Kaweewat Siwanartwong

June arrives like a glitch in the system – a month stitched together by celebration and resistance, identity and exception. It’s the kind of moment where art feels less like decoration and more like a way of breathing.  In Bangkok, art isn’t confined to white cubes or gallery walls. It spills, glitches and stares back. The galleries don’t sleep. The warehouses flicker with light. You’ll find exhibitions in places that feel vaguely illegal and performances that seem like they’ve been dreamt up at 3am by someone who hasn't blinked in days. And maybe that’s enough: to witness, to feel, to not look away. Because art, like identity, was never meant to be tidy. Remember Lost in DOMLAND? That surrealist maze of desire and disorientation that made you feel like you'd stumbled into someone else's subconscious? Or A Cage of Fragile Heart, where tenderness became performance, and vulnerability was something to wear, not hide? That same raw energy pulses through this month’s line-up – less polished, more honest. And while Attack on Titan Final Exhibition gave us collapsing walls and the weight of legacy, and Hit the Road carved out moments of quiet rebellion, June doesn’t look back so much as it fragments forward. It isn’t neat. It doesn’t try to be. Instead, it offers a series of entry points – some loud, others almost imperceptible – into questions of selfhood, memory and what it means to be seen. There’s no single narrative, no tidy moral. Just flashes of truth, stitched together by a

Here we are – one foot in June, soaked socks and all. The rainy season has arrived with its usual flair for drama, though thankfully it’s shown some restraint. Intermittent downpours, sky-wide sulking, then bursts of sunlight like nothing happened. We adapt, we wear shoes that can be ruined. We carry umbrellas we never open. And Bangkok, as ever, keeps going – damp, defiant, a little delirious. This weekend, Yoga and Sound Healing at the Old Library offers something softer. Inside the cool hush of Neilson Hays, you'll stretch beneath chandeliers and lie very still while gongs do unspeakable things to your nervous system. Meanwhile, Brasi is in town. The vinyl obsessive and head of @incoherentdebs brings an ear for the obscure, the emotional, the quietly unhinged. He’s supported by local duo Kunanon and Moodyboom, who ease us in before Brasi gently unravels us. And if you prefer your catharsis seated, not sweating, Bernardo Santos has arrived from Portugal, all precision and poetry. Performing Liszt, Beethoven and Villa-Lobos in a recital that promises less concert, more séance, he plays not to impress but to haunt. So, yes, it’s raining. But the city is restless, glinting, full of sound. And honestly, what else would you do – stay home and dry off? Get ahead of the game and start planning your month with our list of top things to do this June.

Bangkok’s dining scene never ceases to impress with new restaurants constantly adding fresh energy to the city’s vibrant food landscape. While elegant fine dining establishments often steal the spotlight with their refined menus and impeccable presentation, casual eateries play an equally important role in shaping the city’s culinary identity. From bustling street-side stalls to trendy bistros, these spots capture the capital’s lively spirit through bold flavours, creative concepts and inviting atmospheres. If you’re planning a romantic evening for two, a laid-back family dinner or even a solo food adventure, there’s no shortage of exciting options. The city’s diverse culinary landscape continues to expand, offering everything from Cantonese and French delicacies to comforting Burmese dishes. Whether you’re drawn to modern fusion cuisine or timeless classics, there’s always something new to discover. Discover, book, and save at hundreds of restaurants with Grab Dine Out. Enjoy exclusive discounts, use dining vouchers, and make instant reservations, all in the Grab app. Explore Grab Dine Out now.

From stomach-filling Western classics to quick Thai favourites, here’s our list of places you can fill up for the day.  RECOMMENDED: The best new restaurants that opened this year   Discover, book, and save at hundreds of restaurants with Grab Dine Out. Enjoy exclusive discounts, use dining vouchers, and make instant reservations, all in the Grab app. Explore Grab Dine Out now.

Halfway through 2025 – blink and it’s June. Somehow, we’ve arrived at Pride Month, drenched in both colour and contradiction. It’s a time carved out for queerness, love-drenched, politicised and stubbornly joyful. But this isn’t a parade just for the queer community. It’s a mirror held up to everyone, reminding us that identity is messy, defiant and worth defending. Pride isn’t a party so much as a punctuation mark – a loud, necessary one. So, in a city that’s constantly shedding its skin, what does celebration look like? Bangkok, never one for subtlety, offers up a bit of everything. The Japanese invasion continues – animated and unapologetic – with Naruto The Gallery, Attack on Titan Final Exhibition and the overwhelmingly adorable 100% Doraemon and Friends Tour. Childhood nostalgia dressed as cultural diplomacy? We’re here for it. On the music front, things are getting beautifully chaotic. The Yussef Dayes Experience promises jazz with the edges left on, a kind of spiritual combustion wrapped in broken beats. Meanwhile, Kula Shaker returns, all psychedelic haze and East-meets-West mysticism. And then there’s MNDSGN, that cosmic soul wanderer, bringing his woozy grooves and unreleased material to a city that rarely pauses long enough to listen. He’s asking us to. Film lovers aren’t left out either. Lahn Mah (How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies) – arguably the most talked-about Thai feature in recent memory – gets its moment under the spotlight. It’s a family drama, yes

