Kaweewat Siwanartwong

Craving ice cream? Course you are. Bangkok has a way of sending even the most grown-up among us in search of something cold and sweet  – and the city’s gelato scene has never offered more ways to cool down, dairy-free included. The only problem is choosing. We’ve rounded up the spots worth seeking out, whether you fancy a cone or cup of the good stuff, soft-serve that actually delivers, a cheeky ice cream sandwich or a sundae big enough to share (or not). The choices border on absurd, in a good way: brioche and tacos, fairy floss clouds, candied bacon, charcoal, sea salt and ube. However you roll, here are 16 of the best gelato and ice cream spots across Bangkok and the greater metro area. Still undecided? You can always turn to our guides to Bangkok’s best bars, restaurants, parks and galleries, or consult our bucket list of the best things to do in Bangkok. Subscribe to our free newsletter for the best of Bangkok, straight to your inbox.

Social calendar looking a little bare? Relax – we’ve sorted it out. Bangkok always has something on, and this week is no exception. Let’s crack on. August is in full swing, which means the annual Tay Level 10 flea market is back. On the rooftop of S-Oasis in Chatuchak, the open-air car park fills with more than 80 stalls selling vintage clothing, film cameras, handmade goods, plants and street food. A short ride away, Song Wat Film Day: Craft & Indie Market brings cameras, vinyl, ceramics and local makers to one of Bangkok’s oldest trading streets, with plenty of coffee spots between browsing sessions. Cinema fans, clear your evenings. A Wong Kar Wai open-air weekend pairs Chungking Express and Fallen Angels with Pulp Fiction, Pretty Woman and Comrades: Almost a Love Story, all screened outdoors in Chinatown. Bring a fan and a little patience for the seating. By the water, Art Island Festival gathers riverside workshops, independent artists and DJ sets beside the Chao Phraya, while Use Loop Repeat 2026 fills Open House at Central Embassy with secondhand fashion and sustainable brands. Want to work up a sweat? BEATS & RUN & PARTY: THE FESTIVAL takes over Chulalongkorn University Stadium with group runs, outdoor Pilates, DJs and coffee. Peak Guitar X BMO brings orchestral music to Lumphini Hall, while Books and Boo rounds things off with blind-date books, wine and easy conversation for National Book Lovers Day. Still undecided? Browse our guides to Bangkok’s best bars, restaura

The rainy season may be the perfect excuse to stay curled up in bed, but unfortunately, August's lineup is too good to miss.  This month's calendar is packed with everything from dance performances, concerts, book festivals and expos to vintage markets and lively carnivals. Better yet, most of the events are indoors, so you can dodge the downpour without missing out. From indie and acoustic pop to alternative rock, music lovers have plenty to look forward to this month. Catch Matt Maltese and Phum Viphurit at Road to Melt Festival, swoon over Matthew Ifield's Close to Your Heart Tour, or bid farewell to Kodaline as they hit the stage for their final tour. Prefer something a little slower-paced? Head to the Bangkok Speculative Literature Festival for offline reading sessions, author talks and a book and craft market. If you've ever been curious about MBTI, ‘Type to Meet You’ is a community event where the four-letter personality types become a starting point for new friendships and fresh insights about yourself. And for those looking for a dance, join the swing dance classes at Lumphini Grand Ball, compete for a spot on the dance floor or simply enjoy the performances. The Siam Carnival Funfair brings classic thrills with roller coasters, games and carnival treats, while Nippon Haku offers a taste of Japan through a dedicated expo for anyone dreaming of a trip or work opportunities in the Land of the Rising Sun. Keeping track of what's coming next? Our Bangkok concert roundup

The rain is turning up almost every evening, so Bangkok’s wet season is well and truly here. Need an excuse to duck the next downpour? Go gallery hopping. August’s art calendar is packed with reasons to head out, from major openings and long-awaited reunions to hands-on installations and quietly compelling solo shows. Several new creative spaces are opening their doors, too, while standout exhibitions continue their runs. Got an hour between coffee stops or a whole Saturday afternoon to spare? These are the exhibitions to catch across Bangkok this month. Need more ideas? Browse our guides to Bangkok’s best bars, restaurants, parks, galleries and interviews, or start ticking off the best things to do in Bangkok. Regular gallery-goer or just art-curious? Follow our guide to live the art life. From alleyway masterpieces and paint-splashed corners hiding in plain sight, seek out Bangkok’s top spots to see street art. Subscribe to our free Time Out Bangkok newsletter and get the best of the city delivered straight to your inbox.

