The FARANG Speaks 2 Much (tfs2m)

Sukhumvit Soi 33 and beyond…The first bar here that provided a hostess to accompany customers as they drink was Renoir. Subsequently, many new bars also used the names of famous painters, until now this road is sometimes called “Soi Dead Artists”.

There are no go-gos in Soi 33 or the side alleys from it, but plenty of bars that have many girls that are more presentable than you would see in Nana, Cowboy or Patpong. They are dressed up in cute outfits, usually speak better English and are slightly older than the go-go crowd. Soi 33 has a reputation as being the haunt of the expense-account crowd, and it certainly more expensive (for drinks, bar fines and the expectations of the girls for out-of-bar activities) than the go-go zones. Some of the bars do have special nights with coyote dancing or parties with Penthouse models.

However, Soi 33 seems to be going through a rough patch. The street is rarely busy, there are far fewer girls in the bars than previously, and the girls that do work there seem to be getting older and less attractive than before. It seems a mystery as to why men would pay more for the company of Soi 33 girls than from Nana or Cowboy or the many freelancers available in the cities nightclubs, since they are very clearly no better looking. The street also seems to be slowly turning Japanese, with an inundation of clubs catering to Japanese businessmen.

It is probably still a place to go if you plan to have a long term relationship with a girl, rather than the short term pleasures of other options in Bangkok.

Major Bars in Soi 33:

Office – down a side alley about 100 meters into the Soi on the right. Usually has more girls, and better looking girls, than other bars in this street. It is also a great sports bar with plenty of screens and multiple choices on what to watch.

Renoir - has seen better days, but still one of the larger bars in the street.

Goya Club

Christie’s Club

Big Shots

Papa’s

The Green Parrot

Lookie Lookie – seems to be quite busy these days

Degas

Dali

Gauguin Club

Livingstone’s – set back from the soi next to a large swimming pool

Monet

Santana Club

Van Gogh Club

Wall Street Bar (the Kiwi capital of Bangkok)

Hang Out Bar

Napoleon

Demonia (S&M bar)

Bacchus

Tenderloins – not so much a bar as an Australian themed restaurant, but has a bar section and some of the best looking waitresses in Bangkok

Khao San Road

Closer to the touristy parts of Bangkok, and the Democracy Monument, is a series of streets that started to offer very cheap accommodation in the past two decades. Centered on Khao San Road, this area soon developed into probably the main backpacker destination in South East Asia. If offers an immense array of services for backpackers to travel across all of Asia, and many young people from all over the world now use Khao San Road as their base or starting point for their Asian adventures.

In more recent years, young Thais started to be attracted to the bohemian atmosphere of the Khao San Road and surrounding area. It did not take long for a number of bars and clubs to spring up to service this new opportunity. Now the Khao San Road has a wide variety of nightlife options, including some very good clubs as well as bars with quite a lot of working girls (Gulliver’s comes to mind). It is also still a very cheap place to stay and to eat. Some of the clubs in this area (such as Brick) cater very much to a very young almost exclusively Thai crowd.

Some Clubs and bars in the Khao San Road area include:

Lava Club (mixed reviews on this bar)
Silk Bar
Gullivers
Shamrock Pub
The Club
Austin Bar
Molly Bar
So Fine Beer Garden
Harley Bar
The Cave
Barlamphu (expat managed and good music)
Susie’s Pub

Washington Square

Certainly not a match for the other night life areas listed above in terms of crowds or girls, but still a favorite with some, is an area just off Sukhumvit Soi 22 by Queens Park, and behind the Dubliner pub which is on Sukhumvit Road, and centered on the Mambo katoeys cabaret theatre. This area is known as Washington Square.

Some bars and clubs in Washington Square include:

Cats Meow
Silver Dollar
Studio 22
Texas Lone Star
Wild Country
52 Club
Bourbon Street (as well as a bar, this offers the best Cajun style food in S.E. Asia)

Good P4P bars outside of the main zones

All over Bangkok there are individual bars and clubs, some of which follow the Sukhumvit Soi 33 style of offering young ladies to chat with as you drink. These girls can all be bar-fined and persuaded to continue the fun in your room if they take your fancy.

Some of the best of these just in the Sukhumvit area include:

Titanium – on Sukhumvit Soi 22, this has decent music (sometimes an all girl band) and a fun vodka room with ice bar upstairs.
Genesis - on Sukhumvit Soi 11 close to Qbar with coyote dancers on the bar on weekends
Ava - on Sukhumvit Soi 11 opposite Bed Supperclub
Hilary Bar – new branch of the famous Hilary Bar on Sukhumvit Soi 4 recently opened right next to Ava on Sukhumvit Soi 11
Pedros – one of the few hostess bars right on Sukhumvit Road, between Asoke (Soi 21) and Soi 23. The girls here are nothing to shout about, but every now and again there can be a newcomer to the city.
Toxic – in the City Travel Lodge at the very end of Sukhumvit Soi 18. A great design inside and friendly staff, but rarely busy and hard to locate.

Beer Bars/Pool Bars

There are literally hundreds of bars and pool halls across Bangkok where lovely young ladies can be found on a freelance basis. Almost every street or major thoroughfare has some bars where girls can be seen loitering around. Some of the more concentrated areas of bars, or bars of note, include:

Sukhumvit Soi 7 – the famous beer garden, about 100 meters up on the left side. One of the few places to go in Bangkok during the day to find P4P (outside of massage parlors, Eden club and perhaps a few clubs on Patpong II)
Sukhumvit Soi 7/1 (also known as Soi Eden) with quite a few good bars and at least one go-go
Sukhumvit Soi 8 – has a few beer bars close to the main road
Sukhumvit Soi 22 (Queens Park Plaza) is a large area of bars and pool halls with a dozen or more pubs more or less opposite to the large Queens Park Hotel
Sukhumvit Soi 5 – up to and around Gullivers including the ‘Tunnel’ between Soi 5 and Soi 7 and the Roof Top Garden Bar above Foodland
Sukhumvit Soi 19 & Country Road
Thermae bar close to Sukhumvit Soi 15 on Sukhumvit. A famous and very old institution in Bangkok. Not to everyone’s tastes, but reliable.
Sukhumvit Soi 4 (Soi Nana) further down from Nana Plaza and including such pool bars as the Metro Bar, Hilary’s, Ball In Hand and a restaurant/bar with girls called Bus Stop.
Beer bars within the Nana Entertainment Plaza (including the Big Mango!)
Practically the entire Patpong II Soi in Silom
The Grace Hotel and surrounding areas on Sukhumvit Soi 3 (including Bamboo Beer Garden opposite) but as mentioned previously in the streetwalker section, mostly catering to Arab customers
Players on Sukhumvit (between Soi 12 and Soi 14)
Flyers on corner of Sukhumvit Soi 22 and Sukhumvit
Entire Sukhumvit street itself between Soi 3 and Soi 15 after midnight, where instant bars seem to appear!
Sukhumvit Plaza is a building on the corner of Sukhumvit Soi 1 and Sukhumvit and is full of beer bars and at least one late night club. These bars mostly used to be found under the freeway (Soi Zero) but were relocated in 2006.