Some cities ease into you, like a slow morning. Bangkok doesn’t bother. It arrives all at once – humid, glaring, full of movement you can’t quite trace. Steam from a streetside grill blurs into the squeal of a tuk-tuk, incense curls past your ear, and a monk scrolls his phone with the indifference of someone who’s seen it all. The city doesn’t wait. It presses in from every side. Then, there’s Andrei Kostromskikh – better known on Instagram as Kosnio. His photographs seem less like compositions and more like accidents that knew exactly where to land. He walks the city with a camera and an eye for the nearly invisible – the things most people overlook, or choose not to see. His work doesn’t trade in landmarks or spectacle. His images aren’t postcards. They’re something quieter, more private. We find his work the way most people find anything these days – one of those algorithmic gifts the internet occasionally offers up. Naturally, we asked to share his photographs on our platform, and he generously agreed. Photograph: Kosnio When we reach out, he replies with the same understatement that marks his photos. Bangkok, he says, feels strangely familiar – not in any cosy or sentimental way, but like a half-remembered dream. Now, we asked him some questions about his journey and how he sees the capital. Photograph: Kosnio   Would you describe yourself as a visual storyteller rather than simply a photographer? ‘Yeah, I think so. I just try to catch moments that speak for themselv

June rolls in like a rush of neon, sequins and unapologetic joy – Pride is back, loud and proud. But this year carries a weight beyond the usual glitter and dancefloor confessions. Thailand marks its first legal recognition of same-sex marriage, a milestone decades in the making and a quiet revolution writ large across the city’s streets. Over 200,000 people will flood Bangkok, a tidal wave of colour and defiance, each step a statement, each flag a banner of hard-won freedom. The parade isn’t just a party – it’s a procession of resilience, love and history colliding in the most spectacular way. Photograph: Bangkok Pride From the wildest drag to the quietest moments of solidarity, this celebration stretches beyond surface-level exuberance. It’s the culmination of years spent fighting for recognition, for rights, for a space to simply exist without compromise. Bangkok’s roads become a runway of belonging, a stage for every story, every identity, every fierce truth. More than just a date on the calendar, this Pride is a declaration that love – unfiltered, untamed, in all its forms – finally has a home here. While the Bangkok Pride parade remains the highlight, the city hums with other LGBTQ+ events both before and after, making sure the celebration stretches well beyond a single day. So read on – there’s much more to discover. Photograph: Bangkok Pride When is Bangkok Pride? On Sunday June 1, Bangkok’s Pride parade returns to Rama I Road, transforming the city’s commercial s

Bangkok may be a whirlwind of energy, but it’s also home to some of the world’s most transformative spas. If the chaos of the city has you feeling frazzled, consider this your invitation to unwind in style. From traditional Thai massages to signature treatments that pamper you from head to toe, these serene sanctuaries know exactly how to melt away stress and leave you feeling like a brand-new version of yourself.

Let me confess right from the start, when the opportunity came to interview Saran Yen Panya – Thai craftsman, storyteller and creative director of 56 Studio, known for turning the mundane and the ugly into something fabulously chic – I was a little nervous. In the design world, he’s practically folklore, widely recognised by anyone even remotely in the scene. And me? My design experience is, quite literally, zero. Or perhaps at best, poetic appreciation. So sitting down with someone who spins everyday banality into cultural commentary felt… daunting. I first encountered his name in Songkhla Old Town, courtesy of a mischievous little bar titled Grandpa Never Drunk Alone (cool, right?). I’d never met the man, yet the design – instinctive, odd, quietly brilliant – struck me like a late‑night revelation. Fast‑forward and I’m on a video call, notebook poised, interviewing him for Time Out about his creative journey, Bangkok’s art ecosystem and how he reads the city’s pulse today. Saran doesn’t just call himself a storyteller. He also self-identifies as an underdog – a term loaded with defiance, humility and honesty. His worldview, personal history, social observations and even taste all stem from a place of being second-guessed – and rising anyway. Photograph: Saran Yen Panya   The three eras of Saran There’s a pleasing symmetry to how Saran narrates his life’s work: three clear-cut eras, each a slightly altered shade of the last. He calls it ‘evolving, not reinventing,’ which f

