Taking up the top three levels of the lofty OCC in Lumphini, Akara Sky Hanuman is a multi-sensory immersion into Thai history, culture, geography and food. Here’s what to expect from the world’s first and highest rooftop Thai cultural experience.
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Bangkok is full of surprises. Down a dingy alley, you might find a little museum of royal barges or incredible street art. Or high above a shopping centre, you discover a rooftop restaurant offering fine-dining Spanish food. There’s nothing normal about Bangkok – to the point where normal is surprising and surprising is normality.
That’s what makes this city so enticing, exciting and fascinating.
But one of the more unexpected experiences to have in Bangkok is at the top of a reasonably normal looking office block in the centre of Lumphini – a district of the city better known for its embassies, high-end shopping and its historic, eponymous park.
It’s also not far from our hotel, which is great!
Here, across the top three floors and roof of One City Centre (OCC), is Akara Sky Hanuman.
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Akara Sky Hanuman
Dinner and a Show. And a View. And a Geography Lesson
Akara Sky Hanuman is a roaming multi-sensory experience that showcases everything about Thailand, from its regional foods to its mythological history to traditional dance and costumes to artistic interpretational experiences of Thai festivals.
In other words, Akara Sky Hanuman is Thailand in a high-rise nutshell.
Once your ticket has been issued and you’re in the elevator going up to the 61st floor, you can take as long as you want and explore the 10 different zones in any order you want – though it makes sense to start at the rooftop bar!
Here’s how we did it.
Book your Akara Sky Hanuman tickets here.
Sky Observation Deck for Sunset (if you’re lucky)
Arriving at about 6pm, we went straight to the top floor and the rooftop bar, our fingers crossed for a clear sky.
This is the Observation Deck where you can enjoy panoramic views across Bangkok over the curves of the Chao Phraya River as it curls an oxbow around Khung Bang Kachao – the famed Lungs of Bangkok.
Sadly, the grey skies stop any chance of a decent sunset this evening, but on a clear day, this would be spectacular.
Hanuman Cinema and Dinner
This is the restaurant here and it’s quite something. Above, is the Immersive Dome where an impressive projection of the story of Hanuman – the national myth of a monkey warrior in Ramakien and part of Thailand’s cultural makeup.
At our table, we’re served a selection of canapés that represent the different food styles of the four major regions of Thailand: Northern, Isan, Central and Southern. Each ‘plate’ is a bowl in the shape of each region, so were essentially eating from a map of Thailand.
Our choice of mains is based on which region we’d like to eat from and the tableware is indicative of that region.
I chose Central Region – the old royal capital Ayutthaya. The food is comes in bowls that look like royal pagodas, gold-painted and on a gold tray.
Reflecting the food of the region, I have tom kha, a coconut and galangal soup with mushrooms, lemongrass and makrut lime, Thai fish cakes served with sweet chilli sauce, crispy fried hard-boiled eggs in sweet tamarind, a classic green curry with chicken, coconut milk and Thai eggplant, and – my favourite – prawn choo chee curry.
Christina goes for the Isan region. With influences from Laos, the food from this northeastern region is particularly good. In her bowls, made to look like the bamboo and earthenware pots reminiscent of the area, is a feast:
Tom saeb a spicy, sour Isan pork soup with fresh herbs, gai yang charcoal-grilled marinated chicken with a spicy dipping sauce, the famous som tum green papaya salad and of course sticky rice.
Check out the other options here.
Virtual Sky Lantern Installation
After dinner, we climb stairs (no mean feat after such a meal!) to the Virtual Sky Lantern light installation. Made to represent the Yi Peng lantern festival of northern Thailand, the hundreds of glass lamps hanging from the mirrored ceiling change colour as you walk between them on mirrored floors.
It’s an ethereal experience, but as you get to the edge of the room, you realise you can see the whole city stretching out below you through the windows. It’s amazing.
Hanuman Sky Bar and Cultural Hanuman Dance
Back up on the rooftop, the bar here is now open and the DJ is hitting the beats. The city lights twinkle in the dark night while we wait for a special performance.
Below the grinning teeth of the giant Hanuman head above the bar, dancers perform a traditional dance telling the tale of the White Monkey Warrior.
Siam Societies Bar for Dessert
Before we leave, we have unfinished business with our dinner to take care of. Dessert is served in the lavish heritage of Siam Societies. This bar, decorated to resemble the era of King Rama V, has the perfect blend of Thai royalty and colonial British decor of the 19th century.
We sit down to our dessert of the day in couches upholstered in Jim Thompson silk and relish the final act of this remarkable experience.
What – or Who – is Hanuman?
The Ramakien is Thailand’s greatest epic. It is to Thailand what Beowulf is to Britain or the Shahnameh is to Persia; it’s an ancient story that tells of great battles and victories, heroes, kings and civilisations.
Hanuman is a central figure. A white monkey warrior with supernatural powers and a keen military mind, he helps a prince rescue his abducted wife from the evil clutches of a demon king.
As one of the epic’s most colourful characters, you can find Hanuman images all over Thailand including many of the country’s temples.
Like any experience, the telling of Akara Sky Hanuman will never be as good as experiencing it for yourself. Words indeed fall short of this immersive evening, so we highly recommend going here yourself and enjoying the journey in person.
Book your Akara Sky Hanuman tickets here.
We visited Akara Sky Hanuman as media guests of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, but our experiences and opinions remain our own.
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