Hello Khao San Road! We are reacquainted!
Ask anyone heading into Bangkok where their first stop is, and it’s a sure answer of Khao San Road. It’s become so popular that it’s mostly filled with only tourist. It’s definitely a must on your list if you haven’t been to Khao San Road; it’s a ride of passage when you are in Bangkok. Bars blaring out music, to little street vendors selling insects and touts promoting Ping-Pong shows, it’s almost a fool-proof-good cheap night out.
*the last bit (Ping-Pong show) might be a bit traumatising for some.
In short, Khao San Road is a party street. Flashing lights, bright neons and loud music. It seriously is a party street and one with lots of the backpacking sort. I remember my first time on Khao San Road… its almost overwhelming yet exciting at the same time. Almost everything a backpacker needs can be found here. From clothes to travel agencies, it’s mostly centred here, as it’s a high tourist traffic area.
Do bear in mind that Khao San Road is situated in the old part of the city. You can get here by either a taxi, motor taxi or bus. The trains such as the BTS and MRT don’t connect to this part of the city. I highly recommend the taxi as its metered and its fairly cheap, if you are not in a hurry that is. Traffic can be a bit of a nightmare during peak hours. And NO, the tuk tuk's are over priced and they are a rip off!
*the last bit (Ping-Pong show) might be a bit traumatising for some.
In short, Khao San Road is a party street. Flashing lights, bright neons and loud music. It seriously is a party street and one with lots of the backpacking sort. I remember my first time on Khao San Road… its almost overwhelming yet exciting at the same time. Almost everything a backpacker needs can be found here. From clothes to travel agencies, it’s mostly centred here, as it’s a high tourist traffic area.
Do bear in mind that Khao San Road is situated in the old part of the city. You can get here by either a taxi, motor taxi or bus. The trains such as the BTS and MRT don’t connect to this part of the city. I highly recommend the taxi as its metered and its fairly cheap, if you are not in a hurry that is. Traffic can be a bit of a nightmare during peak hours. And NO, the tuk tuk's are over priced and they are a rip off!
Its almost like this every night of the week on Khao San Road.
Khao San Road is a short stretched road filled with clubs and bars. There are a few restaurants serving food, but you’re better off having street food as it’s cheaper and taste way better than what the restaurants have to offer.
The street can sometimes get over crowded so the parallel street to Khao San Road is rather welcoming. You can get here via the connecting street known as ‘Susie Walking Street’. It’s an orange sign that is easily outshined by the other bright lights around, so best to keep a sharp eye out for the sign.
The adjourning street is pretty relaxing, not too crowded and looks better maintained unlike Khao San Road. The Shisha bars here are nice and the atmosphere here is less intense compared to Khao San Road for sure.
The street can sometimes get over crowded so the parallel street to Khao San Road is rather welcoming. You can get here via the connecting street known as ‘Susie Walking Street’. It’s an orange sign that is easily outshined by the other bright lights around, so best to keep a sharp eye out for the sign.
The adjourning street is pretty relaxing, not too crowded and looks better maintained unlike Khao San Road. The Shisha bars here are nice and the atmosphere here is less intense compared to Khao San Road for sure.
These street performers are really good.
As we sat down for a drink and a Shisha I caught a chubby teen beat boxing. While busy practicing (did I mention that he’s pretty good?) I caught a few others gathering around him, setting up. Between sipping drinks and Shisha, the beat boxer goes off on a rhythm over the portable speakers. Right in the middle of the road, about 15 of them were breaking out into a dance rhythm. It was insane!
These guys were simply amazing. Break dancing in the middle of the street was just ace. Even the traffic stopped to watch them dance. It went on for a good 30 minutes where the crowd clearly grew larger by the minute, and kept cheering them on. These boys are truly talented and the beat boxer was equally as good! If you are ever in this area, keep a look out for this group. They are entertaining. Oh, and please do tip if you end up watching them perform. Not many people tipped but watched the entire show. Rude!
