Kaweewat Siwanartwong

Bangkok hides some of its best galleries down side streets and up quiet staircases, right in the thick of its busiest neighbourhoods. Hop off the BTS, walk for two minutes and you can land somewhere cool, calm and blissfully air-conditioned – free to linger over a painting and, perhaps, dodge another visitor’s tote bag. This month brings plenty of reasons to make the trip. Mystical by Nattiwut Choomanowat turns old Thai sayings and folk beliefs into playful paintings, while The Blursed Sandwich leaps  to 2067 and imagines monkeys inheriting human civilisation. For something quieter, A Gray Lens explores memory, identity and how we understand the world. WHITE EYES, meanwhile, removes the eyes from its portraits to ask how much we rely on a person’s gaze to read them. Whether you fancy a full gallery crawl, a slow afternoon with contemporary art or simply an escape the usual Bangkok routine, see what’s showing and make a day of it. Need more ideas? Explore our guides to Bangkok’s best bars, restaurants, parks, galleries and interviews, or work through our bucket list of the best things to do in Bangkok. From galleries to creative spaces, discover  Bangkok’s best spots to live the art life. Track down alleyway masterpieces and paint-splashed corners you might otherwise miss with our guide to the 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.

The weekend is here and the rain is back, but neither is much reason to stay at home. Take the umbrella that actually survives a Bangkok downpour: the calendar is packed with disco, dance, film, art, flowers and Korean culture. Start at El Mercado Disco Night, where the DJ keeps it firmly four-to-the-floor and the playlist runs on disco classics you already know every word to. Dance, or claim a bar stool and let everyone else do the sweating. For something quieter, TK Park screens Be My Dad in the 2026 Contemporary World Film Series. The Hungarian comedy follows a writer whose ex-girlfriend arrives with a seven-year-old boy she says is his son, then leaves him to care for the child while she works abroad. Hungary’s ambassador, HE Szilvia Szalóki, introduces the film before an Embassy of Hungary reception. Elsewhere: eight rooms of Vivienne Westwood jewellery at Central Chidlom, Sadeck Berrabah’s Murmuration Level 2 at the Thailand Cultural Centre and Bangkok Flower Festival at Pak Khlong Talat. Still undecided? Browse our guides to Bangkok’s best bars, restaurants, parks and galleries, or start ticking off the city’s essential things to do. Planning ahead? Map out the rest of this month with our monthly events guide and keep an eye on our latest picks of Bangkok’s best things to do. Subscribe to our free newsletter for the best of Bangkok, straight to your inbox.

According to psychology (the hangout edition), that amber-coloured glass with its soft, smooth foam has the power to soothe exhaustion after a hard week, revive you from that post-project slump and give your body a refreshing boost of energy. And in Bangkok, where the working day rarely finishes on time, beer drinking is now a long way from a casual afterthought. These days it comes with good music, sharp interiors and a proper crowd. You step off a hot, busy street, the door swings shut, the air-con hits and someone behind the bar is already pouring your first of the night. So whether you know your DDH IPA from your vanilla porter or simply want a cold pint, decent music and somewhere comfortable to spend the evening, these are 20 of the best beer bars in Bangkok. Also worth bookmarking: our guides to Bangkok’s best bars, restaurants, parks and galleries, plus 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.

Welcome to September, Bangkok’s wettest month – a proper test of patience involving umbrellas, soaked trainers and downpours timed for the moment you step outside. Make it through without losing a shoe to a flooded soi and you’ve earned a reward. Luckily, the city stays busy when the rain sets in. Art lovers have plenty to explore. Giving Life at Dib Bangkok gathers more than 160 works by 33 Thai and international artists, including kinetic-art pioneer Alexander Calder. For something more hands-on, Beyond the Rainbow explores the bond between people and their pets across three experiential zones – and you can bring yours along in a carrier or stroller. Music leans into nostalgia. Pink Symphonic Concert reworks songs from Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper and Barbie of Swan Lake for an orchestra of nearly 45 musicians, while The Click Five reunites in Bangkok. Art Battle Bangkok adds live painting, timed rounds and audience voting. Elsewhere, centralwOrld fills up with Disney characters and collectibles, Thailand Coffee Fest brings together everyone from farmers to baristas, and ‘Drag Race Thai Fans vs The World 3’ stars Raja Gemini, Morphine Love Dion and Gawdland. If that sounds like too much effort, ‘Do F**ing Nothing’ offers the opposite: pocket your phone, sit quietly and do nothing for an hour.  When in doubt, fall back on our guides to Bangkok’s best bars, restaurants, parks, galleries and interviews, or tick off our bucket list of the best things to do in Bangkok.

