaries, making this festival less about schedules and more about the thrill of watching something live, surprising and utterly alive. Until November 23. Free. TK Park, BACC, Sky Garden at Samyam Mitrtown 

Stay Awake and Dirty Magic are getting the band back together, and Bangkok’s rock faithful can already hear the feedback ringing. For one night, two of the city’s most-loved outfits will return to the stage, bringing back the noise, the nostalgia and the kind of sweat-soaked camaraderie that once defined its scene. Expect riffs that hit like old memories, choruses shouted rather than sung and a crowd that feels less like an audience and more like a reunion of old mates. It’s the sort of night where pints get raised mid-song and strangers end up harmonising by accident. Whether you were part of that first wave or just missed it by a few years, this is the sound of a city remembering how good it used to be loud. November 15. B370 via here. Speakerbox, 7pm-midnight

DJ Steaw lands with the kind of house music that gives a memory you can dance to. The French producer behind Rutilance Recordings, House Puff and Steaward has spent over 15 years shaping the genre’s modern identity, crafting grooves that are rich, soulful and endlessly warm. His sets move with jazz-like ease, hip-hop swing and basslines that don’t demand attention so much as seduce it. From Fabric to Tresor, he’s built a reputation for keeping crowds suspended between euphoria and calm. Joining him are Skinny Mark and Charles Davies in a back-to-back that promises both precision and playfulness, while Jazzie C, Bangkok’s own godfather of groove, brings decades of dancefloor wisdom, the kind that never goes out of style. November 14. B200 via here and B400 at the door. Beamcube, 9pm onwards

Caim has a knack for unearthing the kind of tracks that make you question where the last five hours went. The Amsterdam-based DJ and producer, known offstage as Mark Peeters, weaves through techno, trance, breakbeat and house with the ease of someone who’s lived a lifetime in record sleeves. His sets stretch late and deep, the sort that blur sunrise with afterglow, honed through residencies at Mood, the Tribe and Breakfast Club. Beyond the decks, he runs Lonely Planets Records, a label that mirrors his taste for stripped-back rhythm and quiet euphoria. In the studio, he crafts organic techno with the faint shimmer of trance memories. Bangkok gets a slice of that atmosphere this week, joined by Sarayu to complete the trip. November 14. B300-500 via here and B700 at the door. Bar Temp., 9pm onwards

For two evenings, Chef Edward Chong of Peach Blossoms joins forces with Chef Wayne Liew of Singapore’s beloved Keng Eng Kee Seafood to create a menu that bridges street flair and fine dining restraint. It’s Singapore on a plate, but filtered through Bangkok’s polished lens – smokey wok flavours meeting delicate plating, spice softened by sophistication. Think hawker classics reimagined with a touch of theatre, each course quietly telling a story of memory and reinvention. It’s the first time the two chefs have cooked side-by-side in Bangkok, a meeting that feels less like a showcase and more like a love letter to the food that raised them. November 13-14. Starts at B2,888. Reserve via here. Pavilion Restaurant, Dusit Thani Bangkok, 6pm and 7pm

Mew are calling time. After three decades of shimmering soundscapes and melancholic euphoria, the Danish trio are taking their final bow. Formed in 1995, they’ve spent thirty years making the kind of music that feels both cinematic and intimate, like a dream you half remember. Their 2003 album Frengers carried them across borders, its songs reworked from earlier records and threaded with that strange beauty only Mew could muster. Two years later came And the Glass Handed Kites, a record that sealed their cult status among those who prefer guitars to glimmer rather than roar. Their last offering, Visuals, arrived in 2017, closing a chapter that shaped a generation of dreamers. Farewell tours can feel performative, but this one promises to be pure nostalgia and gratitude. November 14. B2,600 via here. Moonstar Studio, 8pm

House heads, lace up your dancing shoes. Ian Pooley is landing in town, the German maestro whose sleek, soulful grooves shaped nights from Berlin’s Panoramabar to Glastonbury’s muddy fields. His sound sits somewhere between Chicago grit, Detroit warmth and Parisian polish – the sort of rhythm that sneaks up on you, elegant but never aloof. For one night, he’ll be spinning alongside Jayja and Pam Aanantr, two selectors who know how to stretch a mood till it glows. Expect bodies moving, strangers grinning, and that rare feeling when the room exhales in perfect sync. It’s not about nostalgia, nor novelty – just the kind of house that reminds you why dancefloors still matter. November 13. B600 via here and B800 at the door. Siwilai Radical Club, 9pm onwards