These guys were simply amazing. Break dancing in the middle of the street was just ace. Even the traffic stopped to watch them dance. It went on for a good 30 minutes where the crowd clearly grew larger by the minute, and kept cheering them on. These boys are truly talented and the beat boxer was equally as good! If you are ever in this area, keep a look out for this group. They are entertaining. Oh, and please do tip if you end up watching them perform. Not many people tipped but watched the entire show. Rude!
The portable Volkswagen bars on Sukhumvit Soi 11.
Since I’m living in Bangkok for a short while, Khao San Road can’t be all that Bangkok has to offer, right?
Sukhumvit Soi 11 (soi means lane) is one of the other nightspots to get to. The BTS stop at Soi 11 is Nana, which is known for its red light district on Soi 13. Sukhumvit Soi 11 has some really good restaurant, bar and clubs that is known for its wild nightlife. But before you get any further, you’ll be sure to spot one of the many retro Volkswagen minivans that adorn the side walks.
It’s lighted up with bright neon lights and serves some good drinks on the sidewalk. Talk about a portable bar! You'll definitely see more than a few of these in the area.
Sukhumvit Soi 11 (soi means lane) is one of the other nightspots to get to. The BTS stop at Soi 11 is Nana, which is known for its red light district on Soi 13. Sukhumvit Soi 11 has some really good restaurant, bar and clubs that is known for its wild nightlife. But before you get any further, you’ll be sure to spot one of the many retro Volkswagen minivans that adorn the side walks.
It’s lighted up with bright neon lights and serves some good drinks on the sidewalk. Talk about a portable bar! You'll definitely see more than a few of these in the area.
This area is particularly popular with the expat community. In general Sukhumvit’s Soi 11 has a few classy places for cocktails and chic super clubs. A tab bit upscale but the Volkswagen bars is a must if you’re here. It’s a great spot to sit, soak up the ambience and people watch.
Another thing that’s popular around this area and Khao San Road is this really loud-boom-box of a tuk tuk. They are expensive but I mean it’s an experience. We paid about 250B to get from Sukhumvit Soi 11 to the Sanam Pao BTS station (the taxi would have been half the price if not less).
It was as if Khao San Road came along the ride with us, with music blaring over the speakers and flashing neon lights. It’s a mobile disco that takes you home. It certainly was a showstopper at the traffic lights!
Another thing that’s popular around this area and Khao San Road is this really loud-boom-box of a tuk tuk. They are expensive but I mean it’s an experience. We paid about 250B to get from Sukhumvit Soi 11 to the Sanam Pao BTS station (the taxi would have been half the price if not less).
It was as if Khao San Road came along the ride with us, with music blaring over the speakers and flashing neon lights. It’s a mobile disco that takes you home. It certainly was a showstopper at the traffic lights!
The Iron Faeries is a must when you are in Thong Lor. It's just simply amazing with good live music and the cocktails are fabulous.
Thong Lor on the other hand has to be one of my favourite places on the Sukhumvit road. As the name suggests, the BTS stop here is Thong Lor, but on the map this street is known as Sukhumvit Soi 55. And to confuse you further, there are other ‘Soi’s’ on this Sukhumvit Soi 55. So it’s easier to tell a cabbie, Thong Lor followed by Soi (whatever number you are heading too) as they all know this place.
Thong Lor as I was told is primarily a Japanese expatriate area hence the abundance Japanese restaurants and Japanese themed bars and pubs. The main street is not as impressive as the side streets. Once you start going into the side street and exploring, you’ll come across some really amazing restaurants and cafés. I was sold with this area. If I moved here, I’m sure to spend my weekends exploring the places in Thong Lor. It’s simply exciting and it never fails to impress me.
Soi 13 in Thong Lor is home to SeenSpace where the main outlet for Mr. Jones’ Orphanage is, as well as other eateries. This little community mall is rather chic, with cool open planned spaces that house good restaurants and bars. It’s not like the conventional huge malls; it’s small and rather intimate. Don’t worry, it’s just a two-story building, which makes it harder to locate if you don’t know where it is.
