Celebrations and festivals in Bangkok Thailand. From Buddhist religious festivals to global celebrations.
The Golden Mount Temple (Wat Sakret) is revered in Bangkok and houses the ash of Buddha. The name Golden Mount (Pho Khao Tong) refers to the shape of the gold (tong) chedi which tops the hill (pho khao). Every November the temple area hosts week-long festivities starting 7 days and 7 nights before the Full Moon …
Dancing dragons, snapping firecrackers, booming drums. This is what I expected at the opening ceremony of the Chinese New Year in Bangkok Chinatown but in the end, find none of them. Guess I should have researched better. I was in the centre of Bangkok’s Chinatown on Yaowarat Road to celebrate the Year of the Snake …
Chao Phraya River is the water of choice for visitors celebrating Loy Krathong in Bangkok. For me, I avoid it. The popular riverside areas are a pain to reach with heavy traffic, pushy crowds and in many cases you won’t even reach the river to float your own Krathong. Last visit we had someone do …
These are edited excerpts from our book A Potato in a Rice Field (Chapter 13): Today would be my first visit to the “Big Temple” of Broken Road, which is the central temple to the family’s strict Buddhist routine, and it would be the setting of many more ceremonies to come. But we do arrive …
Since living the dream life in Southeast Asia it has been hard to recreate the magical Christmases from back home. Christmas is celebrated in Thailand but it just doesn’t feel Christmasy. It drags along without magic, meaning or momentum only to end in lacklustre and a hangover. Tomorrow will be my third Christmas in Thailand. …
If dressed well, with a fresh box of doughnuts then yes – Songkran is annoying. Do you expect me to eat water soaked donuts…? Bastards. For those new to Songkran in Thailand it is the celebration for the Thai New Year where every street, in every town, in every region of Thailand goes a little …
A Thai tradition practised in the run-up to and early days of the New Year. The nine temple tour as you may have guessed tours nine different Buddhist Temples. The significance of ‘nine’ or in Thai ‘gao’ is the word also translates as ‘step’ as in ‘gao nah’ meaning ‘step forward’. Progressing to a better …
Fathers Day Thailand is celebrated on the King’s Birthday (King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 5th December). For the King’s Birthday, hundreds of thousands gather at the Royal Plaza many camping from days earlier. The surrounding streets are crowded from 04:00AM and a trek across Bangkok guarantees us views of yellow shirts and the back of people’s heads. …
While the adventurous trek to the opposite side of the city for Loy Krathong I (as always) opt for the easy option. Just a short motorbike taxi from my condo finds Benjasiri Park. Loy Krathong at Benjasiri Park is a quieter and less crowded alternative to the popular riverside locations. For directions to Benjasiri Park …
Since my very first visit to my local temple near Nang Rong Town in Isaan, there has always been this rickety, wooden float abandoned beneath a shelter next to the front temple hall. And it has always been a bit of an eye-sore, to be honest, where the craftsmanship looks to be no better than …