Vinyl ruled the way we listened long before streaming put millions of songs at our fingertips. Yet the warmth and crackle of a needle hitting the groove still draw collectors and casual listeners back to something a playlist cannot quite replicate. Listening bars are flourishing around the world, and Bangkok is no exception. New spots keep appearing down sois and above shophouses, paying as much attention to turntables, valve amplifiers and acoustics as to what lands in your glass. Everything is tuned for switching off and listening properly.  Whether you collect rare pressings, simply love a good song or fancy a change from the usual after-work haunt, few things beat watching a record turns slowly through the night becomes one of those small, perfect hours. That's the whole appeal. We round up 14 vinyl bars around Bangkok that stand out for their atmosphere, their selections and their pours. Pick the one that catches your eye, and go make a night of it. Still undecided? Turn to our guides to Bangkok’s best bars, restaurants, parks and galleries, or consult our bucket list of the best things to do in Bangkok. Map out the rest of this month with our guide to what’s on, and keep an eye on our picks of Bangkok’s best things to do. Subscribe to our free newsletter for the best of Bangkok, straight to your inbox.

Fried chicken belongs to everyone. From the United States to Korea and Taiwan, almost every country and culture has a version. But ask Bangkok diners where Thailand’s best comes from and one answer rises above the rest – Hat Yai.You know the type: skin that shatters, meat still steaming underneath and fried shallots piled so high they border on showing off, with sticky rice to catch whatever survives. It is Southern Thailand’s great contribution to the fried chicken canon, and the rest of the country has happily claimed it.The strange part is that half of Bangkok advertises Hat Yai fried chicken, yet very little tastes as it should. The marinade lacks depth, the oil goes tired or the shallots come straight from a packet. Anyone raised down south can tell in one bite.We went looking for the real deal. Four proper Hat Yai and Songkhla-style specialists made the cut, joined by one Bangkok fried chicken institution too good to leave out.Order at the counter, wait for the batch that is still spitting and eat with your hands. Obviously.   What is it?Hat Yai fried chicken begins long before the oil gets hot. Garlic, coriander root and white pepper worked are worked into the meat, which is left to marinate for hours before frying to a deep gold: crisp skin outside, juicy flesh within. Unlike fried chicken that depends on the dip, the seasoning runs through the meat – peppery, savoury and faintly herbal. Crisp, sweet fried shallots are scattered over the top by the fistful. Att a road

 What beats a margarita or two after a long day? Not much, honestly. And this month, Bangkok gets a whole run of them. PATRÓN launches Margarita Your Way, a month-long love letter to the world's most famous tequila cocktail, on now until July 31 and turning the city loose on flavour, discovery and a proper bit of self-expression. The heart of it all sits on the M Floor of Siam Paragon, where the Margarita Your Way Pop-Up poses one simple question. Which one are you?  Four personalities set the tone – classic, fruity, spicy and cool – each a different attitude, a different flavour, a different way of drinking. Are you the purist? The fruity show-off? The one who orders a chilli rim and dares the table to keep up? Photograph: PATRÓNMargarita Your Way Come Friday evening, the guest shifts hand space to some of Bangkok's sharpest bartenders, who reimagine the drink their own way. And the fun spills out across town. All July, PATRÓN teams up with a hand-picked cast of bars, restaurants, hotels and lifestyle spots. Sunset rooftops, buzzy nightlife dens, tucked-away cocktail hideaways and plush hotel lounges – each one shaking up its own take on the classic. So, thirsty yet? Here’s where to go.

When it comes to art and exhibitions, Bangkok has a lot. From poky little independent spaces to avant-garde galleries and the big crowd-pleasing museums, the city brims with shows that perplex, challenge, inspire, educate and leave you thoroughly awestruck. The trouble is, there's an absolute mountain to get through. Too much, you might say. So we're here to tell you where to spend your precious time. Whether you're a bona fide art connoisseur or simply the type who likes to stand about looking pensive in front of a canvas (we've all done it), these galleries promise to inspire and entertain in equal measure. So if you're wondering what's genuinely worth a trip across town, start right here. Have a browse through the best museum exhibitions and art in Bangkok at the moment, take your pick and make a day of it. We refresh this list regularly, so do pop back regularly for our latest and greatest picks.Stay one step ahead and map out your plans with our round-up of the best things to do in Bangkok. Whether you're a regular gallery-goer or just art-curious, these are Bangkok’s best spots to live the art life. From alleyway masterpieces to paint-splashed corners you might walk past without noticing, here are our top spots to see street art.