KYLA Gallery's latest gathering brings together five artists who've each built entire universes around their original characters. The Character Club transforms the gallery space into a proper social hangout for creations that exist somewhere between cartoon boldness, quirky personality studies and those dreamlike companions who feel weirdly familiar even though you've definitely never met them before. Each artist speaks through their own visual language and storytelling approach, creating what's essentially a lively lounge filled with humour, nostalgia and genuine wonder. It's playful, pop-culture-soaked and refreshingly unpretentious about celebrating imagination in all its human (and decidedly not-so-human) forms. Every character here carries their own backstory, waiting for you to wander over and strike up a conversation. November 7-December 7. Free. KYLA Gallery, 3pm-midnight

P.S. Publishing has spent the past decade quietly carving out space for women writers to explore relationships through their own voices and styles. Now this compact publisher is throwing open its doors with an exhibition celebrating nearly 100 books that prove small format doesn't mean small impact. The event packs in proper activities beyond browsing. Talk sessions turn readers and writers from strangers passing by each other on shelves to actual people having honest conversations about love, heartbreak and everything messily in between. Speed Dating follows, pairing you with seven different authors for quick-fire exchanges. Fancy making something? The DIY Book station lets you nick a preface, paragraph and With love and… closing line from various P.S. titles to create your own tiny publication. Meanwhile, Sis Market flips the script with writers and illustrators playing vendors whilst readers shop their handmade creations. Upstairs, Something Blue Library hosts workshops and reading sessions for anyone craving a quieter moment amongst kindred book lovers. November 7-16. Free. Kinjai Contemporary, 11am-9pm

Right, so you've landed in Bangkok in November and everyone's suddenly asking about your festive plans. Here's the thing about Christmas in this city: it shouldn't work. You've got 30-degree heat, shopping centres going absolutely mental with decorations and somehow the whole thing feels perfectly normal. If you're the type who'd rather someone else sorted the champagne and you quite fancy a proper countdown, Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok has essentially done all the thinking for you. Hotel festive packages can feel a bit samey, but this lineup gives you everything from Italian romance to rooftop revelry to the city's highest countdown party, all without trekking across Bangkok's traffic-clogged streets.  Photograph: Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok At Ms.Jigger, this Italian restaurant goes properly festive from December 20 through January 4, 2026, serving up an afternoon tea (B1,990 for two) that pairs Drappier champagne with delicate bites. The setting's romantic, the plates look designed for confessions and tackling the holidays on tea alone seems frankly criminal.  Photograph: Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok On Christmas Eve, Ms.Jigger's elegant four-course set (B3,990 per person) features Boston lobster salad, charred octopus risotto and Atlantic turbot over pumpkin cream, all wrapped in a warm zabaglione finish. Come New Year's Eve, Ms.Jigger transforms completely. The set menu's a love letter to excess: oscietra-topped Hokkaido scallops, saffron monkfish risotto and a chocolate praline

Let's talk about why elephants matter to Thailand. These magnificent creatures have carried kings, hauled teak and stood as symbols of power, wisdom and good fortune since long before anyone thought to stick a camera in their face. So when the Elephant Parade rolls through Bangkok's Talad Noi and Song Wat neighbourhoods, it's a love letter to conservation wrapped in colour and creativity. Running from November 15 through to February 21 2026, the parade invites you to grab a map from the Elephant Parade Talad Noi shop or participating stores and tick off your discoveries as you go. Over 50 elephant sculptures, each one designed by Thai and international artists, have taken up residence across alleyways, shopfronts and tucked-away corners throughout these historic quarters. This isn't the parade's first time here, but familiarity hasn't dulled its charm. When they arrived earlier this year, the elephants came dressed in everything from sunny floral yellows and deep ocean blues to a pink Hello Kitty number and, rather brilliantly, one decorated with khao soi and a chicken drumstick. It's playful, unpredictable and wonderfully Bangkok. Photograph: Elephant Parade Land What makes this more than just another photo opportunity is the intention behind every painted trunk and patterned ear. The entire installation shines a spotlight on Thai elephant conservation, using art as the vehicle to spark proper conversations and spread meaningful awareness. It's cultural soft power done rig

