‘There’s more to life than work’: Bangkok’s young people embrace mass outdoor aerobics sessions

Group exercise had been associated with older people, but the playlist of K-pop and US hip-hop is a hit with gen Z It’s evening rush hour in central Bangkok, the roads are clogged with traffic and the air is heavy from the heat. But in a corner of the capital’s biggest park, the crowds are already gathering to dance. As the music starts, an aerobics leader glides across a small stage. A sea of arms move from side to side, then touch the sky. Knees pop up and down. Ankles tap. The sessions hav...

By Rebecca Ratcliffe, south-east Asia correspondent. Photographs by Lauren DeCicca