Bangkok Events - October 2026

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October closes the rainy season and carries two of the city's most distinctive festivals: the yellow-flag Vegetarian Festival in Chinatown and Ok Phansa, the end of Buddhist Lent, when monks return to travel and illuminated boats take to the rivers.

Festivals and listings

Vegetarian Festival (Thetsakan Kin Jae)

9-18 October 2026

The nine-day Taoist festival honouring the Nine Emperor Gods, when Bangkok's Chinatown goes yellow and the jay kitchens switch to vegan food. Yaowarat and Talat Noi are the centre of it, both a short walk from the river.

Where: Yaowarat (Chinatown) and Talat Noi, Bangkok

Tickets: Free to walk; food sold at street stalls

Why go: The best street-food fortnight of the year, and the processions along Yaowarat Road are a photographer's event.

Sources: EverythingBKK Vegetarian Festival 2026, Veg Thailand guide

Ok Phansa (End of Buddhist Lent)

Monday 26 October 2026 (some calendars list 25 October)

The full moon of the eleventh lunar month ends the three-month rains retreat, and temples along the Chao Phraya mark it with merit-making and candle-floating. It is a national public holiday, and alcohol sales are suspended nationwide for the day.

Where: Riverside temples along the Chao Phraya, Bangkok

Tickets: Free

Why go: The most atmospheric temple night of the autumn, and an easy evening by boat. Dates are published by lunar calendar, so confirm locally.

Sources: Thai Holiday Guide - Ok Phansa, Thailand Trip Planner - Ok Phansa 2026

Public holidays

HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej Memorial Day

Tuesday 13 October 2026

A national public holiday marking the death of King Rama IX. Government offices and banks close, and many entertainment venues go quiet out of respect.

Sources: Thai public holidays 2026, Thailand public holidays 2026

King Chulalongkorn Memorial Day

Friday 23 October 2026

A national public holiday commemorating King Rama V, with wreath-laying at the Equestrian Statue near Dusit and a horse-riding parade that the Royal Plaza hosts.

Why go: The ceremony at the Royal Plaza is a dignified, free piece of living history a short ride upriver from the old town.

Sources: Thai public holidays 2026, Thailand public holidays 2026

The River of Thailand

The river stretches from the north all the way into the Gulf of Thailand, with the Chulachomklao Fort being placed near the end where it joins with the sea.

Starting quietly in the hinterlands the river is formed from the confluence of two smaller rivers, the Ping and the Nan. Together at Nakhon Sawan (also called Pak Nam Pho) they come together quietly in a rual setting some 200km north of Bangkok.

Due to the winding course of the river it takes almost 350km for it to reach the city and the sea.

Many tributaries and canals intersect the alluvial plain that is created by the Chao Phraya river, and the Tha Chin river which starts from it and runs parallel into the sea.


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