Thai pride comes first. Salin, or Salin Cheewapansri, is a drummer, producer and songwriter who was born and raised in Thailand before moving to North America at 20 to chase a dream. She's carved out a place in Canada's jazz scene and made waves internationally – most memorably through a performance on live platform KEXP, where she sat behind the kit in traditional Thai dress. Early 2025 saw her return to Thai stages for the first time with a set at Bangkok Design Week, leaving a proper mark on home crowds. Her work on Dominique's album landed a Juno Award for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year in 2019. Not long after, Salin put out her own  debut, Cosmic Island – a mix of jazz, soul, funk and groove inspired by her thesis research into river pollution back in Thailand. The album took her on tour across the US and Europe, and in 2025 she came back with Rammana, a project that pulls together afro-jazz, funk and Thai folk music through themes of identity, spirit and joy. It earned her a spot as one of CBC's 2025 Revelation Artists, putting her among the rising voices in Canadian music. Here's what you need to know before the night starts. When is Salin performing in Bangkok? Salin comes to Bangkok for a live show, but just for one night. It’s going down on Friday January 9 2026.  Where is Salin performing in Bangkok? The Thai-born drummer, producer and songwriter hits the stage at Lido Connect 2. When are the tickets on sale? You can grab your tickets on Ticketmelon here, starting on

Grab your tote bags: Bangkok's vintage market is back for its third edition, and this time it's taking over the riverside at Phra Arthit Road. Rookie BKK x The StandardX runs on November 15-16 from 4pm-11pm, transforming the area around The StandardX on Phra Arthit Road – just steps from Tha Phra Arthit pier – with a Thai funk and molam theme that celebrates the best of reduce, reuse and recycle culture. The organisers have handpicked over 30 vendors selling everything from rare clothing and accessories to brilliant second-hand pieces you won't find anywhere else in the city. Photograph: Rookie BKK What makes this market worth the trip is its proper commitment to sustainability. Shoppers are asked to bring their own cloth bags (one per person minimum), because the organisers genuinely want to prove that looking good and caring about the planet aren't mutually exclusive. The riverside location is a bonus – you can rummage through vintage treasures whilst the Chao Phraya flows past, then stick around for live Thai funk and molam performances that'll keep everyone entertained throughout the weekend. Photograph: Rookie BKK The market caters specifically to vintage enthusiasts after serious finds rather than the usual tat. Each stall has been carefully selected to make sure you're discovering genuinely unique pieces with actual history behind them.  Photograph: Rookie BKK Both days happen at The StandardX, Bangkok Phra Arthit. Getting there is easy enough – Tha Phra Arthit p

Right, bookworms, this is not a drill. That brilliant floating bookshop everyone's been banging on about, the Doulos Hope, is finally sailing back to Bangkok. From November 7-30, you'll find her moored at Khlong Toei Port, doors open from 1pm-8.30pm daily. She's just wrapped up a stint in Sattahip, and now it's our turn. If you missed her last visit in 2023, here's the deal: this isn't your average bookshop. The ship belongs to GBA Ships, a German non-profit on a mission to deliver knowledge and hope to communities worldwide. But they've got the goods to back it up. Photograph: Doulos Hope Once aboard, you'll find yourself wandering through more than 2,000 titles in English and various languages – science, art, cookery, sport, children's books, academic texts, dictionaries, maps, the lot. Everything's priced to actually buy, not just admire, which makes a refreshing change.  What makes the whole experience rather special, though, is the crew. These aren't your typical retail staff – they're volunteers from over 35 countries who actually live aboard. Chat them up about their travels, how they ended up here, what life's like at sea. It's the sort of cultural exchange you'd normally have to leave the country for. Entry costs B20 (kids under 12 and seniors over 65 get in free). If you fancy discovering your next great read whilst standing on the deck of a genuine seafaring vessel, get yourself down to Khlong Toei Port before she sets sail again.

