A guide to Bangkok Nightlife part 9 (Late Night Places/After Hours) by mbkknowsp4p
Posted by John Obama | Blog, Reader Submissions | Posted on August 31st, 2007
Editor’s note: After hours is a moving target. I have added/edited this post to reflect the latest that I know of and I am sure the comments will provide additions/corrections as well. The notes are in italics.
I have always felt that after hours nightlife in Bangkok desperately needs an alert service. Like a service we had in the Bay Area of California. You could subscribe to a service that would send you a text message in the morning with a surf report. It would tell you where to surf, what to watch out for and any weather events. We need something similar for after-hours nightlife in Bangkok. Say you get a text around 1 AM telling you what places are open, where it is happening, male to female ratios and any police scoops. Would be brilliant.
Late Night places
For some time now, bars and clubs in Bangkok are supposed to close at 1:00am. This rule is interpreted in different ways by different police stations across the city. You can never really be sure when the bar or club you are in will close – but usually it will be anywhere between 1:00am and 3:00am. Nana Plaza go-go’s are currently closing at 2:00am, whereas Cowboy go-go’s go on to 2:30am. Many clubs around Patpong go on until 3:00am. This rule was introduced to try to curb the enthusiasm for booze by young Thais. But the only parts of the city where the police close down the bars and clubs are exactly the parts where no young Thais go – such as Nana, Cowboy and Patpong. Somewhat bizarrely, the very areas where young Thais go (such as Ratchada Soi 4-6-8 area) usually party on all night.
Editor’s note: Discussed this some time ago here. So silly really. They kill tourism but the Thais are drinking more than ever. Makes total sense.
So – where do you go after closing time if you want to carry on partying, or have not yet met the girl of your dreams? There are some options, but this list is liable to change on an almost nightly basis:
Tequila Dragon – at the very end of Sukhumvit Soi 7/1 on the right side and up some stairs
Not too busy anymore. The competition and lack of girls is killing it
Black and White or Josephines – on the rooftop in the building full of beer bars on Sukhumvit Rd by Soi 1 and closed at the moment
I think back open but not busy?
TataInnana in a house set back from Sukhumvit Soi 1 opposite Bumrungrad Hospital. This is easily the best layout of almost any club in Bangkok, but is strangely empty most nights.
Closed.
Blur in the Brit club set back from Petchburi about 1 kilometre East from the Asoke junction on the south side of the road. This is a very Thai place.
Boss – in the warren of side alleys behind the Big C store complex in Pratunam
I think now closed and Boss #2 is somewhere near by?
Sanook Bar – halfway along the tunnel that joins Sukhumvit Soi 5 with Soi 7.
Unnamed bar in Sukhumvit Soi 11, on the right side and about 100 meters up from the main road and just past the Soi 11/1 joining Soi 11, which during the day is called the Golden Eyes Bar. Very small, spaced out customers and staff.
Only order your drinks in bottles.
Patpong – late clubs on Patpong II and in the small alleys that join Patpong I with Patpong II. Currently the late club on Patpong II is one of the best in Bangkok.
After is the main one and still going strong.
Windsor Basement Bar on Sukhumvit Soi 20. Can be very Thai.
Good for pulling member club girls, coyote girls and normal girls after their jobs at hotels, restaurants.
Sin club on Soi Nana has sometimes been known to stay open very late.
Hit or miss but mostly a miss as of late.
Tunnel club on Lang Suan near Soi 5 is good but opens and closes regularly.
Spicy club on Ruang Muang Soi 1. As of time of writing, probably the number one late night club in Bangkok.
Still is but Tunnel not bad. I say go to Tunnel and then if no good or closes go to Spicy!
A new club upstairs from Foodland on Sukhumvit Soi 5 called Disco Tech, also owned by the same folks who manage Boss and Spicy.
Spice club on Sukhumvit Soi 11 under the Ambassador Hotel.
Lucky Club is somewhere on Petchburi and stays open late
OA is a new late club in Petunam (not far from Boss)
Caution: Avoid going to any of these clubs with drugs in your system and always have your passport or ID of some kind handy. They are often raided and closed down by the cops, who sometimes require ID on everyone and sometimes do spot drug tests. Never go to any late night club based upon the recommendations of taxi or tuk-tuk drivers.
Editor’s note: Easiest to carry a copy of your passport at all times anyway. Not really smart to carry your passport everywhere in case you lose it. 
16 Responses to “A guide to Bangkok Nightlife part 9 (Late Night Places/After Hours) by mbkknowsp4p”
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Translator
The only one not on here from the discussion last week is PennyBlack on Soi Cowboy. You can also add Sukhumvut Rd itself between Soi 4 and Soi 23. Much action and many erect-a-bar’s right along the street that go all night.
View all comments by pmmp
I’ve got an erect-a-bar.
