Recent Bangkok trip - update

[voodoo31]

I was in Bangkok fr a week in mid - December and thought I'd give a quick update on nightlife.

 

Siam Area - Hard Rock Cafe was it's usual good value - mix of farang, locals, hookers, ands girls who it's hard to tell if there hookers or not. CM disco underneath Novotel Hotel was going off both Saturday and Sunday nights I visited, plenty of girls around, seemed 3000 baht / night was a going rate amongst a couple of Thai girls I talked to. More and more Russian girls as well, spoke to one who wanted 5000 baht - wooh peng mak. Also seemed a few normal girls out having a good time as well. Be warned on Saturday they asked for ID (ie passport which I didnt ad and almost did not get in).

 

NEP - Seemed better than last time I visited in September and according to recent reports which painted a rather grim picture of this old favourite playing field. Found best places were Rainbow II (many nice girls - seem a little stand offish at first but with some encouragement were very friendly. Rainbow I was good as usual. Mandarin was OK, Rainbow III - not many attractive girls but were firendly enough. AngelWitch was very good with entertaining shows. Downstairs Holloywood and Playskool bars were pretty quiet and not so good. ONe of the upstairs bars (can't remember the name, maybe Hollywood II - was alos worth a look, nice dancing girls and drink girls as well).

 

Cowboy - Baccarra was very good - nice friendly girls and some good sorts - like the upstairs bar. Also liked Suize Wong and Shark bar (very fiendly a cute drink girls). Midnight and Long Gun as always were good value. A bit dissapointed in Tilac having heard some good stories recently, Doll House as well not very good - mostly average girls - this one has gone down hill - used to be great, or maybe I just got there too late. Most Asok bars have been closed but a few small ones just near the entrance of Soi Coboy (Dutch pub end) - not much to them (just open air small placxes but pretty chilled atmosphere and nice outside spot for a beer.

 

Patpong - not much to say, checked out a couple of Kings bars (all start to lok the same there) some nice girls but too much buy mee drink attitude, not very impressed and can't really recommend any places - maybe I just didnt give it a long enough look.

 

Sukhumvit general - Gullivers is always worth a look early in the night I think - freelancers hanging around and good place to chill, play some pool and prepare for the night ahead. German beer bar on Soi 7 was very crowded but most girls seemed pretty old or just not that appealing - not really my scene. MOrning night bar next to NEP is good value, always crowded with good mixture of girls - seem mainly free lancers hanging around. Nana Disco is still very good but getting pricey to enter (up to 300 baht), many girls around and occaisional stunner - also seemed to stay open late till about 2:15am one night.

 

I notice now many more people eating on the street on Sukhumvit between Sois 5 and 7 between about 1 - 3 am, a stroll through the seats you can catch the eye of some nice ones eating with there friends who might be up for some company after the meal. Everyone seems in good mood around this late night eating time as well.

 

Overall I thought the scene was in good shape, especially after last visit in September when things were quieter and some people on the board were indicating that Bangkok was doomed as a nightlige place.

[Neo]

Nice infos.

 

Regarding those bars in patpong, surprised you did not mention drinks are just 90 baht while nep & cowboy are going crazy with prices. I think electric blue is the up and comer right now in patpong. 45 baht draft beer, best dek serve uniforms in town IMO, and a large selection of dancers. pink panther is still hard to beat for finding the most nice looking girls in one bar.

 

Regarding Novotel, that place is expensive! Cover charge and bottle charges are outright robbery IMO.

[Nasiadai]

Voodoo31, a great report about Bangkok nightlife scenery.

 

Many thanks for your interesting, extensive and detailed reports.

We guys who are at home in farlang land working only for the increase of the national product, are always happy to hear a status report about that location where we all want to be. I hand over a rose to you and please take my compliments as a token of thanks.

 

Well, in general I think that the high prices make NEP (and Soi Cowboy too) kaputt (broken) in the long run.

The prices for beverages between 90 to 125 Baht are very high and the barfines are pricey 600 Baht. In my opinion that is daylight robbery. And the girls want 2000, 3000, 4000 Baht for LT. Crazy! And there seem to be many punters who are willing to pay these ridiculous prices!

Although you can have a nice freelancer for 1000 Baht LT (and without expensive drinks and exorbitant costly barfine!!!). You report about the freelancer scenery, too. At the entrance of NEP, on the Nana hotel parking lot, and on the lower Suklumvhit there are hundreds of girls waiting for guys.

In recent years the Bangkok venues (NEP, Soi Cowboy etc?) have become relatively expensive and commercialized in comparison with Pattaya. Pattaya is still comparatively cheap.

Thank Buddha!

 

I am dreaming and counting the days ?

