What’s On in Bangkok in March 2016

Written by Team Expique
Published: March 1, 2016

There is always something to do in Bangkok – hunt down the latest goings-on with our what’s-on guide. Know of another event taking place that you want to share? Let us know in the comments!

1600 Pandas+ World Tour: 04 March-10 April

1600 Pandas+ tour in Bangkok, Thailand - photo by 1600 Pandas+

Hot on the heels (or hooves, even) of all those conservation-eyed elephants that took over Bangkok not so long ago, 1,650 papier-mache pandas are due to land in spots including Sanam Luang. They’ll be popping up – and promptly disappearing – as part of flash mobs to highlight the fact that, terrifyingly, they represent the number of pandas remaining in the wild around the world today. The 1600 Pandas+ World Tour began in 2008 and has already taken in cities including Paris and Hong Kong. At the end of each stage of the tour, the panda models are sold (or ‘adopted’, as the French artist behind the project prefers to term it); so far, over USD 300,000 has been raised for the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

The pandas will spend three hours at a time in each of the nine locations announced so far (exact timings are on the project’s Facebook page); among them are the Golden Mount temple in Ayutthaya and eight more attractions in Bangkok including Sanam Luang from 04 March, Lumpini Park, the Bangkok Art & Culture Centre, the Giant Swing, Phra Sumen Fort in the old town, and Hualamphong railway station. A tenth location will be decided by a vote on the project’s Facebook page, and finally the pandas will take up semi-permanent residence at Central Embassy for an exhibition that runs from 24 March to 10 April. www.1600pandasplusth.com and www.facebook.com/1600pandasplusth

This Is Not A Political Act: 04 March-03 April

This Is Not A Political Act - photo by WTF Bangkok

WTF Gallery & Café, one of our favourite arty bar haunts in Bangkok, plays host to this exhibition by filmmaker and video artist Jirawut Ueasungkomsate. Questioning the effect of repression in art on both the creator and the audience, the exhibition explores how discussion and expression can be driven into dark corners, meaning ambiguities proliferate until it is almost impossible to determine what is being said and yet for the same reason even everyday minutiae obscurely seems to carry meaning. Expect to be guided through a darkened room armed with a torch with which to explore Jirawut’s work, 15 low-resolution portraits of people who have gone missing, most of them unknown to the public. The opening reception takes place on 04 March from 7pm; regular gallery opening hours, Tuesday-Sunday, 4-10pm; free entrance; Sukhumvit Soi 51 (BTS Thong Lor); www.wtfbangkok.com

Latin Food Festival 2: 05 March

Latin Food Festival 2 at Ceresia Coffee Roasters, Bangkok, Thailand - photo by Ceresia Coffee Roasters

We love Thai food, but sometimes we want something a bit different. It’s time to get a taste for south America and beyond, as famous Bangkok coffee roasters Ceresia – owned by a Thai-Venezuelan family famous for their hand-sourced and small-batch-roasted beans – bring dishes from Spain, Ecuador, Argentina, Venezuela, Mexico, Chile and Peru to Bangkok at this celebration of Latin cuisine inside its Silom branch. 1.00-6.30pm; free entrance; Tisco Building, Soi Sala Daeng, Silom (BTS Sala Daeng or MRT Si Lom); www.bit.ly/latinfoodfest2

Random Thainess: 14 March

Random Thainess Bangkok

Our regular evening of conversation about every aspect of Thai culture returns! As usual, you can expect six speakers talking on six random topics for six minutes, and tackling the weirdest, wackiest and most engaging topics connected to Thailand and its culture. We’re also throwing a random performer and a charity speaker into the evening, and all profits from the event benefit the cause selected for the month. 7.00-9.30pm; 300 baht on the door; Sathorn Soi 9 (BTS Chong Nonsi); www.facebook.com/random.thainess and www.randomtalks.org

How will you be spending your time in March in Bangkok? Let us know in the comments!

Photos by 1600 Pandas+; WTF Bangkok; Ceresia Coffee Roasters; Random Thainess.

Categories: What’s On