You've probably seen the look before you've heard the name. The head tilts back, the eyes go wide, there's a held beat of silence, and then the camera swings up to a neon skyline or a stretch of white sand. The man doing the looking is Travis Leon Price, and at 35, the Donegal-born creator has spent the last five years in Bangkok, amassing more than 500,000 followers across YouTube, TikTok and Instagram who tune in for that signature slow, upward gaze of awe before a skyline or a shoreline reveals itself. Photograph: Travis LeonTime Out Bangkok His tagline, 'Bringing you the magic of Asia', sounds like marketing until you realise he means every word of it. He has slept in a 24-hour Chinese spa for the price of a takeaway, crawled the bars of Yaowarat and built a whole second life on an iPhone and a refusal to film anything corny. As busy as you would imagine, we never actually speak on the phone. The whole conversation is over WhatsApp, his replies are in clusters from elsewhere while Bangkok goes grey around me, then the little 'typing…' that flickers and stalls and starts again. He writes the way he talks on camera: warm, fast, unbothered by punctuation, a 'haha' dropped in before he's finished a thought. So, everyone, pour yourself a rooftop something and settle in. What follows is a love letter to a city that refuses to let him leave. Photograph: Travis LeonTime Out Bangkok A long way from a famine village Donegal to Thailand is not exactly a casual commute, and Travi

Lesbian venues aren't exactly a dime a dozen in Bangkok. The city does a roaring trade in bars and clubs that pull a mainly gay and bi male crowd, yet permanent spaces built for queer women, or trans and non-binary folk, remain frustratingly thin on the ground. You can count the long-running ones on one hand and still have fingers spare. Happily, the tide turns. Social media crowns this the year of the 'Lesbian Renaissance', and Bangkok plays its part with gusto. A growing roster of roving club nights now fills the gap, popping up across Sukhumvit, Silom and beyond the usual haunts, each one carving out a proper safe space where queer women party on their own terms. Discrimination gets left firmly at the door, the line-ups skew fresh and local and the welcome runs warm. Some come monthly, some quarterly, a few keep their locations hush until the last minute, half the fun is the chase. So whether you fancy sweaty basement raves, sapphic disco or a low-key spot to nurse a beer and make connections, the scene finally delivers. Hunting for your new favourite haunt? Here's our pick of the bunch. These venues span everything from dancing clubs to cosy bars and they're all genuinely welcoming to all genders

Some drinks work like a key. Ask any writer hunched over a keyboard at midnight, chasing the messy business of being human, and you may hear something similar: sometimes the second glass loosens what the first one couldn’t. Literature and drinking have long kept close company. Some writers turned bars into second homes. Others wrote about them as places of exile, romance, loneliness, glamour or escape. And a few, before the books made their names, worked behind or around the bar themselves. So here's a round-up, inspired by Koktail Kuisine's list, of Bangkok bars with a literary streak. Some wear the theme boldly. Others keep it tucked into the wallpaper, the music, the mood or the way a cocktail arrives like a sentence someone has worked on for hours. Book lover? Cocktail snob? These are your places.

We arrive on Decho Road in the afternoon, the sun still strong outside but the air pressure dropping, hinting that rain is on its way. It is unusual to be here before opening time, so we slip in through the back door and climb the stairs to a wine bar. In this wine bar, a small cinema is hidden behind curtained walls on the floor above and the dusty smell of old parquet fills our senses. That, near enough, is the whole idea. Photograph: Lalitphat BumrungkarnSala Saneha At a moment when independent picture houses around town are quietly going dark, Natchanon 'Vana' Vana, Pakapol 'Meang' Srirongmuang and Dit Thanasresthavilai have chosen to walk the other way. They have taken things they love – movies, wine, food and books – and poured them into a close-to decade old building, with help from more than a dozen friends drawn from the world of entertainment and art.  The result is Sala Saneha, a place built on the faintly old-fashioned conviction that going out to the pictures ought to feel like romance again. Photograph: Lalitphat BumrungkarnSala Saneha I met the three of them upstairs in the bookshop, on soft chairs among the wood – cladding the walls, forming the bookshelf, the floor, the table, the chairs – and as the early afternoon light came through the leaves just outside the windows, we began to talk. Photograph: Lalitphat BumrungkarnSala Saneha A building with several past lives What was clear, is how exact they are about the conditions. The venue could not disturb

What is it? A Thai gelato brand launched in 2022, with a permanent counter on 7/F CentralWorld and a new G/F Emsphere branch opening August 7.  Why we love it: Texture is the hook: dense and chewy rather than airy, with restrained sweetness that lets the main ingredient come through. Each flavour gets its own house-made topping, turning a cup into a composed dessert, while the cones are baked in-store in earl grey or extra-dark cocoa. The tea sundaes are worth a look too, including Peach Dynasty: white peach oolong gelato with almond praline, raspberry sauce, crumble and cream cheese foam. Time Out tip: Check the current deals, or try the 5-Taste Palette sampler if you’d rather work your way across the range than commit to one flavour. G/F, Emsphere, Sukhumvit Road. Opens August 7; daily 10am-10pm. Call 02 269 1000