If you're the sort of person who slows down at a half-painted wall or feels personally attacked by a good curation, Bangkok will keep you busy. The city’s art scene isn’t just thriving – it’s sprawling, unpredictable and, at times, gloriously chaotic. From white-cube galleries tucked inside half-renovated shopfronts to sprawling museum halls and street corners where murals seem to bloom overnight, there’s no singular way to experience it all – and frankly, no point in trying. Alongside permanent collections and galleries are artist-run spaces and community-led studios with more personality than polish, where work is hung with nails, not pretension. Add to that a packed calendar of temporary exhibitions – changing faster than most people can update their weekend plans – and you’ll find yourself wandering into corners of the city you didn’t know existed, just to catch a film screening or a giant sculpture on Sanam Luang. And yes, it’s a lot. Too much, maybe. But that’s hardly a complaint. If anything, it's a reminder that Bangkok’s cultural life isn’t waiting for permission – it’s already happening, with or without you. We’re just here to help you keep up. Make time to wander through these exhibitions – and while you're out, take in the rest of what Bangkok has lined up this weekend. Below, you’ll find all of the free art and photography exhibitions happening in the city right now, but that’s not everything: don’t miss out on the things to do on the weekend right here. Enjoy. S

  April has arrived, marking the official start of summer. With the city’s parks and streets taking on new life, the cultural scene is also awakening. Museums and galleries across the city are gearing up for exciting exhibition openings, offering fresh and inspiring experiences for art lovers. As the temperatures rise, why not seek refuge in a cool gallery or museum? Bangkok boasts a wealth of world-class art and photography exhibitions, all available to explore without spending a satang. From contemporary photography to traditional artwork, there’s a variety of free exhibitions on offer throughout the city this month. Set aside some time to explore these exhibitions, and while you're at it, discover everything else Bangkok has to offer this weekend.Below, you’ll find all of the free art and photography exhibitions happening in the city right now, but that’s not everything: don’t miss out on the things to do on the weekend right here. Enjoy. RECOMMENDED:  The best things to do in Bangkok The best things to do this weekend  Bangkok’s best spots to live the art life Top spots to see street art

The days are getting brighter, the art is getting bolder and whether it’s genius or gibberish, Bangkok’s art scene is well worth the price of admission. The capital is becoming packed with things to do at incredible art galleries and museums, that span world-class contemporary collections and chic commercial spaces covering the classics to the avant-garde. We've rounded up the best shows in town, carefully sorting the masterpieces from the "disasterpieces" – because let’s be honest, not all art is created equal. Whether it's a bold new painting, a quirky installation or something that makes you wonder if you’re missing the point, we’ve got you covered. Who knows, you might even spot something that makes you say, “I could do that.” RECOMMENDED: The best things to do in Bangkok The best things to do this weekend  Top spots to see street art

There’s a certain daring in how Millennials Flex approach the world – bending and breaking the rules not just to rebel but to remake. It’s a mindset that doesn’t just accept pain but wears it like a badge, turning vulnerability into something visible and vital. Old myths, inherited traditions and history aren’t relics to be preserved untouched. Instead, they become raw material, chopped up and stitched into fresh stories that speak to now. It’s an art of reinvention, where mistakes aren’t failures but lessons, and the familiar is endlessly transformed. This isn’t nostalgia or rejection – it's a restless, vibrant conversation with the past, a refusal to be boxed in by what came before and a celebration of what might come next. Until Jun 28. Free. 6060 Arts Space, midday-8pm

This exhibition quietly refuses to play along. It carves out a space where art exists untethered – free from labels, expectations or neat categories. Five artists handpicked from the Bangkok Illustration Fair bring work that doesn’t just hang on walls but reaches out, using the MMAD CUBE as a playground to blur the line between creator and viewer. Here, the rules are made to be unraveled. It’s a call to see beyond the obvious, to embrace the tangled, vibrant mess of being human without trying to tame it. Like a frame left deliberately unfinished, the show invites us to expand our view of the world – and recognise the rich, unruly spectrum of colour within ourselves. Until Jun 29. Free. MunMun Art Destination, 10.30am-7pm

