Soi patpong
King's Castle III
The place to go gawp at kathoeys ladyboys strutting their stuff. Prepare to tolerate a few invasions of personal space, but it's all in good fun. No surprises on the bill.
You might want to take a deep breath and down a few shots before heading into the insanity of Patpong à¸à¸±à¸à¸à¹à¸à¸à¸©à¹, which in fact consists only of two small sois Patpong 1 and Patpong 2. It's 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 seem 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. While seemingly cheap at first, be prepared to pay thousands of bahts when the girls flock to you with drinks in their hands, as you'd have to pay for them. The bill comes to you within minutes and the dispute could become violent.
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 130 baht or so. Note that all the go-go bars in Patpong close by 01:00 sharp!
It must be said that Patpong has changed remarkably over the years. While it used to be just a sleazy den of go-go bars, the last years a lot of visitors came to the area just to see what the fuss is about. It is not unusual to see families walk through the area with their children in the early evening. The locals found a way to make money from this new group of curious tourists: an enormous night market stocked with overpriced souvenirs that takes up the whole road and even spills over to the surrounding area including Silom Road. See the Buy section for more information on the night market.
English pubs
Barbican
A favorite among Bangkok's expatriates, this British-style pub is actually in the middle of the Japanese neighborhood! Don't expect anything classy here, but its relaxed atmosphere does make for a nice visit. Besides beer, they also have simple dishes that can be ordered. Mains start for around 200 baht. In the early evenings they have "happy hour", so don't expect a seat at that time.
Duke of Wellington
For nice live bands and good service, try this authentic English-style pub. The beers and food are a little pricey by Thai standards, but the place at least has free WiFi. Happy hours on weekdays are between 5PM-8PM, while on Saturdays on Sundays they are between noon-8PM.
Molly Malones Irish Pub
This is quite a large Irish pub with two floors. Its large expat audience mostly sips Guinness, but there are also other beers on tap. Excellent daily lunch buffets and daily Happy Hour specials. Also an All-You-Can-Eat 'Sunday Roast' from noon to 7PM. Satellite TV sports and live music area are available.
O'Reilly's Irish Pub
It is on the corner with Soi Thaniya, but actually still located along Silom Road itself. Live music starts around 9PM. At Tuesdays and Thursdays, Johnny Deschamps, a kind of Thai Frank Sinatra performs, while Wednesdays are taken by the band Vertigo with their blues, pop and soul sound.
Superhip
Bamboo Bar
Jazz lovers will want to stop by the Oriental's famous bar, which is surprisingly small and intimate, for classy colonial surroundings, live music and a Cuban cigar. Needless to say, at 250 baht a Singha here will be the most expensive beer you'll find in Bangkok. Dress code applies: no shorts, sleeveless shirts, slippers or sandals.
Sirocco and Sky Bar
The world's tallest rooftop bar/restaurant, a few metres higher up than Vertigo â but due to its slightly off-centre location, the views are arguably not quite as stunning. This is in fact a complex of a number of expensive restaurants, including the Mediterranean-flavoured Sirocco, but the cheapest option for just a drink is the fully outdoor Sky Bar, complete with a live jazz band most nights. Prices are steep, one beer is a whopping 350+ baht, while cocktails go for 450+ baht.
Vertigo and Moon Bar
This aptly-named named bar and restaurant is actually located outside on the roof 61 stories high, giving you absolutely staggering views of Bangkok at night. Drinks at the bar are fairly expensive beer 240 baht, cocktails 350 baht, plus 10 percent service charge, but it's definitely worth the experience. Dinner at the restaurant, on the other hand, is not worth it â a course of pretentious European food will set you back around 4,000 baht/head.
Note that fairly strictly applied dress codes apply to all of the following, so no flip-flops, shorts or sleeveless shirts.
V9
This wine bar on the 37th floor gives an excellent view over the Silom business district. It looks like being in a wine cellar and on offer are a fantastic selection of wines either by glass or bottle. Prices cheaper than you might expect, there are good bottles for around 1,200 baht, which is cheaper than elsewhere around Silom. Music is hip and there's a good service. It also functions as a restaurant serving tapas-style small dishes of fusion meals.
Silom soi 2 and 4
The Balcony
This is probably the most popular gay pub of Bangkok. They have a friendly staff and beer is reasonably priced. A great place for people-watching
DJ Station
The most famous gay nightclub in Bangkok and busy almost every night, starting with a ladyboy show at 23:30. Jam-packed on weekends, do not enter if you're even slightly claustrophobic. Most drinks are 100 baht be careful with spirits, the bartenders don't measure anything and tend to over-pour, sometimes badly, or buy a bottle of spirits from 1,000 baht up and get free mixers. Spread over three levels, the ground floor has a big dancefloor, the second floor attracts "moneyboys" and their admirers but these are by no means the majority, and the third floor is the place to escape if you can't move if you can get there. Opening hours vary, but it usually closes around 02:00-03:30.
Telephone Pub
Another one of Silom Soi 4's gay bars with a karaoke bar upstairs.
Sois 2 and 4 are the centre 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 a valid ID is theoretically required to enter, though rarely enforced. Across Surawong Road is Soi Twilight, Bangkok's largest gay go-go bar strip.
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 thaniya
Soi Thaniya is Patpong for the Japanese; you might be excused for thinking you've ended up in 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 except for the occasional British pub, but some of the restaurants aren't bad for a serve of Japanese food and some beer or sake to wash it down.