What is it? A small gelateria near Wat Pho, run by a founder who trained at a gelato university in Bologna. In 2025, Ghee added a second branch in the KJR55 Building on Soi Silom 7. Why we love it: This is where the flavours go off script. Coconut matcha, salted pistachio and black tea yuzu sorbet sit alongside Ispahan, which brings lychee, rose and raspberry together in one scoop. The Silom branch is tucked inside an office building, away from the tourist trail, and staff are happy to talk you through the less familiar combinations.  Time Out tip: Torn between two unusual pairings? Ask for a taste of each before committing to a scoop. Tha Tian: 394/21 Maha Rat Road, Phra Nakhon. Open Tue–Sat, 12.30pm–7pm; Sun 12.30pm–6pm. Silom: 3/F, KJR55 Building, Soi Silom 7. Call 081 987 6171.

What is it? A tiny roadside gelateria around Sukhumvit Soi 30, known for handcrafted scoops and waffle cones baked on site. Why we love it: The flavours make this little roadside stop worthwhile. Hazelnut chocolate puts the nut first without piling on the sugar, while banoffee turns the familiar pudding into something cold and dangerously easy to finish. A two-flavour cup costs B100, with a crisp waffle bowl another B30, and the frequently changing line-up gives regulars a reason to return. Time Out tip: With flavours changing regularly, ask for a taste before you settle on your pairing. Sukhumvit Road, around Soi 30. Temporarily closed at time of writing; check @bumblebeegelato for reopening details before visiting or call 081 832 9911

A weekend by the river rarely needs much persuasion, especially with art, music and a reason to slow down. Spend the afternoon browsing original prints, ceramics and handmade pieces, then grab a drink and find a seat by the water as long-tail boats pass and the late-afternoon light settles across the river. After dark, DJs take over a stage aboard a moored boat, shifting the gathering from relaxed market to open-air dance floor without anyone having to move far. August 9. Free entry. Bangkok Island Pier. 4pm-midnight

National Book Lovers Day gets a sociable twist at Books and Boo, an evening that swaps silent reading for drinks, conversation and a little literary matchmaking. Browse blind-date books wrapped to keep their titles secret, many drawn from short-story collections and romantasy favourites with a decidedly grown-up edge. Bring your partner, gather some friends or turn up solo, then settle in with a drink and compare recommendations with fellow readers. A photo corner adds to the fun, while the bar offers 10 percent off drinks and 20 percent off bottles of wine. Even if you leave without a new romance, you’ll probably go home with a good book. August 9. Free entry. 6TH.FL. 6pm-9pm

August brings a packed live-performance programme to Lumphini Hall, as the Bangkok Metropolitan Orchestra fills the calendar with symphony concerts, dance nights and stage shows. One highlight comes on August 8, when young guitarist Pornpawit ‘Peak Guitar’ Sriwarom takes centre stage for Peak Guitar X BMO, performing with the full orchestra under conductor Sorapot Worasaeng. Violinist Chonsorn Chantrapaoraya joins the line-up, with vocals from Pond Patthanan Ajon-ong, Fish Kritthath Phisutthiwong and Kongprab Panithan Juangkhrut. Set inside the park, the venue makes an easy early-evening stop after a walk around Lumphini, with the music starting as the city cools down. August 8. Free entry. Lumphini Hall. From 5pm

Running clubs, Pilates regulars, coffee drinkers and music fans share the same track when BEATS & RUN & PARTY: THE FESTIVAL takes over Chulalongkorn University Stadium. Organised by Sawasdee Cup, the one-day gathering swaps competition for community: join a group run, stretch through one of Bangkok’s biggest outdoor Pilates sessions or cool off in an ice bath before settling in with coffee and DJ sets. Families are covered too, thanks to Kids Run and Kids Rave, while more than 20 games and wellness activities keep things moving. Stay active or find a patch of shade and watch it all unfold – the festival leaves plenty of room to go at your own pace. August 8. B190-390 via here. Chulalongkorn University Stadium. 3pm-10pm

Bangkok’s growing secondhand scene has another reason to gather as Use Loop Repeat 2026 returns to Open House at Central Embassy. Organised with Loopers, this year’s edition, ‘Designed by Her: Discover Stories Made to Matter’, celebrates women-led creativity through practical ideas rather than lofty statements. Opening day brings talks with Pancake Khemanit, Samich Petdee and Aim Phumipat, alongside workshops turning bottle caps, food waste and discarded packaging into everyday objects. More than 30 sustainable brands also set up shop. The three-week programme makes an easy stop whether you’re hunting for thoughtful design, browsing secondhand finds or escaping the afternoon heat. August 3-23. Free entry. Open House at Central Embassy. 10am-9pm