News of club closures and sober youngsters might have you thinking that nightlife is dead. We’re here to tell you – with proof! – that you couldn’t be further from the truth.  The way we go out might be different, but people are by no means staying in. Cities are adapting to our changing nightlife habits: as summers get hotter, street parties and rooftop raves are bigger than ever. Rather than heading to one or two big-name venues, locals are flocking to new nightlife districts for an evening of bar-hopping and curbside drinking. And, trust us, the nightclub isn’t going anywhere – in fact, communities and local governments have successfully rallied to save historic nightlife venues (in Berlin’s case, they’ve even managed to grant techno UNESCO-listed status). So, we’re here to celebrate going out in the city. From Bangkok to Berlin, Medellin to Mexico City, Time Out’s Best Cities for Nightlife with Intrepid Travel is the ultimate guide to today’s after-hours capitals. To curate the ranking, we went straight to the people who know their city best – the locals – and asked them to tell us all about the nightlife scene in their hometown right now. We asked them about everything from clubbing to cocktail bars, how affordable it is to go out at night, the overall quality of nightlife in their city, how easy it is to find community, and how safe, exciting, welcoming and diverse their city is. After crunching all that data, a panel of nightlife experts – Time Out’s city editors, cult

You might never have met Ray MacDonald, but if you grew up in Thailand in the 1990s he was part of your week all the same, on the telly after school, up on the big screen with your mates, or talking you through a train ride halfway across the map. Ray, one of the most recognisable faces of a generation of Thai youth, died on August 19. His career runs close to three decades and takes in film, television and the travel programmes that sent a lot of us reaching for an atlas. Plenty of people first know him from the show Teen Talk; others picture him in O-Negative, Dear Galileo or Phobia 2. And for a whole crowd of viewers he plays a travelling companion they never actually meet, someone whose journeys make the wider world seem that bit closer from the sofa. So his story runs richer than the word 'actor' lets on. Over the years he turns up as a shy young man, a hitman, a monk, a graphic designer and a traveller, each part catching a particular moment in his life and the times around it. Here are 14 of his screen roles, from his first day on set to the work that still brings him to mind.   Fun Bar Karaoke Photograph: Fun Bar Karaoke, 2540Ray Macdonal Ray's first screen appearance comes in Pen-ek Ratanaruang's debut feature, and it wins him Best Actor at the Suphannahong National Film Awards straight out of the gate. He plays Noi, a shy convenience-store worker who turns hitman the moment he falls asleep. The character is odd, cheeky and quietly lonely, and you can already hear

This year hands us more choice than we know what to do with, the parties rolling on til the end of December. A little strategy pays off. The schedule stretches from gentle seaside sets in the cooler months to giant year-end send-offs, so plan ahead.  Do you want a slow day by the water or a midnight thrash in a warehouse? Can you handle a tent, or does the shower queue alone put you off? Loyal to one sound or happy to gamble on whatever lands next, one of these has your name on it. Sandy chill-outs, rooftop hip-hop, jazz under the trees, all-night electronic marathons that run til dawn – Thailand serves the whole spread, often across a single week. From Bangkok venues to island beaches and jungle clearings, the map fills up quick. Yet to book? No stress, because we keep this rundown current with day parties still holding tickets. Get moving before you miss the big names. 808 Festival, DIAGE Festival, Wonderfruit and Tomorrowland Thailand all touch down on Thai soil in the months ahead. Give our guide a scroll, refreshed constantly as new line-ups drop, and pick out whatever grabs you. 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. Map out the rest of the 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. 

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.

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.

