HAPPITAT in Bangkok

Yesterday, thanks to some enthusiastic Instagram posts that I’d seen, off we went to explore Happitat, a brand new, “massive 200,000-square-meter themed mixed-use destination that officially opened on August 21, 2026” (last bit is AI, so dunno if it actually needs quotation marks, but anyway…)

Happitat is indeed massive, with different zones and themes and buildings, and not knowing quite where to go, we randomly started with the grandly named Grand Stairs, an area equipped with one of Southeast Asia’s largest indoor curved digital LED screens, showcasing world-class changing digital art and interactive media installations. (That last bit is straight from the internet, as perhaps you can tell).

It was actually pretty impressive and although admittedly we spent a fair bit of time QR-code-ing and trying to work out where the heck the joystick was on my iPhone, once up and running, the digital installations were super impressive.

I’m of the firm belief that we can all learn something new every day, and thanks to Happitat, I learned about the kouprey (the impressive fella in the videos above and below).

“The kouprey (Bos sauveli), also known as the forest ox and grey ox, is a possibly extinct species of forest-dwelling wild bovine native to Southeast Asia. The Kouprey is considered critically endangered and likely extinct, with no confirmed sightings of a wild individual since 1969.”

Gosh.

The blue dot my husband is moving around in the video above is my essence, apparently.

The Whimsical Market was, well, OK, let’s call it whimsical.

I guess in marketing speak, you don’t describe something as twee.

Or wannabe Disneyland-ish. So whimsical it is.

Realistically, I don’t think Happitat’s Whimsical market is geared towards old folks like us, so perhaps little kiddos will enjoy it.

I think littlies will certainly enjoy the lifts, which are very whimsical:

We ate – food acceptable, with zillions of snack-y options available.

We then pottered around, trying to get our bearings (it is enormous!) and there are obviously lots of shops and restaurants still to move in, so I guess Happitat will get a more “lived in” feeling within a few months. Looks as though there’ll be a gym, but for the moment several floors are pretty empty.

There was, quite randomly, a pop-up selling mead. As one does.

Also a pop-up book fair.

We didn’t check out the pet-friendly area nor the outdoor forest where you can walk – in our defence, it was bakingly hot – but both a forest and pet-friendly facilities sound like a great idea.

Loved this covered passageway to get from one section of the complex to another:

Glad I saw Happitat without manic crowds, but not sure it’s currently worth the l-o-n-g schlepp to get there. Better, perhaps, to wait until everything is fully up and running.

Friendly staff everywhere including lots of youngsters who spoke English.

We took a cab to get there, but for the return took a free golf cart to the (free) shuttle bus stop which took us to the closest BTS station, Udon Suk.

No-one there knew that I blog and review. We paid for our food.

Conclusion? I think Happitat will be fun, especially for families with children, but I’d wait awhile until everything is open.

Currently it is a weird combo of hyped-up excitable and empty.

But is is less than a month old, to be fair.