Fans counting down to Olivia Rodrigo’s next chapter can stop at Piccolo Vicolo, where all three branches are hosting an album-inspired pop-up until August 9. The Sam Yot café gets the full treatment with exclusive photo spots, while every location serves themed drinks named after tracks from you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love. Expect the soundtrack throughout the day, handwritten fan messages across the walls and plenty of purple details. Order a featured drink, scan the in-store QR code and save the album on Spotify or Apple Music to receive one of five limited-edition button badges, while stocks last. Until August 9. Free entry. All three Piccolo Vicolo branches. 9am-5pm

Some moments still make more sense on film. The measured click of a shutter, the wait for a roll to return from the lab and the slightly unpredictable colours all explain why analogue photography refuses to disappear. Song Wat Film Day: Craft & Indie Market takes over the century-old Gate Alley, where weathered shophouses, family-run wholesalers and boats passing on the Chao Phraya provide a fitting backdrop. Browse film cameras, vinyl, handmade goods and accessories, then stop for a craft drink or glass of wine.  August 4-12. Free entry. 100-Year-Old Gate Alley, Song Wat. 10am-8pm

Looking for an easy post-work wander?  Tay Level 10 returns to the rooftop of S-Oasis in Chatuchak, bringing more than 80 stalls to an open-air car park with sweeping city views and, this time, a roof in case the weather turns. The market has become a regular meeting point for the Mo Chit and Chatuchak crowd: browse vintage clothes, film cameras, handmade goods, plants and homeware, then settle in with street food and a cold drink. It’s a short walk from Mo Chit BTS and Chatuchak Park MRT, and a free shuttle makes the final stretch even easier. August 6-8. Free entry. S-Oasis. Midday-8pm

Lawry’s The Prime Rib – born in Beverly Hills in 1938 and credited with pioneering the carved-at-the-table Prime Rib ritual – brings its iconic experience to Ratchaprasong. The brand’s first and only restaurant in Thailand, and its 12th worldwide, makes its legendary Prime Rib closer than ever, just a Skytrain ride away. So what is actually on your table? Quite a lot, as it happens. And nearly nine decades of fuss have gone into every bit of it. The beef, the trolley and the wait that's worth it Start where you should: the Prime Rib. Lawry's Bangkok works with premium U.S. cuts, including Certified Angus Beef, chosen for exceptional marbling, rich flavour and remarkable consistency, so your second visit is every bit as satisfying as your first. The beef is wet-aged for a minimum of 21 days, allowing it to become more tender while preserving its natural juiciness and depth of flavour. It is then slow-roasted using techniques refined over generations, producing Prime Rib that is evenly cooked from the rosy centre to the outer edge, with no unappealing grey band in sight. Then comes the show. A Master Carver wheels a gleaming Silver Cart to your table and slices your portion to order, right there, exactly how you like it. It's been the brand's signature flourish since the Frank and Van de Kamp days, when two stubborn men opened a restaurant dedicated almost entirely to one dish and gambled that precision would beat variety. They were right. Alongside the beef sits a yorkshire p

Another one for the Bangkok dance floor. Transport turns 10 this year and, to mark it, the collective brings Japan's Rainbow Disco Club to Chang Chui, the arts park with a grounded aeroplane bolted to the middle of it, on Saturday November 7. That festival is a day-party cult back home, the kind people book flights around. Doors open at midday and don't shut till midnight, 12 hours under the disco ball. Photograph: transportmusicbkkBangkok Rewind to 2017. Bangkok's clubs run cold back then, all hard techno and minimal, sharp edges and colder aircon, the sort of night that keeps you at arm's length. Three DJs want the opposite. Mr Mowgli, Seelie and Brent Burns build a floor that hugs you back, where the music carries as much soul as rhythm. Softer at the edges. Warmer in the middle. The crowd stays loyal because the care shows. Every booking comes chosen, never chucked on a flyer to shift tickets. Pam Anantr is last year's breakout resident. Dita and Gero make their names across the region. Running Hot, Telephones, Eternal Love and Romain FX all pass through, plus a run of UK selectors in Heels & Souls, Hand-Made and Sam Don. The guest list reads like a group chat of people who actually trust each other, and the room clocks it. Photograph: transportmusicbkkBangkok On the day, Funktion One handles the sound and the crew's old friends Human Spectrum paint the walls. The headliner is BENEDEK, an LA and Tokyo producer making his debut for the party and a friend to both houses

