White Party, Bangkok, Thailand

Four nights run through Paragon Hall at Siam Paragon into the small hours, with pool parties at TRIBE Sky Beach Club filling the days between. Attendance has climbed past thirty thousand in recent years, drawn from more than ninety countries — Asia's largest circuit gathering, timed for the last week of the year rather than Pride season proper.

Where to stay

• Andaz Bangkok — on Sukhumvit Soi 19, built around local craft and colour rather than the standard five-star formula, with a rooftop bar that looks north across the city. It sits a few stops down the line from Siam Paragon rather than beside it — the trade for staying somewhere with its own character instead of in the middle of the party itself.

• Grand Hyatt Bangkok — beside the Erawan Shrine on Ratchadamri Road, connected by skywalk through Erawan and CentralWorld and close enough to reach Siam Paragon on foot rather than by taxi. The more traditional five-star choice of the three — marble, high ceilings, decades of practice at exactly this kind of week.

• Le Meridien Bangkok — on Surawong Road in Silom, closer to Patpong's own after-dark energy than to Siam Paragon, with a rooftop pool that runs the length of the building. Further from the party, but a neighbourhood that doesn't need one built for it