In a world spinning too fast to catch its own breath, Niam Mawornkanong’s work offers a pause – a deliberate slowing down, a moment to listen. His paintings don’t just depict life; they hold it in a fragile balance, dense with feeling and fragmented perception. There’s an insistence on looking beneath the surface, peeling back layers of noise to reveal something quietly true. Among the pieces, the White Dust series stands out – an elegy for a time when images felt less manufactured, less perfect. It wrestles with the slick, hyperreal world of digital snapshots, searching instead for the softness found in faded memories and forgotten moments. In Niam’s brushstrokes, the past isn’t just nostalgia – it’s a haunting, beautiful blur we’re only just beginning to understand. Until Jun 22. Free. Joyman Gallery, 11am-6pm

There’s a peculiar kind of intimacy in being watched – especially when the eyes belong to creatures who can’t speak, yet have everything to say. This photo installation gathers 1,000 images from 166 photographers, each frame a fleeting moment of animals and pets caught in states of playfulness, quiet contemplation or unexpected tenderness. But it’s not about adorable snapshots. The exhibition unfolds like a subtle conversation, inviting us to reconsider the ties binding human and animal worlds. It asks us to step beyond passive viewing, to lean into the spaces between stillness and motion, to feel rather than just see. And when those creatures’ gazes meet ours, the roles reverse – suddenly, we become the observed. Here, images don’t just capture life – they speak it. Until Jun 29. Free. MunMun Art Destination, 10.30am-7pm

Once, the natural world was something we moved through without thinking – trees, tides, silence. Now, screens pulse in our pockets and satellites map our footsteps before we’ve taken them. The digital age hasn’t just reshaped how we live, it’s quietly rewritten the script of what it means to be human. Connection, once visceral, has become something we scroll for. FutureHype doesn’t promise clarity, but it does linger in the uncertainty. Featuring a dozen Thai artists still young enough to remember analogue childhoods but steeped in the language of algorithms, the show traces the uneasy intersections of memory, machinery and cultural drift. It’s less a nostalgic sigh than a reckoning. Because if the future is already here – fragmented, flickering, half-forgotten – then perhaps art is where we learn how to look at it without blinking. Until Jul 6. Free. Maison JE Art Space, 11am-7pm

UnderHatDaddy, known for conjuring up Chubby – a soft-bodied, soft-eyed heroine with the kind of presence that makes strangers smile without knowing why – turns their gaze inward. This time, the work doesn’t simply ask to be adored; it asks to be understood. Through Chubby, viewers trace the crooked line between delight and despair, where joy can be sudden and unwieldy, and failure arrives dressed as inevitability. There’s pain, yes, but also a strange sort of strength that grows in its shadow. The exhibition doesn’t offer neat resolutions or redemption arcs. Instead, it leans into the contradictions – flesh and spirit, breakage and bloom – where being alive feels both ridiculous and profound. Because perhaps, despite the mess and melancholy, life remains the most bewildering and generous offering we’re given. Until Jun 22. Free. RCB Galleria, Rivercity Bangkok, 10am-8pm

Forget fluorescent studios and playlists that try too hard – Yoga at the Old Library is back, and it’s nothing like your average Sunday reset. Inside the quietly grand Neilson Hays Library, where the walls still whisper colonial secrets, you're invited to stretch, exhale and unravel whatever the week left behind. This isn’t about perfect poses or curated Instagram moments. It’s about moving slowly in a room that has seen decades, then lying still as sound washes over you – not music exactly, more like memory vibrating through air. Bring someone or come alone. Bring a mat, or don’t. Jun 8. B1,090. Register via  info@neilsonhayslibrary.org. Neilson Hays Library, 5pm-7pm  

The Italian DJ, selector and head of @incoherentdebs lands in Bangkok with a crate full of oddities and obscurities, stitched together with the kind of flow that can’t be taught. He’s a purist, sure, but not in a self-serious way. Think rare cuts, deep rhythms, moments that feel accidental until you realise they were perfectly placed. Powered by TPI’s chest-rattling speakers, it’s not so much a set as a controlled detonation. Movement isn’t optional. Before the main event, High Wire residents Kunanon and Moodyboom set the tone – one brooding, the other buoyant. A gentle incline before the plunge. This isn’t about hype or spectacle. It’s about losing track of time, somewhere between a bassline and the third track you wish you could Shazam. Jun 7. B300 via here and B500 at the door. BEAMCUBE, 9pm onwards

Bernardo Santos arrives in Thailand not with fanfare but with force – the quiet, deliberate kind that only a piano can deliver. Hailing from Portugal, and carrying the weighty title of WPTA president like it’s just another Tuesday, he’s played on stages in over 20 countries. But numbers barely scratch the surface. This is not about technical precision or polite applause. It’s about Beethoven’s brooding, Liszt’s swagger, Villa-Lobos’ wild nostalgia. Fragoso and Granados slip in like ghosts – familiar, if you know where to listen. Santos doesn’t perform so much as unearth. Keys become confessions. Every note stretches time a little thinner. And in a world oversaturated with noise, he reminds us what it means to really hear something – to sit still and be ruined, beautifully, for a moment. Jun 8. B500-2,500 via here. Sala Sudasiri Sobha, 4pm onwards

