Description: Hosted by one of the city’s top hotels, the Four Seasons Bangkok, this is a culinary delight and one of Bangkok’s best food events. For ten days the hotel calls on a string of international chefs to cook up their best. And this during the same month as the vegetarian festival!

 

Description: A festival more famous in Phuket island in the south, but this ten-day event is followed by Bangkok’s huge Chinese population as well. Many Chinese and some Thai restaurants, particularly the street-side variety, change their menu to all vegetarian fare. The best place to experience it is Chinatown.

 

Description: Temple fairs remain common in some parts of the country but are rare in Bangkok, and this is a good one by any measure. The grounds within the wat and Golden Mount come alive with stalls selling holy items and other more commercial goods. The celebration is for pilgrims to respect the holy items in the wat and dates back many years. Temple fairs are a time to catch Thais at their best “sanuk,” enjoying themselves.

 

Description: Held on the full moon of the 12th lunar month, this is one of Thailand’s most peaceful festivals. Its origins are debated but certainly centuries old. Thais float lotus-shaped vessels with flowers and candles to wash away the past year’s problems and sins. Traditionally they are made of banana leaves and other natural materials, but modern times have seen Styrofoam, which has been justly criticized.

 

Description: The king is a jazz buff; this festival follows his birthday and is meant to honor him, and let everyone else in on the joy of jazz. The event lasts for three days and internationally known musicians are usually present and taking part.

 

Description: Thais revere their King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who celebrated his 60th jubilee in June 2006, making him the world’s longest-serving monarch. His birthday, which is also Father’s Day, is when Thais pay their special respects. The city is blanketed with huge portraits of the sovereign and buildings and other structures are covered in small lights. 2008 marks his 81th birthday.

 

Description: Thais also celebrate New Year’s with gusto, particularly in Bangkok, where the big hotels compete for the best bash. The riverside hotels stagger their fireworks displays to turn the evening into one long show. Thailand now changes the date on January 1 each year, and not their traditional New Year in April. 2008 is 2551 in the Thai calendar.

 

Description: The two annual fairs organized by the Thai Gem & Jewelry Association have become international in size nowadays, competing with the Hong Kong show. The March fair is generally bigger, bringing in more than 30,000 visitors and hosting about 1000 booths. The event is also supported by the Ministry of Commerce in a country that is a global gem center. Public admission tickets available at the fair. (Admission restricted to age 16 and older.)

 

Description: Although not an official public holiday, with the bars closed, no alcohol for sale anywhere and most Thais paying respects at wats (temples), Magha Puja certainly feels like one. Falling on the full moon of the third lunar month of the year, it commemorates when Lord Buddha preached to 1250 disciples on the cardinal doctrine. It is celebrated nationwide and in the evening the wats come alive with people walking around chapels, candles alight.

 

Description: The traditional Thai New Year tops Bangkok’s list of annual events. It is a unique, three- to four-day festival when the city – and the country for that matter – stops and celebrates, bringing in the new year chiefly with water. The event is centuries old, but in recent decades has turned into a huge water fight on the city’s streets. Be warned: no-one is safe from water pistols and even buckets of water. Visitors either join the festivities and get wet, or stay inside. In Bangkok, Songkran falls April 13-14, but the date varies around the country.