A rare chance to see early sculptures by Professor Silpa Bhirasri arrives with The Spirit of Sculptors, which brings together works he created in Italy before moving to Thailand. Most come from private collections and have never been shown to Thai audiences, making offering a useful look at the artist’s early years. His work appears alongside sculptures by master artist Vachara Prayoonkum and younger artist Wayuphat Rattanaphet, whose practices draw from Thai art traditions. Across three generations, the exhibition traces how Silpa’s influence continues to shape Thai sculpture. September 8-October 23. B250 for adults and B150 for students. Museum Pier. 10am-6pm

Ready for somewhere stranger than the average gallery visit? EXTRA UNIVERSE brings together work by 50 artists from 21/3 Studio at MOCA Museum of Contemporary Art, turning familiar things into unexpected forms. Rainbows appear without skies, homes have neither doors nor roofs and repeated paintings record days passing one layer at a time. Some works are packed with flowers, people and polka dots, while others keep things wonderfully simple. Instead of demanding a single interpretation, the exhibition asks visitors to see through the artists’ eyes and notice the small details that catch their attention. September 10-October 11. B400 for adults and B120 for students with a valid ID. MOCA Museum of Contemporary Art. 10am-6pm

What if home were more than somewhere to sleep, eat and keep your stuff? It’s OK to be Artist 2 invites visitors into just such a place, with more than 100 paintings, ceramics and objects by 39 autistic artists, under the theme ‘The Best Version of ME’. Laid out like a house, the exhibition leads you through a living room, bathroom and dressing room, revealing each artist’s idea of home along the way. You can also decorate keychains and hats at a workshop, browse the shop, use the photo booth and spot an electric passenger boat covered with the artists’ work cruising the Chao Phraya River. Now-September 27. Free entry. RCB Artery, River City Bangkok. 10am-8pm

A shift in light can transform a familiar scene,  and that simple idea drives SHADE, an exhibition by ‘Kiu’ Vanont Ruksiriphong. Drawing on his photography background, the artist uses watercolour to study light moving across people, flowers and everyday objects. Rather than dwelling on darkness, he focuses on the tones, colours and moods that emerge as the day changes. Each painting captures an unrepeatable moment, with loose brushwork adding his own reading of what he sees. Curated by Sophirat Muangkum, the exhibition is at FUJIFILM House of Photography in Siam Square One. September 1-28. Free entry. FUJIFILM House of Photography, Siam Square One. 10am-10pm

What does queer intimacy look like when desire and distance exist?  Intimate Elsewhere brings together five emerging Southeast Asian artists – Lucas Tan, Mark Hernandez, Thom Nguyen, Theerathat Thongbai and ACHI – to consider longing, memory, identity and place. Tan photographs seductive yet vulnerable poses shaped by dating-app culture, while Hernandez shows two people sharing a room but looking in opposite directions. Nguyen reworks traditional Asian painting through queer identities, while Theerathat and ACHI explore loss, nostalgia, spirituality and the body in landscapes and imagined spaces. September 10-November 14. Free entry. Adult Material. 11am-6pm

What happens when you look different from everyone around you? BE ALONE, the first solo exhibition by lek_lek, follows Lu and Al, two birds born with rare colour mutations that set them apart from their flocks. Through paintings birds and wings, the artist explores individuality, freedom and the search for somewhere to belong, as well as how rejection and isolation shape the way we see ourselves. The idea at its heart is simple: the differences that isolate us may also be the ones worth holding on to. September 12-October 4. Free entry. KYLA Gallery & Wine Bar. 3pm-midnight

Identity, survival and the awkward business of being human sit at the heart of Carry On Being. The exhibition also takes aim at the familiar idea of the tortured, romantic ‘artist’, asking what making art means in everyday life. At first glance, the works feel playful, with bright colours and a visual language rooted in contemporary pop art. Look longer and weightier ideas surface: isolation, uncertainty and the small contradictions involved in making sense of yourself and the world around you. September 20-October 25. Free entry. Joyman Gallery. 11am-6pm

Hungarian comedy Be My Dad screens at TK Park as part of the 2026 Contemporary World Film Series. Barna Keserű , a writer and former university professor, has 10 days to finish his new novel when his ex-girlfriend arrives with seven-year-old Samu and says the boy is his son. She leaves Barna to look after him while she works abroad, adding bedtime stories and unfamiliar parenting duties to an already pressing deadline. Samu’s constant requests for stories, however, gradually get the writer working again. Hungary’s ambassador, HE Szilvia Szalóki, introduces the film before a reception hosted by the Embassy of Hungary. September 20. Free for TK Park members; B20 for non-members. TK Park, centralwOrld. 4pm

Black Cabin Bar gets to the 21st night of September a day early with an Earth, Wind & Fire night on Sunday September 20. A live band takes on classics including ‘September’, ‘Boogie Wonderland’, ‘Let’s Groove’ and ‘Fantasy’, filling the room with brass, bass and falsetto. The setlist stays firmly with disco, funk and soul, so find a spot near the stage and prepare to sing along. September 20. Free entry. Black Cabin. 9.15pm onwards

Bangkok’s South Korean community gathers at GalileOasis in Ratchathewi for Oasis Seoul, a two-day programme of Korean design, crafts and culture. The free garden market brings together local Korean designers, artists and entrepreneurs selling tin furniture, clothing, cosmetics and handmade jewellery. Paid activities include a Mat Pilates class, a Korean ceremonial tea-making session and a private gayageum performance on the distinctive Korean string instrument.  September 19-20. Free garden market; selected activities B1,500. Reserve via VASANA SHOWROOM. GalileOasis.

