Thai tastemakers reveal summer essentials and travel picks

Monocle asked three Bangkok tastemakers—Pranitan 'Pete' Phornprapha, Adulaya 'Kim' Hoontrakul, and Paul Sirisant—to share their summer essentials and travel plans. Phornprapha, CEO of Scratch First and founder of the Wonderfruit music festival, is launching Chapters Kyoto, a four-day cultural gathering in Japan for 100 ticketholders in October. He plans summer trips to Switzerland (Villars-sur-Ollon and Gstaad), Shanghai, and the Maldives, where he will stay at Soneva Fushi. Hoontrakul, director of the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre and one of four curators of the next Bangkok Art Biennale (opening 29 October 2026, theme 'Angels and Mara'), plans to attend the Sā Ladakh Biennale in August and a road trip through the Dolomites in September. Sirisant, CEO of Cloud 11, a Snøhetta-designed mixed-use development in Bangkok that opened in July, will speak at The Monocle Quality of Life Conference in Lisbon. He escapes the heat by wing foiling and takes family trips to England. The article includes their favorite ice cream flavors, beach vs. mountain preferences, suitcase contents, reading materials, music playlists, and drink choices.