A fixture of Berlin’s queer underground and a long-standing Berghain resident, he’s spent over two decades proving that mastery isn’t about control but surrender. Known for closing sets that blur night into morning, he draws dancers into a kind of shared hypnosis – equal parts punishment and euphoria. There’s a seriousness to his sound, but not a rigidity. Whether at Faust in Seoul or House of Mince in Sydney, Boris moves between the ecstatic and the unrelenting with unnerving ease. It's less a set, more a slow descent into something primal. He’s joined by DJ Mojack and Olle, offering up their own take on emotional intensity. Expect sweat. Expect release. Expect to forget what time it is. Jun 7. B750 (with two drinks) via here. HORN, 10pm onwards

Another Pride, another reason to sweat glitter. YUMM is back – and turning one. A year ago, it emerged like a fever dream in fishnets, hoping to carve out something real, messy and gloriously inclusive. No velvet ropes, no forced cool, just a space where misfits, baddies and babies could dance without apology. Now, twelve months and countless outfit changes later, it returns with hips swinging and speakers trembling. This time, they’re calling in reinforcements: enter @ihatekilimi, straight from Australia's ballroom scene, where walking is warfare and basslines bruise. Expect attitude. Expect volume. Expect a slap of something that smells suspiciously like freedom. Jun 7. B400 via here and B500 at the door after 10pm. Blaqlyte Rover, 9pm onwards

Forget tasteful tributes and rainbow-safe programming. Tiger Exotica doesn’t care for good behaviour. For one night only, Madame Rouge trades subtlety for spectacle with a Pride show that’s less parade, more fever dream. Think Tiger King meets cabaret meets something your conscience probably wouldn’t approve of. Sequins clash with animal print, morals are questionable at best and the whole thing teeters on the edge of brilliance or complete collapse. Possibly both. It’s sultry, chaotic and proudly excessive – the sort of evening that doesn’t end with a bow but with a blackout. There are no lessons here, no tidy message. Just a room full of beautiful strangers, a questionable amount of faux fur and the sense you’ve just witnessed something slightly illegal. One night. No second chances. You’ve been warned. Jun 7. B990 via here and B1,190 at the door. Hemingway's, 8pm onwards

If you’ve not been keeping up, Fred again – born Fred Gibson – is one of those names that’s quietly everywhere. Maybe you’ve heard his voice layered into a track without knowing it. Maybe you’ve danced to one of his edits at 3am and only clocked it days later. He’s a producer, vocalist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist – a modern-day polymath with a sampler and a keen ear for emotion. Now, following the announcement of his solo Asia tour, he’s set to bring that instinct centre stage. Stops include South Korea, Singapore and, yes, Bangkok. At the core of his work is a kind of sonic diarising: voice notes from friends, fleeting conversations, fragments of lived experience turned into dancefloor elegies. His tracks – leave me alone, Turn On The Lights again.., Rumble – feel as much like personal memos as they do chart staples. This is a man who once won two Grammys for Actual Life 3 and still manages to make music that sounds like it was recorded in the Notes app at 2am. Photograph: fredagainagainagainagainagain And then there are the collaborators. The list reads like a who's who of genre-defying innovators: Skrillex, Baby Keem, Skepta, Future, Anderson .Paak, Four Tet. He moves between worlds – rap, house, garage, glitch – with the kind of fluidity that doesn’t beg attention but earns it. He’s not selling nostalgia, nor spectacle. What he offers is something quieter but stickier: intimacy in high definition, connection disguised as club music. He’ll be at UOB LIVE on July 2

In an industry increasingly obsessed with noise – louder beats, higher drama, algorithm-friendly hooks – Summer Salt have carved out a quiet, persistent corner of calm. The American indie pop band, never ones to shout for attention, have instead built their following with soft-focus melodies and a kind of emotional precision that resists easy categorisation. While others chase virality, they remain content with something far less fleeting: warmth, wistfulness, the kind of tune that lingers like a half-remembered summer. Now, they’re bringing that sensibility back to Bangkok. On September 7 at The Street Hall, the band will perform a mix of favourites – ‘Candy Wrappers’, ‘Sweet to Me’, ‘One Last Time’ – along with unreleased material that suggests their sentimental palette is far from running dry. Photograph: Summer Salt Their music, a mellow blend of oldies and bossa nova influences, doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel so much as cruise gently alongside it. It’s made for long car rides and quiet mornings, for coffees gone cold and beaches at low tide. Listening feels less like discovery and more like recognition – as if you’ve heard it before, maybe in a dream. If their songs are already tucked between your favourites or you’re just a little intrigued, consider this your cue to mark the date – here’s what to know before the night unfolds.   When are Summer Salt performing in Bangkok? Summer Salt will grace the stage in Bangkok for a single-night show on Sunday September 7 at