A cast of 34 moves in tight unison in Murmuration Level 2, where a small arm gesture can ripple across the entire stage. French choreographer Sadeck Berrabah draws on hip hop styles including popping and tutting, arranging the dancers in formations inspired by birds in flight. Since its Paris premiere in 2023, the production has played to more than 300,000 people on a sold-out tour. Berrabah has also worked with the Grammy Awards, Olympic ceremonies and major pop acts, but here the interest lies in how the group moves without erasing the individual dancers. September 19.  B2,000-4,000 via ThaiTicketMajor. Main Hall, Thailand Cultural Centre. 7pm

You probably know Samyan for its market stalls,  late-night noodle shops and Chula students carrying iced coffees. But how closely have you noticed its colours? Slowcombo’s The Neighbour’s Palette: Seeing the Neighbourhood Through Colour takes a small group through the area with cameras and one simple challenge: pay attention to colour. Look for faded shophouse signs, old brick, tiled floors, shopfronts and whatever else catches your eye. Follow one shade or photograph the lot – either way, it is a good excuse to slow down and see a familiar neighbourhood differently. September 19. B590. Registration is through the Google Form. Slowcombo. 10am-3pm

Already plotting your next escape before this one's wrapped up? OSOTHO Fair is back for a second edition, and this year the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) hands the whole weekend over to storytelling. Three days on the lawn at Museum Siam, grills going and free to get in. Photograph: Museum SiamOSOTHO Fair The idea is simple – turn up, wander about and pick up a story of your own. Here's what's on. Food market Seventeen kitchens from Thailand's smaller cities pack up their best plates for Bangkok. Order homemade pizza from Chumphon at Mho Larn, charcoal skewers cooked Isan-meets-izakaya style at Lab Siab, or khao soi from Chiang Rai at Khao Soi Yai Kaew. Rong Khanom Yai serves traditional sweets more than a century old, all properly halal. Craft market Ten independent makers bring homeware and bags you'll actually use. Khortani weaves banana rope, Same.Thang restitches spent coffee sacks as colourful totes and Mae Teeta dyes indigo cloth by hand. Esan Cubism shapes earthenware from Isan folk art. WorkshopsMake something to carry home. Mould a Buddha figure with Esan Cubism, try cyanotype printing with the College of Fine Arts, build a kokedama moss ball with Garden Atlas, or start a junk journal with Yep Yep Handicraft. Drop-in sessions cover upcycled keychains, dried-flower craft and bookmarks. Travel talkOn Saturday September 19, DJ Pae Wisawa hosts a relaxed hour of chat about life on the road with Singha Wannasingh Prasertkul of Thuean Channel, Hom Pornsinee Iamsa-

Bangkok is about to get an aquarium unlike any other in the country. From late January 2027, Seacon Square Srinakarin becomes home to Thailand's first immersive aquarium, and it promises a fair bit more than the usual shuffle past a wall of glass. You'll find it inside MyScape on the mall's North Wing, a 1,400sqm space built with Index Creative Village under the concept 'Where Nature Becomes Art'. Nine zones bring together real fish, art, shifting light, colour and sound, plus a fair whack of immersive technology. Photograph: IndexCreativeVillagethailand first immersive aquarium Each room changes the mood as you move through water, colour and the slow drift of the fish towards spaces that read more like art installations than tanks. Living creatures and digital work sit side by side, and the team is keen to stress the quieter stuff too, from exhibition standards to how well the animals are actually looked after. It suits families, teenagers after somewhere to kill an afternoon, curious tourists and anyone chasing a fresh way to spend a Saturday. And this is only the start, with more creative spaces promised down the line. Thailand's first immersive aquarium opens at MyScape, North Wing, Seacon Square Srinakarin in late January 2027.  

