Bangkok bars and Nightlife

Since Bangkok is big you can't just go out the door and walk around to find a bar, you have to know where to go. The government puts heavy regulations on bars and nightlife though, therefore most bars close at 1 am, unless you know where to go of course. And if you're planning on going to a Thai bar you better make sure you like whiskey with soda and coke since this is their favorite drink.

Make sure you bring your passport ot at least a copy of it! If you cannot present your passport in case of a police raid you can spend the night in a "nice" Thai jail. Moreover: Don't do drugs as the police has a tendency to close of entire area's and check everyone by taking urine samples, I just managed to escape once in RCA when we got tipped by the barcrew. Also dress up a little bit decent, on Khao San you can get away with flip-flops and shorts but don't try this in most other places. Below are the party area's with some of their bars:
Click here for a review of Thai bar girls
And here for the beers you can order in a Thai bar

Khao San Road
Sukhumvit
Silom
Ratchada
Thong Lor
Soi Ekamai
RCA
Other bars, clubs and places to go

Khao San Road:

The backpackers place. Street filled with mostly cheap bars, most places close at one but keep your eyes open after one as some of the hostels sometimes have late night parties by the pool, follow your instinct and ask some thai people you meet. Just like during the daytime you can find little shops on the street with clothes, shoes and dvd's all cheap cheap.

Nice places on Khao San:

Gullivers: Well known travelers bar with mostly foreign guys and thai girls, (guess what they're doing there) and cheap beer, around 75 bath for your Chang, Singha or Heineken. Also good food at reasonable prices.

The Club: This is a very nice place since it is not overcrowded with tourists on their flip-flops, there is a mixed thai-farang crowd, mostly live music and everybody drinking whiskey with soda, HOORAY!

Shamrock Irish pub: What shall we say, it's an Irish pub so get yourself a nice Guinness and sing along with the crowd and the live band.

Lava Club: A more western club in the middle of Khao San, playing mostly R&B and Hiphop. Lot's of Thai girls as well but be careful, the drinks here are more expensive than in other places so don't buy your new love too much mixers.

Sukhumvit Area:

Sukhumvit is huge and the bars there are widespread so take a cab or skytrain to them, just tell the taxidriver the Soi (street) number you want to go to.

Bed Supper Club: (Soi 11) One of the most trendy bars in Bangkok, the outside looks like a big bubble and inside everything is stylish white. The crowd is farang mixed with upper class Thai. Music depends on the evening but there are good dj's who actually know how to operate a turntable instead of a cd player. As you might expect from a place like this it's rather expensive with an entrance fee of 500 bath and around 150 bath for a beer. Wednesday MODELS NIGHT!!!

Q-Bar: (turn left at the end of Soi 11): Just like Bed Supper Club a trendy bar but smaller and it doesn't look quite as nice as BSC but nontheless a nice place to ckeck out since they have a large assortment of cocktails and other liquors from all over the world. Entrance fee also around 500 bath but sometimes they have an open bar meaning FREE DRINKS for one hour, usually between 9 and 10 or 10 and 11.

Soi 4 (Nana): The "sexsoi" on Sukhumvit, just walk into this soi and pick a bar that looks nice to you and remember that they are filled with prostitutes.TIP: When you walk into Soi 4 (from Sukhumvit) take the first possibility to the left and go up the stairs on your lefthandside and go into the 3rd bar for a great strip show (from 10 to 12) The bars here are very safe in general and being ripped of is uncommen. Be careful however, make sure you check your bill and watch your personal belongings. Also be careful of the lady boys (katoeys) standing outside of Nana Plaza, they are sometimes hard to recognize though and most of the times they are after your money. Read more about Lady Boys here.

Gullivers Sukhumvit: (Soi 5): Same bar as on Khao San but this one is bigger and looks a little bit nicer. Playing pool is no problem here but beware that you might be spotted by one of the girls since this place is close to Nana sex district and you wind up paying more than you bargained for. The girls look nice though and this place it suitable to have a nice drink since is mostly not that crowded and drinks are cheap.

Colleseum: (between Ekemai and Thong Lo BTS): Thai place were it is great to go for dinner, live performances on stage by Thai people and great Thai food. Mostly Thai people here but a lot of fun to see the singers and hot girls on stage. Get your beer by liters at a time and staff will make sure your glass stays filled.

Larry's dive shop: (Soi 22): The place to have mexican food and ribs, really chill out place with mostly expats who are regular customers. You have to try the mexican nacho's with beef!!! Move a little bit further into soi 22 and you will find lots of small Thai bars, all with pool tables and friendly locals and some expats that have "integrated"

POF: POF (Place of fun) in Sukhumvit soi 24 is a nice Thai place with live bands playing both western and Thai music. Sometimes they also have shows or promotions for companies, like a bikini demonstration, sweet.