Art books and independent publications have always been more than just paper and ink. They're meeting grounds, conversation starters, communities built on shared curiosity. For three days this December, the Bangkok Art and Culture Center (BACC) is where ideas collide and creators find their people. The Bangkok Art Book Fair is back for its seventh edition, running from December 5-7 at BACC. This year's theme is the heartwarming ‘You Can Sit With Us’ – an invitation that makes everyone feel like coming home. It's saying what the fair has always quietly believed: whoever you are, wherever you're from, whatever sparked your interest, art books and independent publications are ready to welcome you in. Photograph: BANGKOK ART BOOK FAIR Since launching in 2017, BKKABF has carved out a reputation as the kind of platform that doesn't just showcase work – it reignites something in the people who make it. Each year brings a different theme, but the throughline remains: creativity doesn't exist in a vacuum. It responds to the world around it, reflects it back, sometimes challenges it entirely. What makes the fair particularly compelling is watching it grow beyond its original borders. Independent publishers and creators from across Asia and further afield arrive with work you won't find anywhere else. It's cultural exchange at its most tangible, the kind where you can actually flip through someone's labour of love and ask them about it. Photograph: BANGKOK ART BOOK FAIR This year br

Loy Krathong falls on November 5 this year, and by sheer luck, it's also the night of 2025's biggest Super Full Moon. We don't know what we did to deserve this, but we'll take it. The moon will be 356,800km away, which is close enough to look massive in the sky. Astronomers call this 'perigee', which just means it's at the nearest point in its orbit. Either way, it'll be about 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than your average full moon. Bangkok's opening 33 parks for the celebrations this year. They'll stay open until midnight, so there's plenty of space to gather by the water and do the whole thing properly. Some will be busier than others – Benjakitti and Lumphini tend to get packed – but even the smaller spots usually have a decent atmosphere once the sun goes down. The whole point of Loy Krathong has always been letting go of things. Grudges, regrets, that argument from three years ago you're still replaying at 2am. Whatever it is. Just please, for the love of Mother Nature, use an eco-krathong. The Chao Phraya's already dealing with enough without another thousand foam circles floating around until February while we all avert our eyes and pretend the turtles are fine. On November 5, It's one of those rare nights where the city's usual chaos quiets down just enough to let something else through. The Super Full Moon just makes it all a bit more dramatic, which feels about right for a festival that's basically an exercise in controlled chaos and good intentions. W

Thailand's Queen Mother Sirikit passed away peacefully on October 24 at the age of 93, the Thai Royal Household announced. She departed at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, leaving behind a legacy that touched millions of Thai lives. The royal family will observe a year of mourning, and Thai people have been invited to wear black or subdued colors for 90 days to honor her memory. For many Thais, Queen Sirikit was more than just royalty. She spent decades working with rural communities, championing women's causes and keeping traditional Thai arts and crafts from disappearing. A lot of people saw her as a maternal figure who genuinely cared about ordinary people's lives. You can still see her influence everywhere in Thailand today – particularly in the traditional textiles and crafts she worked so hard to preserve. The rural development programs she supported and her focus on women's empowerment have shaped how charitable organizations operate in Thailand ever since. Daily life in Bangkok continues mostly as usual. The government hasn't mandated any business closures or shut down entertainment venues, though event organizers are being asked to keep things respectful. That said, some events across the country have been cancelled out of respect. The Tourism Authority of Thailand has postponed the Vijit Chao Phraya 2025 light and sound show, the Skyline Film shut down their showings over the weekend, and the 2025 BamBam 'Hometown' concert in Bangkok has postponed ticket sales.

It's not hard to see why Thailand's long-awaited high-speed rail project has turned into such a drawn-out saga. The promise is grand: sleek trains hurtling north from Bangkok to Nong Khai, crossing the Mekong into Laos, then gliding on to Kunming and eventually Beijing. In theory, it's the stuff of glossy tourism videos and diplomatic speeches – a link between kingdoms and economies. In practice, it's a work in progress that's dragged on for over a decade and is still only halfway there. Officials now say the first leg, a 253-kilometre route from Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima, could open by 2028. The second phase, stretching to Nong Khai, might follow in 2031, with a bridge linking Thailand's network to the Laos-China line. The numbers are staggering – B434 billion, 609 kilometres, years of revisions – but the stakes are higher still. This isn't just a transport story; it's about whether Thailand can keep pace with its fast-developing neighbours. 'High-speed rail is expensive to build and operate,' says Thomas Bird, Time Out Bangkok's resident train expert and author of Harmony Express: Travels By Train Through China. 'It is not always profitable and some lines – as is the case in the People's Republic of China – have to be subsidised by the government. However, there are many economic benefits associated with modern rail. Fast and efficient connections can expedite trade and tourism. As China is Thailand's biggest trade partner and most important source of tourists, this is a

