Get your Christmas fix in Bangkok with this festive guide.
The heat of Bangkok may not put us in the Christmas spirit, but there are certainly plenty of ways to embrace this annual festivity.
1. Watch a production.
Schools throughout Bangkok will be embracing Christmas with a show or event for their children to enjoy. But there are other events to enjoy too. The Bangkok Community Theatre put on productions throughout the year. This Christmas it is ‘A Christmas Carol’. A Christmas classic based in Victorian London featuring Ebenezer Scrooge who is not a fan of the festive season. Alternatively the annual Disney on Ice comes to Bangkok for the younger audience.
2. Go ice-skating.
It may be hard to believe when you consider the outside temperature but Bangkok is home to a few different ice-skating rinks including one at Central World and Mega Bangna. Put on a pair of skates, and glide (or stumble depending on you ability) across the ice and dream of being in a faraway cold land.
3. Fill up at a hotel brunch.
Bangkok’s hotels are not shy to putting on an impressive brunch. Many take it one step further and embrace Christmas with an extra special spread. Depending on your requirements you can feast away on some festive fodder throughout the city with carol singers and Christmas activities thrown in for good measure.
4. Attend a church service.
Lest we not forget that Christmas is inherently a religious festival. Despite Thailand being a majority Buddhist country there are still a number of churches. Christ Church Bangkok on the corner of Sathon Road and Convent Road have various celebrations for Christmas including a children’s christingle and nativity, and a Christmas Day family communion. Two other popular churches are the Holy Redeemer Church on Soi Ruamrudee and the pretty Santa Cruz Catholic Church on the banks of the Chao Phraya River.
5. Visit the Christmas lights.
Bangkok may not be littered with Christmas lights similar to that of London’s Oxford Street or even those found in Singapore, but Central World usually puts on a good display providing the perfect selfie opportunity. The hotels also do not disappoint so you could make an evening of it and do a Christmas lights crawl.
6. Catch Santa Bill.
Possibly the best looking Santa that can be found anywhere in the world is Santa Bill. Formerly an Air Force master sergeant from America, Santa Bill can be seen throughout Bangkok on the lead up to Christmas. Check the press to see where he will pop up and have a photo with this Bangkok icon. Great with kids and with a long white beard, Santa Bill breaks into some great Christmas songs from the top of his voice. He is probably also the only Santa to rely on a moped to get around rather than a sleigh.