In the food and beverage world, it’s not just what ends up on the plate or cup – it’s the power plays behind the packaging, the flavour trends dressed up as lifestyle ideologies, the supply chains zigzagging across continents. In Bangkok, the act of eating is always loaded, whether it’s a streetside bowl of noodles or a deal sealed over coconut milk lattes.  So when THAIFEX – ANUGA ASIA made its annual return from May 27-31, it wasn’t merely another entry in the events calendar. It was a billboard for where the industry is headed. One part trade show, two parts economic choreography, the 2025 edition arrived with the energy of possibility – transforming the city’s steel and glass into a playground for culinary futures. The name might suggest something cinematic, but in reality, it’s where the brightest minds in food come together to shape what – and how – the world eats next. Photograph: THAIFEX – ANUGA ASIA Now in its 2025 edition, the event doubled down on its reputation as Asia-Pacific’s command centre for all things edible. Yet this year, the energy felt different – more trends, more transformation, more impact for a better food future. Asia-Pacific’s most influential F&B gathering has long been a place for people who think about food as more than sustenance. This year, it leaned further into that ambition, showcasing how eating has become an act of innovation, identity and even ideology. The geography of taste If borders are imaginary lines, this event blurred them ent

In the pre-dawn hours of group chats and Twitter threads, Thai BLINKs are once again bracing themselves – emotionally, spiritually, logistically – for the arrival of Blackpink. The quartet will return to Bangkok this October for a three-night stand at Rajamangala National Stadium, as part of their forthcoming Deadline World Tour.  This isn't their first dance with the Thai capital, nor is it likely to be their last. Promoted by Live Nation Tero, the concerts coincide with a long holiday weekend, prompting a flurry of hotel bookings, outfit planning and increasingly unhinged speculation about surprise guests. Most of the excitement, naturally, centres on Lalisa ‘Lisa’ Manobal – the group's Thai-born polymath whose very existence on home turf tends to spark a national mood shift. The numbers are already dizzying. Their previous tour – 2022–23’s Born Pink – attracted more than 1.8 million people across the globe, shattering records and redefining what a girl group could achieve on a stadium stage. It wasn’t so much a series of concerts as a cultural phenomenon. The Deadline tour seems poised to go even further, not least because Blackpink are no longer just a band – they are a symbol, a litmus test, a global export. If you’re planning to secure a seat – or a pit wristband – here’s everything you need to know about the girl group, from the dates and when general sale goes live to pricing. When is Blackpink’s world tour in Bangkok? They’re set to return to Rajamangala National Sta

Once a fleeting five-day escape in December, Wonderfruit has steadily grown into something far less seasonal and far more structural. What began as a festival of art, music, food and ideas now finds itself maturing – ten years on – not just in scale but in sensibility. Returning this year fo its 10th anniversary, it doesn’t so much arrive as it expands, evolving from an annual gathering into a full-bodied cultural platform that stretches beyond its original five-day frame. This year, the language has shifted. Wonderfruit is no longer content with being a destination on the calendar; it’s positioning itself as a continuous conversation, one that unfolds throughout the year in various forms – installations, workshops, residencies and quiet provocations. Photograph: Wonderfruit Looking forward to this year’s music spectacle in Thailand? Here’s everything you need to know about Wonderfruit 2025, including set times, ticket prices and travel details.    When and where is Wonderfruit? Wonderfruit returns for its tenth year from December 11-15 at Siam Country Club in Pattaya, Chonburi. The site is around a 30-minute drive from central Pattaya and approximately 150 kilometres, or two to three hours from Bangkok. Timings Gates open at midday, but your arrival time might depend on the type of ticket you hold. Keep in mind that the Main Gate and Box Office don’t operate around the clock – if you turn up after midnight, you won’t be allowed in until they reopen at 8am. When do Wonderfr