View all comments by Bangkok Bad Boy
I wholly endorse the comment by Mochalover to carry a copy of your passport with you and not the real thing. For the first time on my last trip to Bangkok/Pattaya I created a laminated copy of my passport at a photo/photocopying shop. This was done on 2 sided paper and consisted of prints of the passport page with my photo & personal details plus the page showing my entry visa stamp with exit date. I had also written on the photocopy my insurance company details (insurer name, policy number, insurer emergency contact detais). I then had the paper cut down to the size of passport and got the paper laminated. It folded and fitted into my pocket and the total cost was 40 baht.
This proved to be fortuitous because as I was travelling to my Pattaya hotel in a taxi i.e. a baht bus/taxi truck my luggage was broken into and a quick checked showed that one of the items that was missing was my passport (I was picked up by a taxi driver and a woman who I assumed to be his wife. She offered to sit in the back of the taxi and watch my luggage whilst I sat in the front and gave directions to the driver. She then used the opportunity to break into my locked luggage and I only noticed at the hotel entrance when they had sped away). I had the passport copy on me and when I went to the police station they confirmed that it was a good idea to always carry a copy of my passport with me but not the original in case this gets lost. So although the official line is that tourists should carry their passport with them at all times the police will accept a good copy (hence the need for the laminate).
It is for your own benefit as well because if you are involved in an accident then they will be able to identify you and get you help. If you don’t have your insurance details on you and they can’t identify you or trace your insurers then there may be an unfortunate delay before you receive critical and expensive medical treatment which your policy covers – it could be that you may end up not get the help for which you are insured.
View all comments by Mike Phillips
I’m sure the passport thing is good to be safe, but I for one certainly will not carry my passport when I’m out on the tear.
I’m also too lazy to do the laminate, but I’ve also found that good, proper ID is a reasonable substitute (in my case a HK ID card) and will suffice in most door entry, piss test and police search operations.
Though I’ve only had the latter once. About four months ago, the cops flagged down my taxi at 1.30am on the soi between Asok & Suk Soi 23. I was made to get out, asked for ID and patted down for drugs. ID was fine and they found nothing. My Thai female companion was left be in the back seat of the taxi.
The huge irony was that in my shirt breast pocket was a bag of sleeping pills I’d bought over the counter earlier that evening. I use them on long haul flights and occasionally when stressed. Defintitely illegal to have without prescription but the cops didn’t bother patting down my shirt. Lucky eh?
View all comments by Combover
There is also the Rooftop Garden Bar which stays open till sunrise. Sukhumvit Soi 5 above Foodland.
View all comments by Burt
True enough Burt and thanks for the info. It’s been mentioned a few times on this blog in the past but I never mention it anymore since it’s not a great Freelancer joint BUT definitely worth mentioning since it is open and does have a Pool table and a projection TV and some LCDs.
This placed was opend during World Cup 2006 and is still a great place to catch sporting events that happen after 2am. A nice mellow joint to hang out at.
BTW, I hear there may be a new AH joint opening soon by Lucky on Phet Rd. The owner owns many GoGo’s and some bars and restaurants in town so hopefully it will be a legit destination. Will post as I hear more.
View all comments by pmmp
There are actually dozens of AH bars/clubs on Petchburi Road. But most of them are tiny, full-on Thai, and whilst farangs are welcome to spend their money in them, the pickings are slim. Can make for an interesting excursion though…
View all comments by Bangkok Bad Boy
bbb – we are aware of a new AH club that is not yet open but sounds promising. we will update soon as we know it is open
View all comments by smitty
Just an update, the “After” club in Patpong II is no longer open.
Also, there is a new After Hours club on Phetchaburi by Phet 45 called Dio. If you are going down Asok from Sukhumvit make a left on Phetchaburi and then it’s your first quick left. It’s a dingy looking club but has some life inside. You walk through the lounge downstairs and go upstairs to the disco. It’s rather small but the music is pumping HipHop and it’s quite the scene.
It reminds me of Pennyblack After Hours a few years ago. Similar to Pennyblack the owner also owns a bunch of GoGo’s and Beer Bars so many of the girls there are from the owner’s bars. In this case Playskool Pete’s wife is running the joint. PP and wife own/partly-own Suzie Wong’s, Sheeba’s, Apache, Playskool, Lucky Luke’s, etc. etc. The girls are there to party more than work and come for another reason which I mention below.
Went there Friday night and it was quite the experience. A friend told me about an After Hours club about a week ago that the working girls went to and barfine young thai guys. Well, Dio is that place. I couldn’t believe it but there were young Thai guys dancing on various podiums in the bar and the girls were going gaga and I even saw a few of them tip the young Boy Coyotes.
