Bangkok (Lonely Planet) - Andrew Burke [144]
Meanwhile, Soi Twilight (Soi Pratuchai; Map; Soi Pratuchai, Th Surawong, Silom; Si Lom exit 2; Sala Daeng exit 3) is Patpong’s queer little brother, which offers shows ranging in scope from muscle boy to ladyboy.
Asian tourists – primarily Japanese, Taiwanese and Hong Kong men – flock to the Ratchada entertainment strip, part of the Huay Khwang district (Map), along wide Th Ratchadaphisek between Th Phra Ram IX and Th Lat Phrao. Lit up like Las Vegas, this stretch of neon boasts huge, male-oriented, massage/snooker/karaoke/go-go complexes with names like Caesar’s Sauna and Emmanuelle.
ENTERTAINMENT & THE ARTS
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THEATRE & DANCE
DINNER THEATRE
GÀ·TEU·I CABARET
CINEMAS
GALLERIES
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top picks
100 Tonson Gallery
Ardel Gallery of Modern Art
Bangkok Art & Culture Centre (BACC;)
Bangkok University Art Gallery (BUG;)
H Gallery
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What’s your recommendation? www.lonelyplanet.com/bangkok
ENTERTAINMENT & THE ARTS
Although Bangkok’s hyper-urban environment seems to cater to the inner philistine in all of us, the city has a significant but low-key art scene. Encouraged and nurtured largely by the city’s expat community, art in today’s Bangkok ranges from beautifully benign objets d’art to increasingly sophisticated displays of social commentary. The city’s galleries are a diverse lot, and include a refurbished wooden house and several chic restaurant-cum-galleries. In recent years, new ones seem to have been opening on a weekly basis. Bangkok also acts as something of a regional art hub, showing many works by emerging artists from places like Myanmar (Burma) and Cambodia.
The performing arts have a long history in Bangkok. Dancing in particular, whether by classically trained performers at a shrine or ladyboys camping about on stage, seems to form a large part of the entertainment options for many visitors to the city.
For profiles of Thai modern artists and movements, pick up a copy of Flavours: Thai Contemporary Art, by Steven Pettifor, a leading Bangkok art critic who also authored the boxed text, Click here. Rama IX Museum (www.rama9art.org) is an online resource for artists’ portfolios and gallery profiles.
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THEATRE & DANCE
High-art-wise, Bangkok’s heyday passed with the dismantling of the royal court. Today Thai preservationists cling to the classical dance dramas, which attract little government funding or appreciation, as the city races to be more modern than it was the day before.
There is a handful of companies performing Western arts and interesting fusions of Thai-Western traditions, but the number of arts venues is abysmally small compared with more-profitable and less-cultural businesses. The city’s daily newspapers and monthly magazines maintain a calendar of cultural events. Performances are typically advertised in the Bangkok Post or online at www.bangkokconcerts.org. Reservations are recommended for events, and tickets can be purchased through Thai Ticket Major (www.thaiticketmajor.com).
AKSRA THEATRE
Map
0 2677 8888 ext 5604; www.aksratheatre.com; King Power Complex, 8/1 Th Rang Nam, Ratchathewi; tickets 800B; shows 7pm Tue-Fri, 1pm & 7pm Sat & Sun; Victory Monument exit 2
The former Joe Louis Puppet Theatre has moved house and is starting a new life here as the Aksra Hoon Lakorn Lek. A variety of performances are now held at this modern theatre, but the highlight are performances of the Ramakian that use knee-high puppets requiring three puppeteers to manipulate them into humanlike poses.
NATIONAL THEATRE
Map
0 2221 0171; Th Ratchini, Ko Ratanakosin; tickets 40-100B; air-con 503, 508 & 511, ordinary 15 & 53; Tha Chang (N9)
When its seemingly never-ending reconstruction is eventually finished in 2010, the National Theatre will host monthly performances of the royal dance traditions of lá·kon and kǒhn.
PATRAVADI THEATRE
Map
0 2412 7287; www.patravaditheatre.com; 69/1 Soi Wat Rakhang,