🐉 Chinese New Year & Bangkok Highlights

I’m lucky enough to be in Asia during Chinese New Year 2024, specifically in Bangkok, Thailand. The holiday was held on the 10th of February, but the festive period started even before that day and culminates on the 24th of February. In this edition I will share information about the holiday and my insights from Bangkok city.

Table of Contents

• Chinese New Year

• Bangkok City

  • Museums & Art Galleries

  • Shopping

  • Coffee & Brunch

  • Entertainment

  • Restaurants & Cafés

• End Note

Chinese New Year

What is Chinese New Year exactly?

Spring Festival or Lunar New Year is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar. The holiday has a long history and has gained a lot of popularity even outside China, primarily in Asia. The first day of Chinese New Year begins on the new moon, the first lunar phase. This year’s Chinese zodiac is the Wood Dragon. Each year is also associated with one of five elements – Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water. Dragon in the Chinese culture generally symbolizes royalty, power, honour and harmony. Wood, however, represents vitality and creativity. The science behind the Chinese Zodiac is even more complicated than that, refer to the Chinese Zodiac if you want to learn more. Additionally, you can browse the Chinese New Year website to learn even more.

The main traditions are to install red decorations, cut paper arts, burn firecrackers and reunite with the family for a festive dinner. People usually wish wealth and good fortune. During this time of the year, it’s especially beautiful to walk around and be outside as there are so many decorations, red lanterns and celebration activities. The more red, the better! At night, it looks absolutely wonderful.

By the way, it seems to be another tradition of the Chinese to have a habit of asking questions that may make foreigners uncomfortable. And actually, that is true, I can confirm.

Bangkok City

Bangkok impressed me a lot! It’s such a huge, lively and lovely city! And it’s very international, too. The traffic is horrific but bearable, especially driving a moped. You can find so much action in everyday life, like that guy playing online poker while driving on his scooter… Everything is quite cheap and service is great.

Unfortunately, I had little time in the city, but I definitely want to spend more time here exploring. And then I could come up with an ultimate guide…

Let’s dive into the spots I could find! You can also see the full list directly in Google Maps.

Museums & Art Galleries

The city is a cultural centre as well and has many galleries and museums, so there is always some art to appreciate. If you don’t know where to start, head to the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre or Museum of Contemporary Art. I even managed to meet a Thai artist, Supicha Sutanthavibul, live at the Art and Culture Centre. Surely, you will find any other art space.

• bacc (Bangkok Art and Culture Centre) (Google Maps)

• MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) Bangkok (Google Maps)

Shopping

The shopping malls are enormous, it’s so easy to get lost wandering around. For everything you might need, you can note these two.

• ICONSIAM (Google Maps) – high-end stores included. Don’t forget to check out the observation deck – ICONSIAM Park.

• centralwOrld (Google Maps)

Coffee & Brunch

The city is huge, so there are many interesting options for coffee and brunch. You can clearly feel Australian design influence here.

• Toby's at Sala Daeng (Google Maps)

• Mono cafe bkk (Google Maps)

• Nick (Google Maps)

• Zen Den Coffee House (Google Maps)

• WWAPORTAL (Google Maps)

• Little Sunshine Cafe (Google Maps)

• Flat+White cafe (Google Maps)

• Luka Cafe (Google Maps) – They also sell homeware.

Entertainment

The city is famous for its vibrant street life. It’s stunning at night thanks to its neon and cyberpunk vibes. As you surely know, some of the locations were filmed in The Hangover Part II movie – Sky Bar, Soi Cowboy, etc. If in doubt, come to the Sukhumvit district.

• theCOMMONS (Google Maps) – amazing food court and community centre;

• The Warehouse Talat Noi (Google Maps) – creative space and a club at night;

• Sky Bar (Google Maps) – 64th floor, the views are breathtaking! This is the location where the Hangover 2 scene was filmed. Also, for the observant, let me know if you can spot a hole in the roof — that is Thailand in a nutshell.

• Soi Cowboy street (Google Maps) – Notable street;

• China Town (Google Maps)

• Tichuca Rooftop Bar (Google Maps)

• Octave Rooftop Lounge & Bar (Google Maps)

Restaurants & Cafés

The food scene is awesome in Bangkok. You can always find a new place to discover or food to try, especially at night markets. Perhaps, I would make a top list of them later. Here are some of my recommendations for restaurant dining.

• Zuma Bangkok (Google Maps) – Japanese;

• Eat Me Restaurant (Google Maps) – love the “greenery + great food + aesthetic interior” combo;

• Préf Café & Bar (Google Maps) – a French place with cosy seating;

• La VIE Bistronomy (Google Maps) – Asia Fusion;

• Bangkok Trading Post Bistro & Bar (Google Maps)

End Note

Hopefully you now have some better understanding of Chinese New Year and enjoyed the highlights from Bangkok as I did!

You can also see the full list directly in Google Maps.

新年快乐 (Xīn nián kuài lè!) — Happy New Year!

📍Bangkok, Thailand

— Ilya