Londoner Brew Pub: Right on Sukhumvit and close to Phrom Phong BTS station is this nice english pub with an excellent assortment of beers and tv's to see the English Premiership live. Once a month they have a trivia quiz, good fun but it's kind of hard to beat the old English guys. No worry though as last price is a free beer!!! (The reason why I still play)

Silom Area:

Silom soi 2 and soi 4 are the heart of Bangkok's gay scene, this does not mean however that the public there is just gay, there are a lot of other people as well but this fact makes going out slightly different, yet fun, in this area. Most bars are small so just walk into the soi and pick your spot. These are some nice bars though:
Xcentrix: Trendy club in soi 4 with upbeat music. Speed: Hiphop club, be prepared for hiphoppers Thai style.

Tapas: Right at the beginning of the soi, the place gets crowded after 11 and is open until 2. This is a place to hear some great dance/drum and bass music. Cover charge is 100 Baht.

Patpong area: Just like Nana a sex district, probably even worse (or more fun if you like), just of Saladaeng BTS station. This area has a big market at night and it's really packed with mostly tourists. Lots of go go bars were the girls can do things you can't even imagine often involving attributes like ping pong's and darts. These things are on the second floor, on the first floor you can have a drink and just watch the girls, sometimes they will come up to you and ask for a drink, in exchange you can have a chat with them. Probably their opening sentence is gonna be: Hello where you flom or: Oh you so hansom. If you happen to meet your dreamgirl all you have to do is pay the barfine (around 500 bath) and your candlelight dinner can start.
Special places of interest here are: King's Castle where you see can "admire" some ladyboys performing all kind of nasty things and Lucifer which is actually a normal club that just happens to be in the middle of Patpong. They have really good dance and techno music at this place but you have to pay an entrance fee of 150 bath (including 1 drink). Lucifer is the only place to close at 2 in this area.

Ratchada:

This is probably the best kept secret in Bangkok. Ratchada is a big area with lots of bars and dancing's and the best is: OPEN AFTER 1! Just jump in a cab and tell him Ratchada, they all know, its just after Asok Road. The most fun soi here is soi 4 with clubs like Dance Fever and Hollywood. Only Thai people in this place but their all extremely friendly, join them at a table for a bottle of whiskey. Bars close around 3 or 4 depending on the day and the mood of the manager I guess. Afterwards it worth to fill your stomach with some BBQ from the vendors outside. Be sure to act respectful so don't offend people since they most certainly will not offend you although you might think so after a bottle or 2.

Ratchada Soi 6 also features some nice bars with Bali being the biggest. At Bali you can eat and drink all night at good prices. Farangs are rare here so be prepared to be viewed as a circus attraction. No cover charges on Ratchada although you're sometimes required to buy a bottle of whiskey.

Thong Lor:

If you turn left just after Thong Lor BTS station you find yourself on Thong Lor road. A few nice places here, first of all around the middle of this road is Escudo, an upclass Thai bar, nicely designed where fashionable people drink their whiskey. You are either going to like it our hate it I guess. Watch out as the weekends are too crowded, go during weekdays. Also be careful of the crowd as I heard stories from guys who where beaten up at this place just because they are Farang.

Liberty Building: Now this is fun, a big building with lots of bars inside. All the bars are Thai and not many Farang in this place, check out Bombay bar for screaming Thai students and live music from a band. People are very friendly here, join them and have a whiskey, cheers mate!

Soi Ekamai:

Turn left just before Ekamai BTS and you're in Soi Ekamai with a couple of good and upclass places to go. Just look at the cars outside to determine the price of the drinks inside. A nice place here is Santika with on stage performances bands that play international music. Don't get drunk on beer here but just order a bottle of whiskey, no cover charge.

RCA:

RCA is a well known area in Bangkok to party. The crowd consists of the more wealthy Thai's and a foreigner here and there. Nice and trendy bars but make sure to bring your ID, foreigners are sometimes asked for their passport so you get the feeling your're not really wanted here. No cover charges here normally except for special parties.

Route 66: Big club with mostly R&B and Hiphop tunes, can be very crowded on the weekends.

Flix: Very nice place, turning left at the entrance will bring you to the trance/house area of the club while turning right will get you at the (overcrowded) hiphop part.

Slim: Another nice bar with R&B and some mixed music.

Club Astra: A huge recently opened club, different styles of music as it depends on the dj of the night. Prices get a little bit on the high side here.

Other Bars, clubs and places to go:

Saxophone bar: Next to Victory Monument is the Saxophone bar, a British style bar with good food and a lot of drinks to choose from. If you like live saxophone music this is the place to go, often the best Thai musicians come to play here.

Hard Rock Cafe: No explenation needed right, located in Siam Square.

