Bangkok Events - January 2027

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January is the best weather month of the Bangkok year - cool, dry and clear - and a quiet one on the event calendar. The river belongs to commuters and sightseers again after the countdown, and from the last week Chinatown turns towards Chinese New Year.

Festivals and listings

Chinese New Year run-up in Yaowarat

From late January 2027 (Chinese New Year falls on 6 February 2027)

Yaowarat Road, a short walk from the river, begins hanging its red lanterns and staging lion dances in the last week of January. The full festival is in February, but the run-up is quieter and better for eating.

Why go: The biggest street-food street in the city at its most photogenic, without the February crush.

Public holidays

New Year's Day

Friday 1 January 2027

A national public holiday; government offices and banks close while malls and tourist areas stay open. The riverside is busy with New Year outings.

Sources: Thai public holidays calendar, Thailand public holidays reference

Also this month

The Royal Barge Procession is a rare, ceremonial event that occasionally closes a stretch of the Chao Phraya; when one is scheduled, it is announced only months ahead by the Bureau of the Royal Household. See our Royal Barge Procession guide for what it is and how to watch if one is called.

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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