 |
dancing lessons from god |
Home
|
unusual travel arrangements for independent travellers
|
|
Bangkok/SilomBangkok/SilomImage:Patpong_McD.JPG|thumb|240px|Gluttony and lust, Patpong The area between the roads of '''Silom''' and '''Sathorn''' is the closest Bangkok gets to Wall Street, with glistening skyscrapers all boasting the names of financial institutions. After nightfall the character of the place changes considerably though: the small sois between Silom and '''Surawong''' come alive with people out for a good time, including the infamous short little alley of '''Patpong'''. ==See== Tourist sights are rather rare on the ground in Silom. * Catch a '''Thai kickboxing''' (''Muay Thai'') match at '''Lumphini Stadium''' (Rama IV Road; Subway Lumphini). Matches start at 18.30 on Tuesday and Friday and 16.30 and 20.30 on Saturday, seats cost between 220 and 1100 baht depending on how close to the action you want to be. ==Buy== The shopping around Silom is a little lackluster compared to Bangkok/Sukhumvit|Sukhumvit. ===Markets=== * The '''Patpong night market''' features all the usual Asian knock-offs and assorted tourist goods. Prices are considerably inflated compared to most any other market and shopping here isn't really recommended, as it will take you half an hour just to bargain down that 500 baht T-shirt to the 50 baht it would cost you elsewhere. * The new '''Suan Lum Night Bazaar''' (Subway Lumphini) is a less chaotic option offering much the same fare and then some. The quality of goods and displays are generally higher than Chatuchak Weekend Market, but so are the prices. However, the stalls are modern, thoroughfares are wider, and there are many good dining options here (see #Eat|Eat). A money changer and ATM is located right in the middle of the market area, but it closes two hours earlier than the rest of the market does. Try to find the stall of the guy who sculpts life-sized Aliens (and more easily portable items) out of scrap metal. The bazaar is open nightly until midnight. ===Stores=== * '''Jim Thompson'''. 9 Surawong Road (''walk through Soi Thaniya from BTS Sala Daeng''), tel. 2632-8100. The flagship store of the famous Thai silk brand, offering well-designed pieces of high quality at equally high prices. Spread on four floors, unlike the small hotel shops this store offers the full range of Thompson's products, including lengths of raw silk. * '''Silom Complex''' (Silom Rd, connected to BTS Sala Daeng) is Silom's only mall of any significance. A bit quiet, but the restaurants and TOPS supermarket in the basement aren't bad. * Across the street from Silom Complex, '''Robinson Silom''' (corner of Silom and Rama IV Rds) is similarly the only department store of significance in the area. ==Eat== Cafes, noodle shops, and fancy restaurants line the streets around Silom. For authentic Japanese food at reasonable prices, pop into one of the many eateries on Soi Thaniya. ===Budget=== * '''Food Fusion'''. 4F Robinson Silom (''corner of Silom and Rama IV Rds''). A modern food court with a twist, with stalls offering Thai, Chinese, Italian, Japanese and Vietnamese food. On entry you receive a barcoded baton used to record your orders, and you pay the sum on exit. Prices are moderate at 50-100 baht for mains. Open daily from 10.30 AM to 10 PM. * '''Suan Lum Night Bazaar'''. The stadium-sized beer garden here also offers reasonably priced Thai eats (most dishes 30-50B) and free concerts by Thai cover bands. If there is an official drink of Suan Lum, it's beer: the place is full of beer vendors (Erdinger, Paulaner, et al.) offering a wide selection of imported and local beers. ===Mid-range=== ====Thai==== * '''Anna's Café''', 118 Soi Saladaeng, off Silom Rd, [http://www.annascafes.com/]. A chain now, but this is the original: a hip white space offering a menu of tasty Thai and Western fare and reasonable (but not quite cheap) prices. Mains around B100, and you can try to spot Thai celebrities for free. * '''Nooddi'''. Borth side of Silom Rd (''near BTS Sala Daeng''). A trendy chain of noodle eateries, offering a variety of styles (Thai, Chinese, Japanese) in air-conditioned surroundings for around B60 a bowl. Try the iced tea; the "glass" is big enough for two! ====International==== * '''Takoemon''', (''one soi down from Thaniya towards Rama IV''). Specializes in amazingly good ''takoyaki'' (Japanese-style octopus dough balls), especially when given that they cost 30B per box of 6. ''Ramen'' and ''udon'' noodles in the 30-60B range also available. * '''Ichimonji''' (???). 