Guide to clubs and bars in Bangkok

OK I thought I would share with you the places I've been clubbing and bar chilling in Bangkok so far:

• Route66 (RCA)
• Slims (RCA)
• Santika (Ekkamai)
• Scratchdog (Somewhere in Suhkumvit)
• Escudo (Tong lor)
• Nung len (Ekkamai)
• Song saleung (Tong lor)
• Baryantree (Ratchada)
• Spicy (Somewhere near MBK)
• We-za (Ekkamai)
• Ditch Friday (Umm...I cannot remember, was also quite drunk
• Hamara Street (Next to ABAC Hua Mak campus)
  

OK so here's my view of these places in no particular order:

Route66

• Appearance (in general): 8/10
• Space (for dancing): 6/10
• Bathroom facilities: 10/10
• Drinks: 7/10
• Music/DJs: 8/10
• Overall: 9/10

Route66 is the second club I visited in Thailand, and is pretty much a usual spot for me to go as it is pretty good compared to most clubs I've been to in Bangkok. At Route66 you know what to expect. The place is quite big with different rooms split up into North, South etc. The main place to hang out in is the hip hop area with music spun by DJs (DJ Buddha is a usual DJ here, his choices always go over well).
However, if you want a place to really let loose and dance this isn't the place. The club fills up pretty quickly after 9pm, and as you get later into the night the space gets limited. But, its not completely jammed packed, you still have space to breathe and do some motion. It depends on the night you go on too, of course the weekend will be busier than other days aswell with public holiday the next day.
If you're a girl and visit the bathroom you'll be quite impressed, they are clean, decorative and even supply a nice acoustic band to serenade you haha. Its the most bizarre thing to see but the lounge area is a nice place to sit down and compose yourself.
Drinks have the usual pricing, the cheapest bottle of alcohol (whiskey wise) is 1,200baht and that doesn't include coke or any other beverage for mixers. In Thai clubs and drinking you may know (or may not) that the usual case is to buy one bottle of whisky and mix it with something and a table shares a bottle or two (or 5 if you're anything like my friends :P).
Now for the most important part...music! (Haha I know what you're thinking, the alcohol is more important). Well as with most nights there is a DJ who will play a mixture of new hip hop hits which are currently circling the charts along with some oldies. It does however depend on the DJ. If DJ Buddha is there you're in for quite a good line up of tunes, in my opinion he has quite a feel for hip hop considering his career in Thaitanium. But, if hip hop is not your cup of tea then go to the techno side, its small but there is a bar to hang by. Also there is a live stage where different bands go to play at, mainly Thai music. But, Route in my opinion is hip hop club, and that's what it is best for. One of my usual haunts.

Slims (RCA)

• Appearance (in general): 7/10
• Space (for dancing): 5/10
• Bathroom facilities: 5/10
• Drinks: 7/10
• Music/DJs: 8/10
• Overall: 7/10

The place is located to the right of Route66, in some ways its set up in a similar way. There is a hip hop area, stage area and also a sort of house/techno part. Its quite big, but not easy to get lost in (unless you are very very wasted :D).
The dance space is limited, if you want to dance, claim a place for yourself and fight for it! As with most Thai clubs there is no dance floor and it's an all night battle to keep your spot to dance.
Can't tell you much about bathroom facilities, just usual I guess.
Drinks are the same as most places, not much to tell you there, pretty much the same as most places in RCA.
Music is considerably good, in the hip hop side (when bands aren't playing) the choice of music is a little more inspired with a good mix of old and new. If you've got a good spot dancing its very enjoyable and a lot of fun. If you are in the house/techno side the music is also pretty good with some awesome lighting to go along with it. Nice seating area too to hang with friends (not a place to sit and chat though, seating is merely a rest stop before dancing again).
Overall Slims is pretty cool, although gets quite full.

Santika

• Appearance (in general): 9/10
• Space (for dancing): 9/10
• Bathroom facilities: 7/10
• Drinks: 7/10
• Music/DJs: 7/10
• Overall: 6/10

Santika is pretty good place to as its very big, its set up like a church...yeah its a little strange as it wasn't actually a church in the first place, sort of like a backward conversion. A bit God is my DJ?
However, on the good side plenty of places to dance. The place is HUGE, made up of two floors, the ground floor where there is stage area and tables. The second floor you can over look the crowd and dance like an idiot without the rest of the club seeing. So plenty of space to dance and have a good time, just don't fall over the edge on the second floor (not easy to do).
Bathrooms are average but they are there to do what you need to do in a bathroom lol (no serenades there).
Drinks are of usual price, no real shockers here. I guess most clubs have a fixed price when it comes to a bottle of Johnnie Walker and cokes.
Overall the place is pretty sweet, however if you go on a week night the people are pretty thin on the ground. I don't think many people consider it as the "place to be" on a week night, you're better off going to RCA on a week night. This is why it scores low on the overall.


