Bangkok Nightlife

Bangkok is a city of extremes,
and one that despite the zealous enforcing of  closing times - never really stops the great atmosphere. What else can be expected from the place that invented Red Bull? Though nightlife zones have been introduced, bar strips slip in and out of vogue.
Shareholders invest in venues in emerging locations, invite their friends, get bored with it all and move on to the next up-and-coming neighborhood. They may leave in their wake a sustainable scene, or (as is often the case) it may just fizzle out. But despite these one-month wonders, Bangkok boasts a host of vibrant bars that cover all points of the price spectrum. Starting at the bottom, there's your basic street side drink-up, usually involving big bottles of local beer or whisky. At the opposite extreme are rarefied hotel bars such as the Sukhothai Hotel Bar , where you can sip Martinis in distinguished company. But it's the broad swathe of places in between that offer the most fun. Bars can be found everywhere: off dank alleyways in Chinatown; hidden among market stalls; tacked on to shopping centers; teetering over canals on wooden floorboards; even occupying 70s-style homes in suburbia. Thai drinking habits also follow a pattern, typically involving live bands and food, with many bars offering fine menus. This means visitors will find that most shop house bar-restaurants are pretty much geared up for anything from a short tipple to an extended session. In a city where traffic is bad and nights out typically have a host, bars can have multiple zones (lounge, disco, karaoke, restaurant, band, seasonal beer garden) in what's confusingly called a `pub'. But, happily for resolutely British pub-goers, there are also plenty of expat watering holes.

Top 10 Bars
For an arty ambiance-  Pick any bar along Thanon Phra Arthit.
For bargain booze -Mountain Bike.
For bohemian abandon -Gig Grocery.
For discreet chic -Nite Syringe.
For good beer -The Londoner Brew Pub  and Buddy Beer
For meeting expats -The Barbican.
For range of drinks & funky music- Glow Club.
For spaced-out design -Bed Supperclub.
For Thai trendies- Larbjazz Caf .
For one last drink- Home.


Clubbing
DJs first surfaced in Bangkok during the 1970s disco era, but were soon displaced by a pub scene of comfortable seating, chit chat, kup klaem (drinking snacks) and covers from Filipino bands - or karaoke. Even the megadiscos of Thanon Ratchadaphisek lost their dancefloors to tall round tables and high stools around which clubbers jiggled. This was partly because few dancing licences were available, and venues were raided simply because customers moved to the music. Although these elements persist today, Bangkok's nightlife is going through a transition, making it a more vibrant, experimental and unpredictable scene. Since house music raves started in 1994 - spawning one-off or short-lived party venues in odd places (car parks, warehouses, hotel ballrooms, the karaoke atrium of a hospital) - Western-style dance music has penetrated the masses from the top, concurrently with indie rock, the internet and alternative media in general. A liberal new generation of rich kids educated abroad has imported its experience of DJ-ing from London, Sydney or America's East Coast to the Bangkok club scene. DJ schools have started to pop up, notably at House of Indies. Spinmeisters to look out for include DJs Spydamonkee, Dragon, Joeki, Nutek, Tul (Toon) and Seed (founder of Thailand's first indie music magazine), plus prominent farang DJs Billy V and Of ay 1. Nightclubs have tended to have a permanent turntable crew and occasional party nights that have welcomed a pool of talent (Paul Oakenfold has played here annually for a decade, mainly at Narcissus). This has enabled venues to differentiate between nights of the week, starting with the opening of Q Bar, at the start of the new millennium, which brings in famous DJs from overseas and exemplifies the popular `dance bar' format. The same now goes for Faith Club, Cafe Democ . But the effort, energy and investment put into these clubs often goes to waste, due to zealous enforcement of the 2 am closing time in the government's Social Order Policy-which cites drug taking and under-age drinking as its reasons, but generally takes a dim view of youthful behavior outside traditional norms. During crackdowns in 2001-2 many venues had to close early, and police ID checks and urine tests have been imposed on entire clubs, whether populated by businessmen, high society or celebrities such as rapper Joey Boy. Police are trailed by reporters and even people testing negative to drug tests have had their faces splashed across newspapers and on TV. It's estimated a million workers' incomes have been affected by the crackdown and there's a vociferous lobby of venue owners pleading for their businesses' survival.