In the hush of Bangkok’s Phaya Thai district, the Asvin building holds its breath. Once the headquarters of Asvin Pictures Co., Ltd., it now cradles something else – something that murmurs instead of shouts. Octave Maze Asvin Collection by Wit Pimkanchanapong returns to this charged space, rethreading the needle of memory, film and sound. If February’s iteration, first unveiled during Bangkok Design Week, was the prelude, this is the fuller movement. Running from May 15-August 31, Pimkanchanapong’s latest venture is less sequel, more echo. It deepens its dialogue with the original installation, not by glossing it over with polish, but by slipping further into the cracks: layering context, summoning ghosts, listening to what walls might say if they could still speak. Here, featured tracks in this iteration include ‘Bua Khao’, ‘Nai Fan’, ‘Ploen’, ‘Lom Huan’, ‘Wan Phen’, ‘Dok Mai’, ‘Ruean Pae’ and ‘Hak Roo Sak Nit’. Each melody a fragment of a vanished world, each note a memory unspooling at its own pace. Photograph: asvinbangkok It is not a show in the usual sense. There are no plinths, no spotlighted statements. Instead, you move through it, or it moves through you. The architecture becomes score, your footsteps the rhythm, the air around you thick with ‘Lom Huan’ and ‘Dok Mai’. Each track unravels part of Asvin’s past – a studio born mid-century, swept into nostalgia and neglect, now pulsing softly back to life. Visitors are offered a slow, deliberate kind of looking and li

In a city where wellness is often synonymous with fluorescent-lit gyms or overpriced smoothies, an open-air park on Banthat Thong Road is offering something different: a weekend where health doesn’t come in a bottle, but in the form of second-hand denim, vegan curry and guided self-reflection. On May 24-25 from 10.30am-8.30pm, Chulalongkorn University Centenary Park hosts a free gathering that falls somewhere between a sustainability fair and a collective existential check-in. Organised by Vtopia, a group advocating for plant-based living, alongside Loopers, a platform for second-hand fashion. Food stalls sling drinks made with oat milk so velvety they might briefly repair your relationship with your parents. Goodmate is offering those. Then there’s POHSOP, an outfit slinging meat-free comfort food with the kind of deliberate cosiness usually reserved for rainy afternoons and existential doubt. Elsewhere, there are cafes for caffeine-dependent introspection, plus what appears to be a minor army of lifestyle vendors, all ready to tell you how a scented candle can fix your soul (or at least your condo). Photograph: soulfood.goodlife Still, the most quietly intense feature may be a workshop called Satir Iceberg Workshop, led by a coach trained in the Satir method – a therapeutic approach so niche that fewer than thirty people in Thailand are certified in it. Participants are encouraged to plumb the murky depths of childhood, internalised shame and whatever else might be crowdi

At Cannes this year, the applause was not just loud – it was seismic. A Useful Ghost, the feature debut by Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke, emerged from the Critics’ Week sidebar with the Grand Prize AMI Paris in hand. It’s the sort of win that quietly shifts things. Not only for the filmmaker, or for 185 Films, the Thai production house behind it, but for an entire region still largely overlooked in the palmares of European festivals. Only once before has an ASEAN film claimed this prize – Malaysia’s Tiger Stripes in 2023 – which makes A Useful Ghost the second, and possibly the strangest. The story opens with March, grieving the sudden death of his wife, Nat, who succumbed to dust pollution. Soon, he discovers her spirit has returned – in the body of a vacuum cleaner. As he navigates this surreal reunion, his mother’s factory is beset by another ghost, this time a disgruntled labourer who brings operations to a halt. The family, already unsettled, rejects Nat’s lingering presence. But she, determined and oddly practical, offers to exorcise the workplace in exchange for being acknowledged – not just as a ghost, but as a partner. It’s part satire, part seance, and entirely sincere in its portrayal of loss and cohabitation. Photograph: A Useful Ghost Photograph: A Useful Ghost Critics’ Week, dedicated to first and second-time directors, has always been where oddball gems surface. Yet Thai cinema’s presence here has been sporadic. It’s been a decade since Apichatpong Weerasetha

If you’ve ever hesitated to take your pet with you on a trip, the Red Line electric train is quietly rewriting the rules. Previously, furry friends were only allowed on board during weekends, making weekday travel something of a logistical headache for devoted owners. But from June 1, this changes entirely.  The city’s commuter rail now welcomes animals every day, inviting owners to bring their four-legged (cats and dogs only) companions to travel absolutely free of charge. Whether it’s a leisurely outing or a vet appointment, the service is a small but significant gesture towards making urban travel more inclusive – and a little less stressful.  Of course, this new pet-friendly policy isn’t a free-for-all. There are clear guidelines to keep everyone safe and comfortable.   Conditions: Pets must have valid identification documents – no exceptions. Passengers with animals are limited to the CARI carriage only, keeping everyone comfortable. Each person may bring one pet only, ensuring space and order on board. Animals must stay inside fully enclosed carriers with secure mesh ventilation, allowing them to see out without escaping. The train operator does not accept liability for any accidents or injuries involving pets – responsibility lies with the owner. Pet travel hours: Monday to Friday.5.30am-6.30am10am-5pm9pm-midnight Saturday, Sunday and public holidays.5.30am-midnight It’s an encouraging step forward, an understated celebration of companionship amid the city’s pulse.