Missed your shot at a countryside escape this year? Don't stress. You don't need to leave the city to lose an afternoon among endless blooms, because the Colourful Flora Festival is back, and it's completely free. For eight days only, Queen Sirikit Park becomes a technicolour wonderland home to more than 260,000 flowering plants. There’s celosia, globe amaranth, impatiens, American marigolds, cosmos, zinnias, orchids and plenty more, all arranged in a riot of colour that's practically begging to be photographed. Photograph: tasteofwanderQueen Sirikit Park The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration goes all out here, filling the grounds with over 200,000 ornamental varieties plus 60,000 Curcuma across eight types, from Snow White and Lanna Snow to Orange Impress. It's not all petals, either. Wander around and you find exhibitions, workshops, a plant and flower market, local produce stalls, plant competitions and hands-on demos covering everything from mushroom growing and veg patches to Arabica coffee and sturgeon farming. Give yourself time for a slow lap of the entire site, because fresh corners keep popping up every few steps. Our top tip? Rock up in the late afternoon, when the golden light hits just right and the whole park glows. And here's the sweetener – swing by and you walk away with a free tree seedling for the garden.  The Colourful Flora Festival runs from August 8 to 13, 2026, 10am to 8pm, at Queen Sirikit Park in Chatuchak. Getting there: hop off at Chatuchak Par

Ask a room full of pop devotees to name the original 'Mother' and you'll hear it in unison. Long before the word became a badge of honour across queer culture, Madonna had already claimed it, reinventing herself with every record and handing everyone else permission to do the same. Photograph: siravarietyBangkok, Thailand Which makes the timing rather perfect. Thailand marks Wan Mae, its own Mother's Day, on August 12, so the evening before GO GRRRLS crowns a different kind of mother altogether with CLUB CONFESSIONS.  The party takes over FV39 on Sukhumvit 39 from 9pm ‘til 2am on August 11, and it splits across two rooms with two very different missions. The Confessions Lounge is the sentimental one, all singing along and remembering the deep cuts. Next door, Confessions on the Dancefloor asks nothing of you but movement, sweat and release. Queen JAI SIRA headlines with an exclusive Confessions II performance, while Azxula and crew bring vogue and ballroom to the floor. A rotating cast of DJs keeps things moving all night, among them Dookie, Peachji, Soshine, Craskey, Khun Na and Happy Bara. Presiding over the whole affair as door diva and host is the one and only Chaofah Van Cartier. Photograph: GO GRRRLSBangkok Turn up in full drag and you sail straight past the queue for free, no ticket needed. Everyone else pays B450 for an early-bird spot online, B550 in advance or B650 on the night, and every option throws in a complimentary drink to start you off. Book your seat he

Glen Hansard’s sudden death, aged 56, in a motorcycle crash outside Dublin on July 29 was felt far beyond Ireland. The singer-songwriter’s battered guitar and raw, unmistakable voice gave Once (2007) much of its beating heart, so there could hardly be a more fitting tribute than putting the film back on the screen. That’s exactly what microcinemas across Thailand are doing throughout August. Photograph: ONCE (2007)ONCE re-screening If you need reminding, Once follows a Dublin street busker and Czech flower seller who meet over a single week, make music together and fall quietly in love before going their separate ways. Made on a shoestring, the indie musical found an audience far beyond Dublin, while Falling Slowly won the Oscar for Best Original Song.  Micro Cinema is handling the licence, with every screening presented with Thai subtitles. Several venues are also adding live music. Bangkok’s Doc Cub & Friends has a late-August screening planned, with the exact date still to come. Here’s the schedule as currently announced. Photograph: ONCE (2007)ONCE re-screening Screening schedule and venues: Bangkok (Doc Club): late August  at Doc Club & Friends;  details to follow Lopburi (Loprama): Friday, August 7, 7pm at Fairboy Chiang Mai (Wednesday Shine & Punya Movie Club): Tuesday, August 11 and Thursday, August 20 at Wednesday Shine Cinema, with live music Phitsanulok (Kru June Art House): Thursday, August 13, 6pm at Kru June Art House Songkhla (dot.b): Sunday, August 16, 2p

August in Bangkok means rain, and lots of it. But rather than sulk under an umbrella, why not let an orchestra soundtrack your month instead? Lumphini Hall throws open its doors for a run of free performances. Eight events across the month, most of them starting around 5pm, which means you can wander over after work, grab a spot and settle in as the light drops over the park outside. There are guitar solos backed by an orchestra, a classical concert series and ballroom nights that run late.  Photograph: Bangkok Metropolitan OrchestraBangkok Here's what's on: August 5, 4.30pm – Choir in the Park by International Choral Performance. August 8, 5pm – Peak Guitar X BMO, a guitar solo with orchestra by Bangkok Metropolitan Orchestra. August 15, 5pm – Swing Through Time with The Stumblrs Swing and the Suntaraporn Band. August 16, 5pm – Sweet Melodies Resounding in Krungthep by Bangkok Luk Krung. August 21, 5.30pm – Ana Maria Mosquera, presented by the Embassy of Colombia (still awaiting confirmation). August 22, 5pm – Ballroom Dancing at Lumphini Hall by Bangkok Ballroom Dance. August 23, 3.45pm – Swing Partout Lumpini Grand Ball by Jelly Roll Jazz Club. August 29, 5pm – BMO Classical Concert Series by Bangkok Metropolitan Orchestra. Pre-registration applies to August 22-23 events only. For August 22, sign up via the Music Division BKK Facebook page. For August 23, book through the Jelly Roll Jazz Club website. Keep an eye on the Bangkok Metropolitan Orchestra Facebook page for

