Bangkok (Lonely Planet) - Andrew Burke [137]
WINE PUB
Map Bar
0 2680 9999; www.pullmanbangkokkingpower.com; 2nd fl Pullman Bangkok King Power, 8/2 Soi Rang Nam, Th Phayathai, Ratchathewi; 6pm-2am; Victory Monument exit 2
If the upmarket but chilled setting and spinning DJ aren’t compelling enough reasons to emerge from your Th Sukhumvit comfort zone, consider that this is probably the least expensive place in town to drink wine. Check the website for revolving nibbles promotions that span everything from imported cheeses and cold cuts to tapas.
WONG’S PLACE
Map Bar
27/3 Soi Sri Bumphen, off Soi Ngam Duphli, Th Phra Ram IV, Lumphini; 8pm-late; Lumphini exit 1
An odd choice for an institution if there ever was one, this dusty den is a time warp into the backpacker world of the early 1980s. The namesake owner died several years ago, but a relative removed the padlock and picked up where Wong left off. Wong’s works equally well as a destination or a last resort, but don’t bother knocking until midnight, keeping in mind that it stays open until the last person crawls out.
WTF CAFÉ AND GALLERY
Map Bar/Restaurant
0 2662 6246; www.wtfbangkok.com; 7 Soi 51, Th Sukhumvit; 6pm-12.30am Tue-Sun; Thong Lo exit 3
No, not that WTF; Wonderful Thai Friendship is a funky and friendly neighbourhood bar that also has two floors of gallery space. Stop by for fun drinks and a bar-snack menu whose influences range from Macau to Spain, or to check out the latest contemporary-art exhibition.
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LIVE MUSIC
Music is a part of almost every Thai social gathering, and as Thailand’s media capital, Bangkok is the centre of the Thai music industry, packaging and selling pop, crooners, lôok tûng (Thai-style country music) and the recent phenomenon of indie bands. The matriarchs and patriarchs like dinner with an easy-listening soundtrack: typically a Filipino band and a synthesizer. Patrons pass their request (on a napkin) up to the stage. An indigenous rock style, pleng pêu·a chee·wít (songs for life), makes appearances at a dying breed of country-and-western bars decorated with buffalo horns and pictures of Native Americans. Several dedicated bars throughout the city feature blues and rock bands, but are quite scant on live indie-scene performances. Up-and-coming garage bands occasionally pop up at free concerts where the kids hang out: Santichaiprakan Park (Th Phra Athit), Th Khao San and Siam Sq. Music festivals like Noise Pop and Fat Festival also feature the new breed.
For more on the ins and outs of the Thai music scene, see Click here.
AD HERE THE 13TH
Map Bar
13 Th Samsen, Banglamphu; 6pm-midnight; air-con 3,16 & ordinary 3, 15 & 16; klorng boat to Tha Phra Athit (Banglamphu, N13)
Please don’t blame the drummer if you’re accidentally smacked by a stray drumstick; things can get a bit tight in here. Featuring a soulful house band that plays at 9.30pm nightly, Ad Here is one of those places that somehow manages to be both raucous and intimate.
BAMBOO BAR
Map Bar
0 2659 9000; Oriental Hotel, Soi 38 (Oriental), Th Charoen Krung, Riverside; 11-1am; air-con 504, 544 & 547, ordinary 1, 15, 35 & 163; klorng boat to Tha Oriental (N1)
Rubber-plantation barons and colonial mansions are not exactly part of Bangkok’s history, but Bamboo Bar, in the historic Oriental Hotel, exudes oodles of bygone charm. Internationally recognized jazz bands hold court within a brush stroke of the audience to set a mellow lounge mood.
BRICK BAR
Map Bar
0 2629 4477; basement, Buddy Lodge, 265 Th Khao San, Banglamphu; 8pm-2am; air-con 44, 59, 157, 503, 509 & 511, ordinary 15, 44, 47, 59, 157 & 159; Tha Phra Athit (Banglamphu, N13)
Resembling Liverpool’s Cavern Club c 1960, Brick Bar is an underground den that hosts a nightly revolving cast of live music for an almost exclusively Thai crowd. Come before midnight, wedge yourself into a table a few inches from the horn section, and lose it to Teddy Ska, one of the most energetic live acts in town.
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CHEAP DATES
Barbican Daily specials make this one of the cheaper