Thong Lor as I was told is primarily a Japanese expatriate area hence the abundance Japanese restaurants and Japanese themed bars and pubs. The main street is not as impressive as the side streets. Once you start going into the side street and exploring, you’ll come across some really amazing restaurants and cafés. I was sold with this area. If I moved here, I’m sure to spend my weekends exploring the places in Thong Lor. It’s simply exciting and it never fails to impress me.
Soi 13 in Thong Lor is home to SeenSpace where the main outlet for Mr. Jones’ Orphanage is, as well as other eateries. This little community mall is rather chic, with cool open planned spaces that house good restaurants and bars. It’s not like the conventional huge malls; it’s small and rather intimate. Don’t worry, it’s just a two-story building, which makes it harder to locate if you don’t know where it is.
One of the many Japanese restaurants in Thong Lor.
This area has a high concentration of Japanese expatriates.
This area has a high concentration of Japanese expatriates.
Penny’s on the main road of Thong Lor has a few good restaurants to try out. Not far from Penny’s is the Iron Fairies! It’s just across Soi 13 and honestly, this place is easy to miss and if you don’t know it, it can look rather dodge from the outside. It is dark and covered with bottles of fairy dust on the outside. There are two doors that lead into the bar, open anyone of them and go through the curtains.
I was spell bounded as soon as I walked in. I fell in love with the place. It’s really small and 3 floors high and filled with little intricate details of fairies and gargoyles that give this place a gothic feel. The live bands on the weekends are some of the best I’ve heard in Bangkok! There are balcony seats on the 3rd floor, but it is a little tricky, as you would have to open one of the doors to allow you to get to the balcony area.
We walked up, made a few turns and thought we were in the staff area. As soon as we pushed a random door, it opened up to a balcony, which was filled with guests for a private function. Oops! But now we do know that they do cater to group bookings and they serve food too.
I was spell bounded as soon as I walked in. I fell in love with the place. It’s really small and 3 floors high and filled with little intricate details of fairies and gargoyles that give this place a gothic feel. The live bands on the weekends are some of the best I’ve heard in Bangkok! There are balcony seats on the 3rd floor, but it is a little tricky, as you would have to open one of the doors to allow you to get to the balcony area.
We walked up, made a few turns and thought we were in the staff area. As soon as we pushed a random door, it opened up to a balcony, which was filled with guests for a private function. Oops! But now we do know that they do cater to group bookings and they serve food too.
The interior of The Iron Fairies is rather dim but its amazing. Tight spaced, yes, but that’s the charm of the whole place. Plus what better way to meet new people? It’s figuring, the jars of fairy dusts and lounge chairs just make you want to spend your entire night here. The drinks here are excellent too especially their house special, the Smoke In A Bottle No.1 and No.2.
As our drinks arrived, I got a class filled with ice and fresh berries accompanied with a bottle of red liquid. It’s a tall bottle and ¼ filled with this red liquid while the rest of the bottle was filled with smoke. As I poured out my poison for the night, the smoke mixes together with the cocktail and pours out with a dramatic effect. It’s really cool and it taste brilliant.
As our drinks arrived, I got a class filled with ice and fresh berries accompanied with a bottle of red liquid. It’s a tall bottle and ¼ filled with this red liquid while the rest of the bottle was filled with smoke. As I poured out my poison for the night, the smoke mixes together with the cocktail and pours out with a dramatic effect. It’s really cool and it taste brilliant.
The portable disco ride home - Boom-box-disco tuk tuk!!
There are other roof top bars that line the Bangkok skyline, but that I can assure you, you can find out online. But these other places, you’d have to either lived in Bangkok long enough to find them or know a local that does. I’ve been fortunate to have a friend take me around these places if not I might have been stuck to the usual tourist route and the usual run of the mill online advises.
Bangkok has a lot to offer in terms of its nightlife. Whatever is it you fancy, they sure have an array of choices to choose from.
View gallery for more photographs.
Bangkok has a lot to offer in terms of its nightlife. Whatever is it you fancy, they sure have an array of choices to choose from.
View gallery for more photographs.
I love Bangkok! And my weekends have just got exciting!!