Chinese New Year—Year of the Snake— in Bangkok—January 27-30, 2025

I returned to Bangkok to visit the Chinatown Lunar New Year celebrations of the Year of the Snake.  I was lucky to arrive as the wind had begun blowing away several air pollution.

On Jan. 24, PM2.5 levels in Bangkok jumped from 108 to a high of 119 micrograms per cubic meter – nearly five times more than the threshold set by the World Health Organization for hazardous levels of air pollutants.

The high PM2.5 levels prompted the government to impose emergency measures in the capital, such as work-from-home directives for civil servants and the closure of more than 350 public schools to protect children from harmful exposure.

 

The government also collaborated with public transport providers to offer free subway, skytrain, and bus services from Jan. 25 to 31 in a bid to reduce private vehicle use.

I took the skytrain followed by the MRT subway to Hua Lamphong train station and bought my night train ticket to Chiang Mai for February 3rd.  The sleeper carriages were all full for the next two weeks so I ended up buying a seat.  

I then walked a short distance to Chinatown where the New Year’s celebration was full on.   It was filled with people, banners, and food stalls lining the streets celebrating the New Year’s.

The first temple I came to on Yaowarat Road was not a temple but a hospital called Thain Fah Mun Hospital, and the Kanji script indicated it was a leprosy hospital— maybe not anymore.  The front area is a temple for making offerings of food, drink, candles, and incense. 

They had some performers on the main stage, but they had not set up the lion dragon pole dance area this year, unlike previous years. Also, they still had traffic on Yaowarat Road instead of blocking it off like in my previous years’ visits.

There were lots of food and drink choices.

They were also selling knickknacks including a clowder of hello kitty cats and red clothing popular during Chinese New Year’s.

On the way back to the metro, I stopped at the Wat Traimit which dates back to the 13th century with its solid gold 3m tall Buddha. 

This Buddha was covered with plaster and only in 1955 when the plaster fell off did they realize it was solid gold.  Since then, visitors have thronged to this Wat.

On the way back to my hotel, I spotted this cupboard of pandas outside one of the shopping malls.