Southeastern Gathering 2026 is a bluegrass festival now in its third year, run by the crew at Trad Bangkok, the people behind Bluegrass Underground Bangkok and Irish Session Bangkok. And this edition is the biggest one yet. Banjos and fiddles aren't the first sounds that spring to mind when you picture a night out in Bangkok. But a small, stubborn community of players keeps proving that bluegrass, Irish and old-time music belongs here as much as anywhere else. The clearest sign of how far the scene now reaches? A Thai-language logo, in for the first time this year. The team also stretches the run to six days, partly because not everyone can hop on a plane to hear the genre played live. Photograph: Bluegrass Underground BangkokBangkok   The line-up does plenty of the talking. Tray Wellington travels over from the US, a banjo player who won the 2024 Steve Martin Banjo Prize. Tokyo's Bluegrass Police turn up with the swagger behind an Instagram clip now sitting at 5 million views. Luke Coffey and Cameron Mather come from Ireland, two of the bigger names in traditional and progressive string playing. Local acts fill out the bill throughout the week. Four set-ups, four reasons to show up: The Pickin' Parlour. A private penthouse session capped at 20 people and running three hours. You sit shoulder to shoulder near the artists, with drinks flowing free for two of them.Welcome Jam. A relaxed open house to get things going, with canapés, a full bar and a loose jam between Thai and

You probably know Samyan for the food. The market stalls, the noodle shops that stay open late, the students drifting out of Chula with iced coffees in hand. But have you ever stopped to clock what colour the place actually is? That's the question behind Slowcombo's next outing. On September 19, they run The Neighbour's Palette: Seeing the Neighbourhood Through Colour, a small-group amble around Samyan built around a single prompt, colour. Photograph: bangkokmusiccityThe Neighbour's Palette: Seeing the Neighbourhood Through Colour The concept probably rings a bell from social media, where someone photographs an entire city through one shade, every red door and blue awning, then puts the shots side by side. Grouped together, they say something about a place that an ordinary snap never quite manages. They can even tell you as much about the person holding the camera as the streets in front of them. For Samyan, the palette might be the burnt orange of old brick, the washed-out blue of a shophouse sign or the particular yellow the light turns in the late afternoon. Shades you pass a hundred times a week and stop noticing, basically. Give it a few hours of proper attention, and the character of the area starts to show itself. Photograph: bangkokmusiccityThe Neighbour's Palette: Seeing the Neighbourhood Through Colour You won't get a rulebook. Pick one colour and hunt for it the whole way round, or shoot the lot, from shop doors and window frames to floor tiles, parked motorbik

15 days is a lot to give over to any film festival, but VIPA International Film Festival 2026 makes a decent case for it. From September 11 to 25, Thai PBS on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road hands its screens to cinema from all over the world, and to the audiences and filmmakers who want to sit in the same room and argue about it afterwards.  The programme's centrepiece is One Cut, a strand built entirely around the long take, meaning pictures shot in one continuous run with no edits and no cutting away to hide the joins. Five of them screen across the fortnight, and watching different directors crack the same problem five different ways is the kind of thing you rarely get on an ordinary night at the cinema. One fumble from an actor or the camera operator and the take restarts from the top, which is half the thrill of knowing what you're watching. Screenings aside, the two weeks fill up with talks from directors and actors, hands-on filmmaking workshops, panels for anyone working in the industry and exhibitions from artists and storytellers across a spread of fields. Most of it runs through the day, so you can plan around whatever you most want to catch. Festival highlights: September 11, opening day. Proceedings start with directors and actors in conversation, then an outdoor showing of One Cut Monk: วันคัต ดีเนาะ, Arunsak Ongla-or's 100-minute feature filmed in real time with nothing trimmed. It's September in Bangkok, so pack a poncho. September 12-13, first weekend. An all-day mar