[Belem]

Spot on with your analysis. The prices in Bangkok for P4P are out of hand because of people on a short stopover throwing their money around. I visited Bangkok for the last time last November. From now on, it's straight to Pattaya from the airport for me. Also, I don't get a real good feeling about the future of the nightlife in Bangkok after reading this paragraph from Stickman's latest newsletter.

 

"Following on from the destruction of Asoke Plaza, all the beer bars on Sukhumvit between Soi 11 and 13 will be the next to go. As they have gotten a notice from the Sofitel they have a year to move out. This is what happened with the bars in Asoke Plaza by the way, where the destruction of the area was based on a court order. Anyone who lost confidence in investing in Thailand need not worry as everything that happened there was done by th book. Back to the bars near Sukhumvit sois 11 and 13, they should have 3 or 4 months more and then they will be closing them. The other area which has been mooted to go is Washington Square and apparently everybody down there has around two years left there. The current area will be replaced by a shopping complex and condos. This is not really surprising as that area is prime real estate, just a stone's throw from the Emporium and a BTS station. It should be noted that the mooted closing of this area includes the ever popular Bourbon Street. Also to go are the Queens Park beer bars. That area is scheduled to become a parking garage for the Queens Park Hotel. All of these bar areas home to quieter bars, places where people can go for quiet drink, without any real pressure from the staff to buy anything more than a drink. With Soi Zero seemingly winding down, and the strong possibility that these bars will soon be gone, that will remove most of the "quiet naughty bars" in the central area, something which won't please the not insignificant number of locals who like such places."

[Nasiadai]

Yes, Belem, I agree with you.

Many nightlife venues at the lower Sukumvhit begin to die or are vanished already.

 

0. Clinton Plaza is gone before the bars started to get lively.

1. The bars of the Asoke Plaza are gone already.

2. The bars and places of the sois 11 and 13 will disappear in the next months.

3. Soi Zero is vegetating and stagnating; nobody can predict what will happen with the bars of Soi Zero in the next months.

4. My beloved Washington Square will be demolished in about 18 months.

5. And so will be the Queens Park beer bars and Bourbon Street

 

All in all it looks peaky.

I liked and enjoyed all these "quiet naughty bars" in the lower Sukumvhit area during the last years.

 

But there is hope too:

1. Maybe that the Thermae will come back to big business.

2. The Bier Garten Soi 7 is always fun.

3. Gullivers and similar bars at the lower Sukumvhit and Ploenchit.

4. The Grace Hotel with the famous and steeped in legend coffee shop

5. All the bars in Soi 3 and Soi 4 (like Bus Stop and Heidelberg or Bamboo Bar etc.) will revitalize. I am sure.

6. And it can be that the ?freelancer scenery? along Sukumvhit will be booming in the next 2 years.

And it maybe that there will be new bars and venues between Soi Zero and Soi Asoke along Sukumvhit road and its sois within the next months and 2 years.

 

Let us wait and see.

[Zorro]

I gotta agree.

 

The prices in Bangkok are too steep.

 

In fact i can go to Dubai and get P4P cheaper than in Bangkok and there is more variety.

 

Okay it is not as much fun maybe but the bottom line is that prices in Bangkok have risen disproportionately to other costs in Thailand and when you consider no showing and early closing and piss tests and general harassment of punters well Bangkok is really on the nose these days.

 

I am flying in tomorrow and going straight to Pattaya.

 

A few years back i used to prefer Bangkok but not anymore.

[keith doug]

hiya i notice not to many refere to the 5am club at SD club and AD club... oops!!!

[Belem]

I like your glass is half full outlook, but I don't think Thermae will ever revert back to its past glory. Also, if somebody put a gun up to my head, I don't think Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy will be around in a couple of years, although that topic is better left for another discussion. I'm afraid the scene is going to get even more expensive. When the new airport is operational, I see many more people bypassing Bangkok and heading straight to Pattaya. The prospect of being on Walking Street before you could get to a central Bangkok Hotel is very appealing indeed.

[Prosal]

Neo said:

 

Regarding Novotel, that place is expensive! Cover charge and bottle charges are outright robbery IMO.

 

Expensive places, robbery, steep prices ::

 

Not to be controvertial, but a Black Label bottle in Novotel 's CM2 is around 3000 baths (there's no cover charge when you take a bottle). Add two or three tequila shots or Long Island Ice Teas for some girls, a 300 baths tip to the waitress for a VIP service, and maybe a few hundreds baths for a tray of sushis, this taking you roughly to 4000 baths !!!

 

Shit guys, it's really NOTHING, only 80 ? , for an awesome treatment in a upmarket disco full of availables girlies !!!!

 

[keith doug]

well the new airport wont be open until at least 2006 thats for sure no roads or anything finnished... re soi cowboy that will be around......