Halloween obsession comes closer. Not only do we have to plan the outfit, but also the party, and Time Out Bangkok has already picked the best one for all in a single list right here. And Halloween outdoor? This year, Banthat Thong Road is once again summoning the spirits with the second Banthat Thong Freedom Street For All, a street-long celebration where spookiness, street food and sheer creativity all come out to play. On October 30-November 1 2025, this stretch of Bangkok’s Banthat Thong Road that is usually busy with students, steaming bowls of noodles and late-night dessert queues, gets a seasonal glow-up.  Chula Soi 16 becomes the centre of attention, where Nueng Nom Nua hosts a haunted installation designed to unsettle even the most daring. Ghost storytellers weave through the crowd, delivering spine-tingling tales that somehow feel as engaging as they are unsettling. Around them, a cosplay competition nudges the boldest to outdo each other, crafting costumes that range from the ingeniously eerie to the gloriously grotesque. Street food vendors line the road, serving up smokey bites and sweets that blur the line between comforting and uncanny, while performers and interactive installations pop up in unexpected corners, ensuring no moment is entirely predictable. Families, friends and solo wanderers alike find themselves swept along, laughing at the absurd, jumping at the startling and marvelling at the creativity on display. Highlights: – Haunted house, roadside editi

This is a city that builds towers just to add rooftop bars on top, that paints motorbike helmets with glitter, that treats traffic like performance art. So of course it’s now taking its flirtation with the future literally skyward. This week, EHang – a Chinese aviation firm best known for turning sci-fi sketches into machinery – launched Thailand’s first Advanced Air Mobility Sandbox. It’s a government-approved test zone that lets pilotless air taxis float legally above the city, rewriting what Bangkok traffic might mean in the next decade. The star of the show, the EH216-S, looks like something from a designer’s dream sequence. The launch drew a mix of aviation officials, local engineers and curious onlookers who watched the aircraft complete its test loops without so much as a wobble. It wasn’t the spectacle of technology for its own sake, but a public rehearsal for something bigger – a move towards making air taxis part of the city’s everyday rhythm. The Ministry of Transport pitched it as a step toward smart urbanism and carbon-free travel, which could link high-rise life with island escapes in a single glide. If the next stages go as planned, these aircraft could soon be hovering between Bangkok and its weekend playgrounds – Pattaya, Phuket, Koh Samui – replacing ferry queues with flight paths. And while it all sounds a touch futuristic, it fits Bangkok’s logic perfectly: the city where wires tangle, towers shimmer and the impossible feels entirely plausible.  Up here, a

Anyone passing through the MRT station by Samyan Mitrtown might notice the usual underground passageway has taken on a strange new life. Well, the place, not far from Time Out Bangkok’s office, once again adds a splash of city colour. What once felt like a corridor between trains and shopping now stretches like a shadowed woodland, draped in deep reds and greens, as Samyan Mitrtown transforms it into a cursed forest tunnel for this spooky season. Photograph: Samyan Mitrtown Photograph: Samyan Mitrtown The path winds past gnarled branches and moss-draped walls, leading to a corner that feels like a witch’s hidden cabin. Inside, shelves bristle with jars of mysterious powders and bubbling potions, and the dim red lighting flickers across the tunnel, casting long, eerie shadows. Walking through, you might get the chill of wondering if something could leap from the darkness, or if a whisper might brush past your ear.  Samyan Mitrtown has a tradition of turning this stretch of Samyan Mitrtown-MRT Tunnel into a seasonal spectacle, and this year’s Into The Woods still nails it.  The cursed forest tunnel is open daily, free of charge, from October 20-31. Let's have the unexpected delight, and once you do, it’s hard to forget the way the red light dances across the twisted trees and the bottles of glittering mystery on their shelves.