We want to introduce everyone to QULTURE Bangkok, a Southern American kitchen a couple of minutes’ walk from Thonglor BTS, serving the food you’d get round a friend’s house in Mississippi. ‘90s R&B plays low, the cove lighting stays warm and nobody hurries you towards the door. Photograph: QULTURE BangkokSouthern American soul food in Thonglor The chef behind it, Brandon Orange, is a retired military veteran with Le Cordon Bleu training. He first came to Thailand for a software consulting job, then chose food instead, and now runs the Bangkok branch with his son Brian, plus a second spot in Pattaya. The room keeps things comfortable without fuss, all pale timber, a rough stone wall, brass touches and curved seating built for a long, slow lunch. Photograph: QULTURE BangkokSouthern American soul food in Thonglor The mocktails pull their weight too. Tropical combination mixes pineapple, coconut, lime and lychee under a soft froth, while the virgin peach blossom arrives in a flower-stuffed wooden box, spun over a flame at your table before you drink it. Theatrical, yes, but the ginger-peach and cranberry underneath genuinely work. Photograph: QULTURE BangkokSouthern American soul food in Thonglor Photograph: QULTURE BangkokSouthern American soul food in Thonglor For mains, Aunt Evelyn’s fried chicken comes crisp and properly seasoned, with rosemary running through it. But the one to order is the Mississippi blackened sea bass, a fillet under Cajun butter next to a mound o

Why do some cities become dream destinations for music lovers? The answer may not lie in hosting major concerts throughout the year, but in the way music becomes an integral part of daily life. Music is a vital force that fosters communities, strengthens cultural identity and drives the city's creative economy. This is the core idea behind the concept of a ‘Music City’. Enter Bangkok Music City – the city’s defining music event. Not quite a music festival, not quite a concert, it’s a chance for the city to serve up a huge artist showcase, packed with networking opportunities that allows emerging artists to meet with music industry leaders, record labels, producers and other professionals, both in Thailand and abroad. Guided by the idea of ‘Discover Asian Music’s Future,’ the event highlights the potential of Asian artists and positions them for the global stage. The event also features a speaking panel and music conference that bring together music industry professionals to share experiences, discuss current trends and network. These activities serve as an important pillar in developing and elevating Thai music to a global level. Photograph: Bangkok Music City2026 So here is the first wave: The Thai names The homegrown side gathers a batch of rising local acts: Apichat Pakwan, ‘BANK’ SORNRAM, DharmaDance, GYMV, JPBS, Mongkol, Montonn Jira, Réjizz, Sounds of Future Siam and srwks. The one plenty of people clock first is Montonn Jira, a Bangkok producer and one of the founder

We could've told you Bangkok is the city you leave already planning the next visit. Turns out the numbers agree. Agoda's latest Repeat Visitor Ranking puts us second among the Asian cities travellers come back to most, behind Tokyo and just ahead of Bali. The platform tallies accommodation bookings from the first half of 2026, and the results, out on Tuesday September 8, keep us in the top three for a second year. Tokyo holds first place, while Bali makes its top-three debut. Photograph: AWL ImagesBangkok Here's how the full top 10 shakes out: 1. Tokyo – Japan2. Bangkok – Thailand3. Bali – Indonesia4. Seoul – South Korea5. Osaka – Japan6. Da Nang – Vietnam7. Kuala Lumpur – Malaysia8. Fukuoka – Japan9. Taipei – Taiwan10. Johor Bahru – Malaysia Photograph: Sylvain SonnetBangkok Closer to home, the Thai favourites stay put. Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya, Chiang Mai and Hat Yai hold the same five places as last year. Agoda reckons it comes down to what each one is good for. We're the base for a wellness trip around the region; Phuket suits long stays and workations; Pattaya wins with families; Chiang Mai draws slow travellers and digital nomads; and Hat Yai stays the weekend regular for anyone popping over from Malaysia or Singapore. And here's the bit we're most chuffed about. Bangkok is officially the world's greatest city for nightlife in 2026. Time Out's Best Cities for Nightlife, put together with Intrepid Travel, rounds up where the world goes out after dark, built from surv

In under a year Dib Bangkok has built a reputation at home and abroad, and picked up a spot on TIME magazine's World's Greatest Places 2026 list along the way. Giving Life is a new exhibition of more than 160 works by 33 Thai and international artists, running from September 26 to May 3, 2027. Alexander Calder is the headline draw. He is the artist who took sculpture off its plinth. Where a traditional statue stands fixed in place, his mobiles hang from the ceiling and turn with the slightest current, moving as people pass through the gallery. He counts among the pioneers of Kinetic Art, and he changed what a sculpture could be. His work sits in the collections of MoMA, the Guggenheim and the Met in New York, the Centre Pompidou in Paris and Tate in London, which says plenty about the company he keeps. Seeing it in Bangkok, without booking a flight to any of them, is the part worth pausing on. This is not simply a matter of importing a famous name, though. Calder shares the space with 32 other artists, his pieces set in the same conversation as Thai and Asian art. 'Giving Life' also traces a formative stretch of the 1970s (B.E. 2513–2523), a turning point for Thailand's own art scene, shown beside them so the connections come through. The aim is a broader reading of what contemporary art holds, and how many directions it runs at once. 'Giving Life' runs from September 26-May 3, 2027 at Dib Bangkok. The museum opens Thursday to Monday, 10am to 7pm, and closes on Tuesdays and W

