Bangkok

• Burning Season · Jan 1 – Jan 29 · festival

  Burning season: January through April, crop fires and forest burns blanket central and northern Thailand in acrid haze — a hard stop for anyone with respiratory problems, particularly in the north.

• Chinese New Year · Jan 29 – Jan 25 · religious

  Yaowarat (Chinatown) lit end-to-end; dragon parades and feasts spilling onto the streets for several days.

• Ramadan · Feb 12 – Feb 18 · religious

  The month of daytime fasting - quieter daylight hours, then streets and tables come alive after sunset for iftar.

• Crop-burning haze · Feb 26 – Feb 8 · holiday

  Regional sugarcane and rice-stubble fires push AQI into unhealthy ranges - the hidden cost of the cool dry season.

• Thai Kite, Sport and Music Festival · Mar 5 – Apr 1 · sport

  Thai Kite, Sport and Music Festival: March kite battles fill the sky above the historic Sanam Luang field in one of Bangkok's most photogenic open-air spectacles.

• Eid al-Fitr · Mar 19-25 · religious

  The joyful close of Ramadan - new clothes, feasting and visiting; one of the warmest, busiest weeks of the year.

• Songkran (Thai New Year) · Apr 9 – Apr 22 · festival

  The country shuts down for a three-day water fight - Khao San and Silom turn into joyous mosh pits.

• Eid al-Adha · May 21 – Jun 3 · religious

  The festival of sacrifice - a major public holiday of communal prayers and shared feasts.

• Vesak · May 28-Jun 3 · religious

  Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and passing marked in one day - temple visits, lantern-lit processions and acts of merit.

• Peak monsoon · Sep 3 – Sep 30 · holiday

  Streets flood, afternoons washed out - flights cheap and crowds thin, but plans need flexibility.

• Vegetarian Festival · Oct 1-7 · festival

  Chinese-Thai vegetarian observance - yellow flags over Chinatown food stalls, meat-free menus for nine days.

• Loy Krathong · Nov 12-18 · festival

  Candle-lit lotus offerings on every river and pond under a full moon - the city's most photogenic night.

• Loi Krathong & Golden Mount Fair · Nov 12 – Nov 25 · festival

  Loi Krathong: Bangkok sends candlelit lotus floats down its waterways while the Golden Mount becomes the centrepiece of a sprawling riverside fair.

• King's Birthday · Dec 3-9 · holiday

  A public holiday with parades and lights - government quiet, malls busy, alcohol restrictions in places.

• Western Christmas / New Year peak · Dec 17 – Dec 31 · holiday

  Sukhumvit hotels packed with Europeans escaping winter - beach destinations doubly so; prices peak.

a reason to go mixed worth knowing about