In the thick of Los Angeles’ sprawl, where sunlight scorches more than it soothes, Ringgo Ancheta – better known as MNDSGN – crafted a sound that feels more like a lucid dream than a discography. Born in South New Jersey, he grew up on gospel harmonies echoing through church pews, breakbeats bleeding from boom boxes and the velvety R&B his older sisters had on loop. By 14, he was elbow-deep in beats, a teenager teaching himself the mechanics of emotion through drum machines and software glitches. Now, for the first time, MNDSGN is bringing his tapestry of grooves to Bangkok. This June, he’ll perform an intimate set of unreleased material and fan favourites, with vocals and keys at the fore. Photograph: Stones Throw His journey, however, doesn’t end in adolescent bedrooms. MNDSGN moved west, folding himself into the kaleidoscopic chaos of LA’s beat scene, finding kinship with the Low End Theory crowd before catching the ear of Stones Throw Records. The label released Yawn Zen (2014), Body Wash (2016) and Rare Pleasure (2021), each album a shapeshift in tone, but always unmistakably him. The last marked a departure – live band recordings, cinematic swells and an ensemble cast featuring the likes of Kiefer, Fousheé and Anna Wise, as if he’d finally decided to soundtrack the film he’d been scoring in his head all along. Though his own records trace an internal cosmos, MNDSGN’s fingerprints are scattered across contemporary R&B and hip-hop. He’s produced for Tyler, the Creator,

The Smashing Pumpkins have announced a tour stop in Bangkok, marking their first return to the city in nearly three decades. The last time they performed on Thai soil was in 1996, at the Thai-Japanese Stadium, back when 1979 felt eerily prescient rather than tinged with longing. This October, they’re set to play Union Hall, with a setlist that could include familiar favourites – ‘Tonight, Tonight’, ‘Bullet with Butterfly Wings’ and the aforemontioned ‘90s anthem – alongside tracks from recent projects Agohori Mhori Mei and the sprawling Atum: A Rock Opera in Three Acts. It’s a glimpse into nearly four decades of noise, angst and unexpectedly tender chaos.Tickets are now officially on sale, which means the countdown begins – for fans old enough to remember the first round, and those who’ve only known The Smashing Pumpkins as a name scrawled across a vintage T-shirt. Heading to Union Hall to catch the show? Here's what you need to know: timings, setlist predictions, and whether there’s still time to secure a spot. When are The Smashing Pumpkins playing at Union Hall?  Wednesday, 1 October. Mark your diary with something permanent. What are the timings? Doors open at 6.30pm. If recent shows are any indication, the band tends to go on around 7pm and finish by 9pm.  When do The Smashing Pumpkins tickets go on sale? General sale starts at 10am on Friday, May 16. Available via Trip.com here. Ticket prices Prices are split by zone: CAT V is B6,000, CAT S is B5,000 and CAT A comes

There’s a quiet power in sequins. Or rather, in who gets to wear them, how loudly, and where. Across the globe, drag has gone from the margins of nightclubs and basements to something more spectacular – more televised, more codified, more Instagrammable. Yet in Bangkok, drag isn’t simply performance. It’s protest, lineage, celebration, defiance. It’s the kind of beauty that doesn’t ask for permission. This year, that spirit takes centre stage at Drag Bangkok Festival, a three-day event co-organised by Yellow Channel and Bangkok Pride, held from May 30  to June 1 at Parc Paragon. Visibility is political. And in a country where LGBTQIA+ identities remain legally unprotected in many ways, the sight of 500 drag performers from around the world gathering under the Bangkok sun is more than fabulous. It’s necessary. Photograph: Thailand’s Drag Star The crown jewel of the festival is ‘Thailand’s Drag Star’ on May 30 at 5pm, a competition drawing in 20 contestants from across the country. They won’t just be judged on looks or lip-syncs. Instead, it’s a showcase of artistry rooted in Thai heritage, filtered through the aesthetics of high camp, punk defiance and sheer ingenuity. The theme  – Thaituristic Drag Scene – points toward a larger cultural ambition: to assert drag not only as entertainment, but as a legitimate, viable profession within Thailand’s creative economy. One with the power to generate income, craft identities and export local expression to international stages. Pho