Peaches. Apricots. Long silences across a sun-baked Italian courtyard. If you already know exactly which novel we mean, then 'Call Me by Your Thirst: An Adult Bookclub' might be a lovely way to spend a midweek evening. This September 2, shortshorts.bkk invites you to sit, read and talk about literature in a small, unhurried room. Thai author Pim Wangtechawat leads a close reading of chosen passages from Call Me by Your Name, André Aciman's story of longing, restraint and desire set against a sweltering summer on the Italian Riviera. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Regi T. (@shortshorts.bkk) You don't need to turn up having read the book. Even if reading isn't usually your thing, you'll be right at home. The point isn't landing on the 'right' answer, but giving everyone room to read it however they like, from how language carries desire to the smaller details of the body, the senses, place, shame and freedom. Photograph: Call Me By Your Name Movie version (2017)Bangkok The night ends with a quiet prompt to think about what 'intimacy' actually means to each of us, and why a novel can sometimes say what we'd never manage out loud. You leave with a book to finish and, quite possibly, a few new people to talk it over with. 'Call Me by Your Thirst' runs on September 2, 6.30pm-8pm at 6th Fl Bangkok.  Take the BTS to Phrom Phong, Exit 4, walk through the clatter of Ebisu Shoten Izakaya and catch the rear lift up to a much calmer room. Entry B150

Here's some good news for your next night out. Bangkok has been officially crowned the world's greatest city for nightlife in 2026.  Time Out’s Best Cities for Nightlife with Intrepid Travel is the ultimate guide to today’s after-hours capitals, drawing on surveys of city-dwellers around the globe, mixed with verdicts from Time Out's worldwide network of writers.  Up from 13th in 2025, Bangkok has stormed to the top to beat a roll call of long-time party cities to the top. Sitting above the likes of Berlin, New York City, Melbourne and São Paulo that round out the top five. Photograph: ÆTHERBangkok If you ask us, it’s well deserved. With the boom in nightlife (of all kinds far beyond the clubs and bars, watch this space) there’s no better moment to head out and see what the city has to offer.  Clubs such as DUAL and Bar Temp fill up most nights, with big-name lineups and a litany of new rooftop bars opening across the city, far and wide.  Take ÆTHER, a cocktail bar on the 44th floor of Dusit Central Park, where the drinks come with 360-degree views. Or Sato San, a Japanese-style bar with an Isan twist on the 32nd floor of Moxy Bangkok Ratchaprasong. And then there’s Sala Saneha, a 70-year-old building on Soi Decho in Silom that squeezes in a wine bar, restaurant, small cinema and bookshop all under one roof, run by a team who simply want to 'make cinema romantic again'. Photograph: Tep BarBangkok For our writers, the real reason Bangkok takes the crown is not because of t

Ever wondered how a small ceramics studio in Chiang Mai ends up on a shelf in Shanghai? More and more, the route runs through a single website. That site is ThaiTradeChina.com, a free B2B marketplace from Thailand's Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP). The pitch is simple. It connects Thai makers straight with Chinese buyers, cuts out the middlemen and costs nothing to join, which counts for a lot when you're a two-person operation eyeing a market of 1.4 billion people. It suits smaller firms in particular, the ones that can't stretch to a Shanghai showroom or an agent on the ground. Photograph: Department of International Trade PromotionIn Partnership with Time Out The catalogue runs from food to homeware, with rice snacks and sauces alongside handwoven textiles, rattan furniture and glazed pottery. Buyers browse the range, read up on the brands and message distributors without leaving the page. This year the platform takes a stand at two of China's big home and design fairs. First is the Nanning Huaxia Home Expo (August 14-16), then Maison Shanghai & Modern Shanghai Design Week (September 7-10) in one of the country's busiest trading cities. Picture a Bangkok sauce-maker handing out spoonfuls between the furniture stands, swapping cards with a buyer from Guangzhou. Photograph: Department of International Trade PromotionIn Partnership with Time Out It's a neat shortcut – minus the usual trade-show small talk. And if you make something worth selling, gettin