Calling all book lovers: clear your weekend and give your favourite reads the send-off they deserve at the Reshelf Secondhand Book Market, the first-ever market from Reshelf, the platform where secondhand books change hands and start again. It's a simple idea at heart. Every book you've loved and finished is just sitting on the shelf, spine cracked, gathering dust. This is where it finds someone new. The market runs August 29-30, 10am-6 pm, at Ninetails on Radio Cafe & Bar, and it costs you nothing. Photograph: The Commons ThonglorBangkok The stalls come stacked with pre-loved paperbacks and hardbacks, chosen with real care and priced to move. Expect to crouch, flip covers and lose track of time. Then there's the bit everyone talks about: the Blind Book Swap. You bring something from home you're ready to release, wrap it in paper so nobody can peek, decorate it with the pens, stickers and tape laid out on the table and pass it on to a stranger. The fun keeps going as you wander. Collect stickers from the booths as you browse, gather enough and you can redeem a Lucky Draw at the Reshelf table. Over in the postcard corner, you write a note to your future self, post it in the mailbox and wait. It reaches you at the end of the year, straight from you to you.  Register ahead here and pick up a special gift when you arrive. One last thing before you head out the door: bring a tote bag. You're going to need it.

Everyone's invited to wind the clock back to the 1930s at 'Swing in the Park: SWING THROUGH TIME', a dance night that brings the legendary Lumpini Hall back to life. The ballroom sits right by the park's edge, and at more than ninety years old it's one of the oldest surviving dance venues in the city. For one evening it fills again with music, live performances and plenty of vintage footwork. Photograph: The HopBangkok The event is a collaboration between the Culture, Sports and Tourism Department of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and Bangkok Swing, the local community of enthusiasts who meet regularly to dance. Together they dress the hall with warm lighting and sound and bring in live sets from The Stumblrs and the beloved Suntharaporn orchestra, both playing the timeless classics that first filled rooms like this one.  Complete beginners get a Swing Dance Open Class first, a gentle beginner-friendly lesson that keeps things simple before you join everyone on the social floor. No experience required, no partner required and no pressure. You learn a few basic steps, then dance them alongside a room full of strangers picking up the same moves at the same time. A free night that hands the city back a piece of its own history while keeping the performing arts alive and open to all, rather than tucked behind a ticket price. Come alone or bring friends, the point is that anyone can walk in. The whole thing runs on Saturday, August 15, from 5pm to 8pm at Lumpini Hall,

Thai fans can't get enough of Maroon 5. Or maybe Maroon 5 can't get enough of Bangkok. Either way, the much-loved American pop-rock band comes back to the city on February 9, 2027 at Impact Arena, marking Adam Levine's eighth visit. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Live Nation Tero (@livenationth) The Los Angeles band trades in radio hits that blend pop, rock and funk. 'Moves Like Jagger'. 'Makes Me Wonder'. 'Sugar'. 'She Will Be Loved'. Last year they release a new album, Love Is Like, home to 'Priceless' featuring Thailand's own LISA. 'Heroine' follows as the latest single. Photograph: Live Nation TeroMaroon 5 live in Bangkok 2027 Tickets start at B2,800 and climb to B8,500, with a middle tier between B5,300 and B6,300. VIP packages go for B9,700 and B10,800.  Presale runs August 18-20 at 10am, general sale opens August 21 at the same hour. You'll find everything at www.livenationtero.co.th. Bangkok keeps drawing the big names this year. Givēon and Central Cee both play the city, along with Kraftwerk and Post Malone, and BTS close things out in December. If you've been waiting for an excuse to sort out your February plans, here it is.  

