Bangkok rainy season: what to do when the afternoon storm hits
Bangkok rainy season runs from roughly May to October, peaking in September and early October. The thing most first-time visitors get wrong is the picture of it. It does not rain all day. The usual pattern is a hot, heavy morning, a storm in the late afternoon or evening that lasts an hour or two, flooded gutters, then a cooler night. Plan around that pattern and the rainy season becomes the cheapest and least crowded time to be here.
How the Bangkok rainy season actually behaves
Mornings are mostly dry, so do the outdoor things before two. Temples, markets, parks and boat trips all work in the morning. The storm, when it comes, tends to arrive between three and seven. Streets flood quickly in some areas, particularly around Sukhumvit's lower sois and parts of the old town, and taxis vanish while the traffic stops. The rail lines keep running; the canal boats and river boats may pause in heavy weather. Carry a small umbrella, wear sandals that can get wet, and keep an afternoon plan that is indoors and near a station.
Museums and galleries
Bangkok's museums are well air-conditioned and rarely full. The BACC art centre at National Stadium has several floors of free exhibitions and a cafe. Jim Thompson House near Siam is a guided tour through teak houses and silk. Museum Siam and the National Museum are in the old town near MRT Sanam Chai. MOCA Bangkok, the Museum of Contemporary Art out on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, is a large private collection of modern Thai painting that fills a whole afternoon. The city's gallery districts are mapped in Bangkok art galleries and districts.
Food halls, markets under cover and massage
The malls are the obvious refuge and the food halls inside them are genuinely good: the basement at Siam Paragon, the top floors of Terminal 21 at Asok, and the floating-market hall at ICONSIAM. Or Tor Kor market at Kamphaeng Phet is covered, so is most of the Chatuchak weekend market, although the walkways flood at the edges. A Thai massage is the classic wet-afternoon answer: the Wat Pho school in the temple grounds, or any of the clean, busy shops in Silom and Sukhumvit, an hour for the price of a cocktail. Cooking classes also run through the rain, with the market tour done in the morning.
Cinemas, coffee and cocktails
Bangkok cinemas are large, cold and cheap by European standards, with English-language releases subtitled in Thai; the art-house options are in Bangkok cinemas and film. The cafe districts of Ari, Thonglor and Charoen Krung are designed for sitting out a storm. When the rain stops, the air is clean and the rooftop bars open; the clear evenings after a storm are the best of the year for them.
The good news about the season
Hotels are cheaper, queues at the Grand Palace are shorter, the trees in the parks are green instead of brown, and the river is high and fast, which makes the Chao Phraya Express a better ride. Lumphini and Benjakitti parks are at their best between storms. Late October brings the end of the rains and a run of festivals, including the lantern and boat-race season leading to Loy Krathong in November, listed in the Bangkok temple fairs and festivals calendar.
Getting there
- Stay near a BTS or MRT station; rail is the one transport that keeps moving in a storm.
- The best rainy-afternoon clusters are Siam (BACC, Jim Thompson, the mall food halls, cinemas), Asok (Terminal 21, massage) and the old town (museums, Wat Pho massage).
- Chao Phraya Express and Khlong Saen Saep boats may stop in heavy rain; check before relying on one for a connection.
- Book taxis by app before the storm begins, not during it, and allow double the usual time on the roads after four.