Thailand - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 721

DRINKING AND NIGHTLIFE
The lively, teeming venues of backpacker-oriented
Banglamphu are a great place to meet other travellers
and enjoy live music. Elsewhere, Silom 2 (Soi 2, at the east
end of Th Silom) and Silom 4 are the focus of the city's
gay scene. Venues such as Q Bar are over-20s only and
will want photocopies of your passport to prove it. Ask at
Dickinson's about the same owners' Café Democ and Club
Culture , which are currently looking for new venues.

TREAT YOURSELF
Bangkok can be monstrously ugly by day,
but as the sun sets and the smog
dissolves, the city can reveal a magical
charm. The best way to take advantage of
this is to treat yourself to a pricey drink at
one of the enormously tall skyscraper
hotels that have rooftop bars.
Balco 5th floor, River City shopping
centre; map pp.712-713. Welcoming
rooftop bar, whose armchairs and sofas
provide a great view of the river up
towards Chinatown and down to Saphan
Taksin. Nothing like as stunning as the
lofty hotel bars, but then again the drinks
are about a quarter of the price. Tues-Sun
6.30pm-midnight.
The Sky Bar & Distil Floor 63, State Tower,
1055 Th Silom, corner of Th Charoen Krung;
map pp.712-713. Come around 5.30pm to
enjoy the stunning panoramas in both the
light and the dark. It's standing-only at the
circular Sky Bar , on the edge of the building
with almost 360° views, but for the sunset
itself, you're better off on the outside
terrace of Distil on the other side of the
building, which has huge couches to
recline on. Daily 5pm-1am.

★

10

BANGLAMPHU
Bangkok Bar 100 Th Ram Bhuttri; map p.715. This multi-
tiered bar-restaurant around a fountain courtyard hosts
live indie bands and local DJs and draws capacity crowds
of drinkers and clubbers. Daily 6pm-late.
Blues Bar (aka Ad Here the 13th) 13 Th Samsen; map
p.715. Small, chilled-out bar where you can relax with
musos and enjoy popular live jazz and blues from about
9.30pm onwards. Good cocktails too. Daily 6pm-midnight.
Brick Bar Buddy Village complex, 265 Th Khao San;
map p.715. Funky live-music bar that offers reggae, ska,
rock'n'roll and Thai pop. Popular with locals and gets
rammed at weekends, when there's sometimes an entry
charge, depending on who's on. Daily 8pm-2am.
The Club Th Khao San; map p.715. If all the Chang beer's
gone straight to your feet, grab your dancing shoes and
head to The Club . Resident DJs pump thumping house
tunes through the two bars and relatively spacious dance-
floor until late. Daily 10pm-3am.
Dickinson's Culture Café 64 Th Phra Athit; map p.715.
Grungy shophouse café decorated with a mess of empty
picture frames and tra c cones, which hosts some great
DJs at the weekends (Fri, Sat, sometimes on Sun, & Mon).
Sip on cocktails (including dozens of martinis) or buckets.
Daily 9am-2pm.
★

DOWNTOWN
Glow 96/4-5 Soi 23, Th Sukhumvit; map pp.712-713.
This small, three-storey venue is one of the clubs of the
moment, attracting an interesting roster of Thai and
international DJs to play house, techno and drum'n'bass -
see W bk.asia-city.com for details of who's on. Daily
6pm-1am.
Q Bar 34 Soi 11, Th Sukhumvit W qbarbangkok.com; map
pp.712-713. Very dark, very trendy, New York-style bar-
club, famous for its wide choice of chilled vodkas, and for
its music from local and international DJs. Admission price
depends on who's on, but count on B300 including one
free drink. Daily 8pm-late.
★

Hippie de Bar 46 Th Khao San; map p.715. Inviting
courtyard bar set away from the main fray, attracting a
mixed studenty/arty/high-society, mostly Thai crowd, to
drink at its wrought-iron tables and park benches. Indoors
is totally kitsch. Daily 4pm-2am, till 3am Fri & Sat.

RED LIGHT BANGKOK
More than a thousand sex-related
businesses operate in Bangkok: they
dominate Thanon Sukhumvit's Soi
Cowboy (between sois 21 and 23) and Soi
Nana (Soi 4), but the city's most notorious
zone is Patpong , between the eastern
ends of Silom and Suriwong roads. If you
do end up at a sex show, be warned that
you'll be charged exorbitant prices for
drinks, and will have to face a menacing
bouncer if you refuse to pay.

Tawandang German Brewery 462/61 Th Rama III
T 02 678 1114-6, W tawandang.com; map pp.712-713.
A taxi ride south of Chong Nonsi Skytrain down Th
Narathiwat Ratchanakharin - and best to book a table in
advance - but this vast, good-time all-rounder is well
worth the effort: good food, great microbrewed German
beer and a hugely entertaining cabaret, featuring Thai and
Western music, magic shows and ballet. Daily 5pm-1am.
WTF 7 Soi 51, Th Sukhumvit, 5min walk west of BTS Thong
Lo T 02 662 6246, W wtfbangkok.com; map pp.712-713.
Small, hip, Spanish-influenced bar-café and art gallery,
which hosts occasional poetry nights, left-field DJs and