I think though that this bar is in transition from catering to working girls into what Pennyblack once was, an After Hours club that Soi Cowboy working girls can go to afterwards to party and possibly get some biz. PP’s wife was there Friday night and said they will be alternating Men and Women Coyote dancers on different nights.
Not sure what this club will become but it is fun as heck right now. We got a bottle and had a blast. Every After Hours demographic was represented. Men, Women, Ladyboy, Gay, Straight, Bi, Thai, Farang, Working, Not-Working. It was all there for whatever you were looking for.
Other specs…There was no entrance fee, the bottle of Jack with mixers was 2500 baht, and we left around 6am.
View all comments by pmmp
Update: The “After” club in Patpong is now reopened under the name “The Lift”. Also, Tequila Dragon on Suk Soi 7/1 is no longer doing After Hours. A fresh list:
Patpong
o After on Patpong 2 – Reopened and is now called The Lift. Same bar, same music, and starting to get the same following. Great After Hours place especially after coming from Funky Dojo’s right around the corner.
o King’s Lounge (more info:
http://www.bigmangobar.com/new-after-hours-club-in-patpong/). I enjoy the music here but that’s about it. It’s heavy House/Drums and they even have a guy banging on drums in a cage. However, the crowd is really lame. It’s an older Thai crowd with a few Patpong FLs, a few Farang, and a few Ladyboys. They also keep the Pool Table open which kills the club atmosphere. 200/baht entry and you get a free drink.
o Patpong II. Many of the beer bars stay open all night.
o Silom Soi 6 (Xboom and the place two doors down on the 4th floor) – XBoom (it may have a different name now) is as gay as gay gets. If you’re gay and want to go late this is the place. There is a place a few doors down, don’t know the name, but you will see the door people outside asking you to come in. It also goes very late and is mostly gay but also has ladies about. Very Thai scene.
Pratunaam
o Boss by Big C – Newly renovated but sucks. The crowd is mostly guys and the music very loud.
o Lucky off Phetchaburi – Small, Crazy FL disco closes post-sunrise. Almost never gets shut down.
Siam/MBK
o Spicy on Ron Muan Soi 1 – Still going strong and consistently late. Weekend nights are horribly crowded and mostly guys though. Cigarettes are still 200/baht a pack and the music is lame hip hop but the FL scene is the best.
Sukhumvit
o Nana Disco and Nana Disco lounge in Nana Hotel on Suk Soi 4. Nana Disco is legendary. This FL disco goes until about 2:30 and is loaded with FLs. The lounge area outside the Disco goes until 4 or 5. Great for watching the “walk of shame” at 2:30 when the disco closes. You can also watch late night sports at the bar.
o Pennyblack on Soi Cowboy – Used to be huge but now even more run down with mostly a Thai Pool scene
o Rooftop Garden Bar on Sukhumvit Soi 5 above Foodland. Goes late and nice place to watch the late games since they have the South African Sattv. Not much of a pickup scene though. Has three pool tables.
o Sanook Bar in the Tunnel betw Suk Soi 5 and 7 – Pool tables run late but not much of a scene.
o Sin Club on Suk Soi 4. Still open but inconsistent and a real dead zone as of late.
o Sip Saen (aka Dio).
(more info. here and here, search for Dio). This small After Hours disco caters to everyone and everything. Many Soi Cowboy and Nana girls that work at the Owner’s bar come here after hours. See posts for directions.
o Soda Club Suk Soi 5 (above Foodland) – Same owners Boss/Spicy but still no life.
o Spice on Suk Soi 11 – Leader of the After Hours pack. Going very strong and consistently late. The crowd is kind of lame though. Many guys and mostly lower Suk working girls.
o Suk Soi 11 Hip Hop Club 3rd Floor – Crack Den closes post-sunrise.
o Sukhumvit Rd – The erect-a-bar’s between Suk Soi 4 and 23 go all night and offer it all.
o Tunnel on Lang Suan Soi 5 – Hottest scene when it’s open but was closed twice at 3am last week. It’s just too inconsistent.
o Windsor Hotel on Suk Soi 20 – Huge and packed. Mostly Thai After Hours Club Scene. Not many FLs
Other
o Eclipse and Renovate,
see here for more info.
o Previous posts on After Hours:
http://www.bigmangobar.com/some-burning-questions-need-help-by-shuttlecock/ and http://www.bigmangobar.com/?p=427 and you can check out the After Hours Categories for additional posts
View all comments by pmmp
They do spot drug test? Are they testing for cannabis? That stuff stay’s in your system for up to month.
What ever happened to the Thaistick? Is that a think of the past?
View all comments by randude
rd – never heard of cannabis urine tests. Basically they test for Meth.
View all comments by mart
did nana disco close and is ther any new feed back i see this was last updated in 2009
View all comments by peter
@peter: It’s been re-opened and is now called Nana Liquid. There is a post about it here.
View all comments by pmmp