9/34 Soi Thaniya. Buried in the depths of the soi, this is a typical Japanese-style pub and eatery. Set meals in the 150-250B range are decent value, English menu available. * '''Cafe India'''. 460/8 Surawongse Road (''near Patpong''). Has been serving up amazing Indian food since at least the war years. Many other old GI bars and restaurants in and around Patpong are still in business and worth visiting. Beware of some of the wraith-like vets who never made it home however. Some of these can be very disturbing to encounter. ==Drink== There's more to Silom's nightlife than just Patpong, but can a visitor say they've been to Bangkok without at least a quick peek into the 'Pong? ===Soi Patpong=== {{infobox|Behaving while misbehavin'|Some simple rules of etiquette to follow in a go-go bar: *A '''drink in your hand''' is required at all times. Most places charge around 100B for most drinks. *'''Lady drinks''' cost a little more and earn you the privilege of chatting with the lady of your choice for a while. *Taking a dancer out of her place of employment before closing time will cost you a '''bar fine''' of around 500B. This is the bar's share, the rest is up to you two. *'''No photos inside'''. If you're lucky, you'll merely have your camera confiscated, but you also stand a fair chance of getting beaten up for your trouble. *'''Look, but don't touch''' (unless invited to). Getting too frisky will get you kicked out. *Bring along your '''passport'''. Police raids are not uncommon and you're off to the brig for the night if you can't produce one on demand. }} You might want to take a deep breath and a few shots before heading into the insanity of '''Patpong''', which in fact consists only of two small sois (Patpong 1 and Patpong 2) a short walk from BTS Sala Daeng station, deserted by day but jam-packed and overflowing in all directions by night. The throngs of middle age tourists shopping for sarongs and chopsticks just makes the '''sex shows''' going on in every open door that much more surreal. Prepare to be harassed by touts armed with laminated 'menus' of acts you can order up. If you follow the touts, you might end up spending a ton of money on drinks to watch sad looking girls perform '''unhygienic acts''' with various garden-party accessories (lawn darts, ping pongs, etc etc) in one of the upstairs bars. If you instead try one of the bars on the lower level, you can safely watch girls dancing on stage, but will occasionally be asked by one of the girls if you could buy her a drink. She will get upwards of 50% of the drink price as a bonus and will join you at your table for some conversation in exchange. As a rule of thumb, only trust bars that already have a fair number of customers; a drink should not cost more than 100 baht or so. * '''King's Castle III'''. Patpong 1 (''left side''). The place to go gawp at ''kathoeys'' (ladyboys) strutting their stuff — and be amazed at how well some of them can transform. Prepare to tolerate a few invasions of personal space, but it's all in good fun. Drinks B70 and up, no surprises on the bill. * '''Lucifer'''. Patpong 1 (''left side, above Radio City''). A rarity in Patpong, a "real" nightclub without girls in bikinis. Decorated to look like Hell, most customers are partygoers here to listen to the club's brand of hard techno. Cover charge B150 on weekends, including one drink. Check out the '''Heat''' nights on Wednesday when leather-clad dancers whip it up. Open until (at least) 2 AM. ''Note'': '''All''' the go-go bars in Patpong close by 1 AM sharp! ===Silom Soi 2 and 4=== Sois 2 and 4 are the center of '''gay nightlife''' in Bangkok, although these days Soi 4 packs in a mixed crowd with plenty of bars that aren't gay by any stretch of the imagination. On weekends Soi 4 is cordoned off and '''valid ID''' is (theoretically) required to enter. * '''Speed'''. 