Anyone who loves a beach club knows it's really a hub of lifestyle experiences for people who enjoy a day by the sea – the food, the drinks, the sunbeds, the swimming pools, the boutique shops and the beachfront activities.  Well, Phuket has just welcomed a newcomer to that scene in August 2025, the awesome 'RAVA Beach Club', stretched along 180 metres of Bang Tao Beach that now holds the title of Thailand's longest beach club.  Photograph: Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts PhuketRAVA Beach Club The headline news is that it hands Sundays over to something special: RAVA Beach Club now launches Pura Vida Brunch, a proper celebration of cracking food, easy lounging and beachfront living. It carries on the legacy of Banyan Tree Phuket's much-loved spreads, reworked for a younger, sharper crowd. Every Sunday from midday to 3.30pm, guests eat, swim and stretch out on sunbeds as one seamless affair, with three infinity pools thrown in. It costs B2,900 per person and includes a bottle of house wine per couple.  Photograph: Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts PhuketRAVA Beach Club The main event The cooked seafood bar piles on New Zealand mussels, blue swimmer crab, king prawns and local prawns – all of which are given RAVA's signature charcoal-grilled treatment. A charcuterie selection brings thinly sliced Wagyu bresaola, Serrano ham, pastrami and mortadella next to local cheeses and homemade sourdough, while the sausage sizzle counter fires up locally crafted bangers hot off the grill. 

Cloud 11 is having a moment. Bangkok’s newest creative landmark on Sukhumvit 101 is a vast complex built for a new generation of makers – from musicians and artists to filmmakers, cooks, athletes – plus anyone who simply wants to hang out,  swap ideas and drink strong coffee. Now it has a suitably ambitious  housewarming party. DIAGE Festival is back. First staged in 2023, the digital art and electronic music festival returns at its new home,  Cloud 11, from October 31-November 1. Photograph: diage.festival2026 Anyone who caught the debut knows the scale of the production. Lighting and sound are engineered to the standards associated with major European festivals, while immersive visuals from a diverse roster of artists fill giant screens. It all moves to sets from Thai and international DJs, electronic acts and live bands. Photograph: diage.festivalBangkok To mark its return, the festival unveils ‘Continental Affair (DIAGE Deconstruction)’, a reimagining of the cult track by pioneering Thai electronic musician Cyndi Seui, aka Cesar B. de Guzman – a fitting nod to the local scene’s roots.  Music is only part of the programme. Live coding sessions, talks and workshops fill the daytime hours, led by respected names from Thailand and overseas. There should be plenty to explore, whether you’re an electronic music devotee or contemporary art obsessive. Missed the first edition? The new venue promises the festival’s best version yet. DIAGE 2026 Blind Tickets go on sale soon, be

The magic comes back, and this time it arrives with a 92-piece orchestra breathing down your neck. grab your wand, because the Triwizard Tournament lands in Bangkok. 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in Concert' takes over UOB LIVE at Emsphere on Saturday November 21 at 7pm, and it promises the sort of evening that turns grown adults back to wide-eyed eleven-year-olds still waiting on a Hogwarts letter. Photograph: harrypotterinconcertBangkok Here's how it works. The whole film plays across a 40-foot screen in crisp high-definition while Patrick Doyle's score gets performed live, every last note of it, by an orchestra and choir under the baton of Timothy Henty.  And what a thing it is. The trembling strings when the Dementors glide across the pitch. The brass that hauls those broomsticks skyward. The haunting melodies that make growing up at Hogwarts something monumental rather than merely fictional. You know these tunes even when you swear you don't. They live somewhere at the back of your skull, waiting. View this post on Instagram A post shared by UOBLIVE (@uoblive_bangkok) It's nostalgia, sharpened and rearranged. Cinema and symphony sharing one room, reminding you exactly why the spell still holds. Tickets open on August 8 at noon via eventpop.me. Bangkok's about to get very, very Gryffindor.

If someone asked you to picture the word 'sato', what's the first image that comes to mind? For a lot of people it's a strong-smelling homemade rice liquor brewed somewhere deep in the countryside, the sort of thing that rarely reaches everyday life and seems faintly unfamiliar when it does. But that picture may no longer describe Thai sato in 2026. Because sato has changed. Quietly, and then all at once. Over the past few years this humble community ferment has grown up, and grown up with real ambition. Producers now labour over quality, ingredients, technique and presentation the way a sommelier labours over a vintage, and the results speak for themselves. Younger drinkers are listening. So are visitors from abroad, who recognise that Thailand has been sitting on its own answer to Japanese sake or Korean makgeolli this whole time. And it refuses to be one thing anymore. Sato branches out now: sparkling versions, alcohol-free versions, even sato gelato, which is as delicious and slightly mad as it sounds. Makers pick their rice varieties carefully, control the fermentation down to the temperature and give every label a personality of its own. Bottles come with proper labels, tasting notes and a name you can remember. This is a drink with a story to tell, with layers worth talking about, the way people talk about natural wine or a good craft beer. So how far has it actually come? 'SATO SO GOOD – Original Thai Sip' answers the question better than words can. Organised by Prach