Please note:  Recent changes in Thai law (Oct 2004) means Thailand is no longer the place to party the night away it once was. The 1 am closing time is law, but is not always enforced. Whether this will change in the near future remains to be seen. This leaves the rather odd spectacle of people wandering round at 1am wondering what they are supposed to do with themselves. Entertainment zones (patpong) are still open till 2.  Check Kingdom Thailand for updates. Occasional police raids on venues outside of the entertainment zones have not succeeded in dampening the spirits of party goers. Don't let these put you off, they are very infrequent,  but if you are unlucky and are caught up in one you will find yourself locked in the venue whilst urine tests are carried out. Do not take drugs whilst in Thailand, this could land you in serious trouble even for small amounts.

Nightlife zoning has been introduced for enclaves where clubs can stay open until 2am, with licenses progressively being denied (and revoked) outside. While practicable if managed reasonably, zoning is stifling many existing venues. Only Silom, RCA and Ratchadaphisek have so far got zones, leaving myriad bar strips, especially the entertainment hub of Sukhumvit, in limbo. Crackdowns have come and gone before, and venues open and close with bewildering speed, but Thais have a way of finding fun wherever  they go. The full moon party, an all-nighter on Ko Pha-ngan  was once way ahead of Bangkok musically, spawning related venues in Silom Soi 4 and Thanon Khao San. Now the party traffic is more the other way, with Bangkok DJs joining international names at a variety of beach scenes, notably on Ko Samet,  Ko Samui and Krabi
Currently clubbers are meeting early, around 9.30pm to 10.30pm, though the vibe doesn't kick in until around 11.30pm. Food is available in most places. And, unless otherwise stated in the listings, admission is free to the venues listed below.
Adult-.
For decades visitors have been ushered - by tourist magazines, tour guides, hotel concierges, guidebooks (including official ones), and not least by sensationalist reportage and word of mouth - to Bangkok's `other' nightlife scene. In a word, Patpong. Hoary anecdotes, exaggerated boasts, nudge-nudge jokes and One Night in Bangkok song lyrics have pumped up the sexotic' reputation of this fleshpot - though the rather unerotic reality suffers from premature expectation.

Adult Nightlife in Patpong, a hangover of the Vietnam War, seems like a relic of an era when entertainment options were more limited. The go-go bars are now being marginalised in both physical space and perception by increasing sophistication among residents, visitors and venues. Even stalwarts of family values and the politically correct seem compelled to view such a licentious novelty-which can also be found at Nana Entertainment Plaza, Clinton Plaza and Soi Cowboy on Sukhumvit.

Hence the curious fuel the cycle as much as the sex tourists and the simply lonely buying drinks to gain the company of dancers (who are numbered, as pointing is considered rude). Some then pay the `bar fine' (B200-B500) to take the prostitute (for a negotiated tip) to a room upstairs, a hotel, a weekend in Pattaya or maybe - so the bar girl/boy hopes - a new life abroad. Many end up playing off multiple sugar daddies in different countries. The sex industry has other guises. Open-air `bar beer' zones (as at Patpong Soi 2, Sukhumvit `Soi Zero' and facing the Ambassador Hotel on Sukhumvit) cater mainly for Westerners. Asian businessmen favour plusher, sometimes more discreet karaoke bars (those in Soi Thaniya are just for Japanese), cocktail lounges (Sukhumvit Soi 33 is lined with them), 'nohands' restaurants (where you are fed, and so forth, by hosts/hostesses) and massage parlours, which litter Thanons Phetchaburi and Ratchadaphisek. Some exclusive members' clubs bask in gratuitous opulence.