Buur: Afterparty place opened until 4-5 just around the corner from Asok at Petchaburi Road. In order to get in you have to buy a bottle of whiskey, relaxed R&B music mostly.

Suan Lum Night: Bazaar is a great place to go but if you want to drink beer and see a great fight go to Lumpini Stadium right next to the Night Bazaar. This is the home of Thai Boxing and three times a week there are fights, entrance prices for Farangs are high though with either 1500 or 2000 bath but you sit on the first row for the 2000 of course. Beers can be ordered at reasonable prices so enjoy and sit back while the people in the ring are going insane.

Thai Food
The Thai cuisine can be ranked among the worlds best with an enourmous diversity in dishes. Rice is of course the main ingredient but western food is also widely available. When you just arrived in Thailand you will have to adjust to the Thai food, trust me don't go eating the most spicy curries straight away but gradually get used to them. Careful as it is a habit in Thailand to put entire chillies in the food, these are not for eating and remember: The smaller the chili the louder it will make you scream. Eating in Thailand is a social event, Thais therefore never order individual dishes but order a bunch of them and all share so if you don't like a certain dish you can safely switch.

Despite the fear by some people to eat at the foodstalls you find on every corner they are generally safe. Just make sure your food is prepared on the spot and heated sufficiently. Eating at the foodstalls is cheap with meals like fried rice or Phat Thai at around 20 bath. Here you'll get a real impression of the Thai cuisine and its definetely woth giving a try. No English spoken though and if there is a menu it will be in Thai (unless you are in a major tourist area). Don't worry though just remember how to say some of the standard dishes and even if you forget them just point to what you want. A strange habit the Thais have is that they can eat virtually everywhere and any time of the day. Most of these foodstalls are open 24 hours a day and don't be surprised by people eating right on a 4 lane street packed with traffic that we don't perceive as particularly appetizing. One thing you have to be careful of is the ice served in your drinks, make sure there is a hole in your ice cube since this means that it is made in a factory and it's not tap water. I've never seen a place where they serve bad ice but just in case.

So what are we eating? The list of Thai dishes is so eleborate that you need years to figure them all out, below are the most commen and most famous dishes, simply delicious. Remember that you eat with the fork in your left hand and the spoon in your right hand!!!

Fried rice with Chicken/Pork/Shrimp (Khao phat muu/kai/kung): The cornerstone of the Thai cuisine, this is the most simple dish that is on every menu. The concept is quite simple, put some meat in a pan, add some vegetables and rice, stir it up and add some herbs. You can adjust the flavor with some fish sauce (salty), vinegar or curry powder.

Phad Thai: Probably the most famous Thai dish, it consists of thin rice noodles fried with tofu, vegetables, egg and shrimp. It's also possible to order it with chicken, order Phat Thai Kai, it's really tasty and the best Phat Thai can be found on the street.

Tom Yam Goong: If Phat Thai is the most famous dish than Tom Yam Goong is the most famous soup, you won't believe how they manage to put so may things in one soup. Shrimps are one of the main ingredients and be careful as this soup can be spicy as hell. Not all the thing that are in there are made for consumption, give it a bite first before swallowing to find out if it's eatable. It's often served in a hot pot meaning that you get it in a big bowl with a fire underneath to keep it hot, a good idea as eating this stuff to fast might seriously injure you. They even made a movie named Tom Yam Goong which was a huge success.

Massaman Curry: My personal favorite, a mild curry with potato, unions, peanuts and your choice of meat. Usually it looks a little bit orange/red and comes in a bowl.

Red Curry with chicken/beef/pork (Kaeng Phet Kai/Neua/muu): These curries come in all sorts and tastes, a red curry in one place can be totally different from another but in general they are spicy and contain bamboo shoots together with some herbs.

Green Curry (Kaeng khiaw waan): The most spicy of all the curries, as the word might suggest it looks green and usually has some vegetables in it that look like small green tomatoes, these you can eat but don't eat the green peas in this curry as they are extremely bitter. I still don't know why they keep adding these things as they are really disgusting but the curry itself is excellent.

This is just a selection of dishes and the best thing you can do is just experiment with them a little bit. Another great thing in Thailand is that you can buy fresh food on every corner like pineapple and mango, for 10 bath you enjoy a fresh piece of pineapple. If you like banana's you just have to try the banana pancakes, well actually it's a roti but it's sooo good.

Drinks:
All major soft drink brands are available in Thailand and cheap, a can of coke is around 20 Bath. Furthermore Thais like their own kind of drinks, all sorts of sweet fluids are sold on the street and often you drink them from a bag with a straw. Pay attention as fruit juices are often mixed with salt, probably a habit from history as they tried to put as many nutrients in a drink as possible and salt is important in their hot climate.
Water (Naam Plao) cannot be drunk straight from the sink, buy bottles of purified water in the supermarket with choices ranging from ozonated water to mineral water.