80 Silom Soi 4. Put Speed on the top of your list if hip-hop is your scene; this is where you come to witness young Thais in baggy clothes getting down with 50 Cent and his ilk. Several floors but the ground floor is where the action is. * '''Tapas'''. 114/17 Silom Soi 4. On your left immediately as you enter the soi, this is more of a groovy club than a Spanish snack joint, with two stylishly decorated floors and a people-watching terrace. Entrance B100 (no drink), open 8 PM to 2 AM daily. * '''Xcentrix'''. 14/5 Silom Soi 4. The newest and hippest kid on the block, offering three (small) floors plus a rooftop with varying but always futuristic decor and funky music. Try the X-Devil at B200. Open Tue-Sun 6 PM to 2 AM, no cover. ===Soi Thaniya=== Image:Thaniya_Alley.JPG|thumb|Soi Thaniya in the harsh glare of day Soi Thaniya is Patpong for the Japanese; you might be excused for thinking you've ended up in Tokyo/Shinjuku|Shinjuku when you see the plethora of signs in Japanese and kimono-clad girls beckoning you in. Most bars and clubs are off-limits to Westerners, but some of the restaurants aren't bad for a serve of Japanese food and some beer or sake to wash it down. ===Other=== Note that fairly strictly applied '''dress codes''' apply to all of the following, so no flip-flops, shorts or sleeveless shirts. * '''The Dome'''. 63F State Tower, 1055/111 Silom Road, tel. 2624-9576, [http://www.thedomebkk.com/]. The world's tallest rooftop bar/restaurant, a few meters higher up than Vertigo — but due to its slightly off-center location the views are arguably not quite as stunning. This is in fact a complex of a number of expensive restaurants, including the Mediterranean-flavored '''Sirocco''', but the cheapest option for just a drink is the fully outdoor '''Sky Bar''' (200B+/drink), complete with a live jazz band most nights. * '''Hu'u'''. 1F Ascott Sathorn, 187 South Sathorn Rd (''BTS Chong Nonsi; cross pedestrian bridge and turn right''). The latest branch of the superhip bar-restaurant from Bali, offers Bangkok's tallest bottle rack and a 30-page menu of bizarrely named but well made cocktails. (Also check out the bathrooms!) Expensive at over 200B for most drinks. * '''Vertigo'''. Atop Banyan Tree Hotel, South Sathorn Rd, [http://www.banyantree.com/bangkok/dining_vertigo.htm]. This aptly-named named bar and restaurant is actually located ''outside'' on the roof, giving you an absolutely staggering views of Bangkok at night. Drinks at the bar are fairly expensive (150B and up), but it's definitely worth the experience. Dinner at the restaurant, on the other hand, is not worth it — a course of pretentious European food will set you back around 4000B/head. ==Sleep== There are a number of hotels in the Silom area, although the cheaper ones tend to be the kind that rents rooms by the hour. ===Mid-range=== * '''Montien Hotel''', 54 Surawongse Rd, http://www.montien.com/bkk/default.asp]. Built at the same time as the Dusit... and looks like it. Some rooms offer a clear view (and muffled noise) of Patpong, immediately opposite, a fact which seems to account for much of the clientele. Rooms somewhat overpriced at US$60 and up. ===Splurge=== * '''Banyan Tree Bangkok''', 21/100 South Sathorn Rd, [http://www.banyantree.com/bangkok/]. A five-star spa resort in the middle of the city, worth visiting if only for the Vertigo bar and restaurant up top (see Bangkok/Silom#Other|above). Rates US$160 and up. * '''Dusit Thani'''. Corner of Silom and Rama IV Rds (''next to Subway Si Lom exit 2''), [http://www.dusit.com/hotel/dtb/]. One of Bangkok's grand old hotels, with an excellent location in Silom featuring both Skytrain and subway access. The 21-story tower with a distinctive golden spike was Bangkok's tallest when opened in 1968, and has aged gracefully with many renovations for modern frills like broadband Internet. Rooms start at US$100. First page | Prev | Next | Last page |
if you like cool drinks you may be interested in:
Hope you enjoyed reading about Bangkok/Silom |
|