Scratchdog

• Appearance (in general): 6/10
• Space (for dancing): 6/10
• Bathroom facilities: unknown/10
• Drinks: 8/10
• Music/DJs: 6/10
• Overall: 6/10

Located at the bottom of the hotel Windsor (the oddest place I've been to), this is an after party sort of club. Its open until 5am in the morning, a place to go after the 2am clubs are closed. When you go into the hotel you're sort of left thinking "Am I in the right place?" Then you turn a corner and hear the thumping music of a sort of underground basement club. Not really impressed with the presentation but its an after party.
Space is limited as everyone there is for dancing. No clue on the bathroom facilities I'm afraid. Drinks are a little cheaper as they have a smaller sized bottles, so you don't have to pay too much to get in as most clubs, but you do have to buy a drink to get in.
The music is pretty average, just tunes to dance to, nothing really special.
Overall its pretty average and just a place to go after other parties are over.

Escudo

• Appearance (in general): 7/10
• Space (for dancing): 7/10
• Bathroom facilities: 4/10
• Drinks: 6/10 (varies)
• Music/DJs: 9/10
• Overall: 8/10

Escudo is located on one of the floors of a building, its not exactly impressive to travel up to it. Space for dancing is pretty OK, there is an actual dance floor to dance on, so designated dance space is always a plus (well if you go to clubs for that sort of thing).
Bathroom not all that impressive but at least there is one.
Drinks are more single serving, buying a bottle of Bacardi breezer or something like that.
Music however can vary, if you're on a good night you'll get a good DJ (DJ Buddha also plays here). So music is pretty cool. I haven't been to Escudo since renovations so I'm not too sure what has changed.

Nung Len (meaning sit and play hehe)

• Appearance (in general): 7/10
• Space (for dancing): 4/10
• Bathroom facilities: 5/10
• Drinks: 7/10
• Music/DJs: 6/10 (dependant)
• Overall: 6/10

Nung Len is more of a Thai local spot, full of university students all ready for a good time out with friends. This is more of a Thai scene, you have your whisky and you have your live band playing the current hits on the charts for the indie/pop scene. Word of advice get a friend to grab you a table or get there early yourself say around 7pm. Place fills up pretty quickly. The place isn't that big but does fit quite a few people in. No dancing really here, unless you do a sort of stand up jig.
Bathroom is better than most but long queues (girl wise). But pretty good in general.
Drinks are a little cheaper as I understand it, but it always gets more pricey with the more beverages you order to mix.
The music varies on different nights, live bands play and during the hour long breaks hip hop is played. Apparently the band is quite good on a Thursday night.
The place is rather crowded, not advised to go on a Friday night as it is packed as hell. This place is only for those who like Thai music and want to sit with friends and play drinking games. But quite fun place to hang with friends.

Song Saleung (meaning two 25 sat-tung coins)

• Appearance (in general): 7/10
• Space (for dancing): 4/10
• Bathroom facilities: 6/10
• Drinks: 7/10
• Music/DJs: 7/10
• Overall: 5/10

Overall appearance is average, it consists of live band stage and lots of tables. The place is pretty crowded most nights, so dancing is out of the question. Bathroom is better than Nung Len I must admit, more mirrors but the guys always seem to look in lol.
Drinks are priced the same as everywhere else.
The music is similar to Nung Len, live band with outbursts of hip hop. Nothing really special here.
Overall doesn't score high with me, I prefer Nung Len's atmosphere if I am to pick a place to listen to Thai music and drink with friends.


Baryantree (Ratchada, behind Esplanade shopping mall)

• Appearance (in general): 9/10
• Space (for dancing): 10/10
• Bathroom facilities: 8/10
• Drinks: 5/10
• Music/DJs: 8/10
• Overall: 8/10

When you get to Baryantree you might not think much of it from the outside (esp as it seems to say "bar-antree" because a couple of lit up letters have failed). But, when you go inside you will be automatically impressed with appearance. Its pretty big, with two sides of music, live band and hip hop dance area. The live band are pretty cool although I did opt for the DJ side as I wanted to dance the last time I went. The hip hop side is darkly lit but creates a good atmosphere. I was quite worried the first time I went as we arrived at around 10pm and there weren't many people there dancing (let alone there). Soon I found out the club is actually open until 5 in the morning. So if you want to go to a club which is open late and don't really want to go to one of those seedy after parties, go to Baryantree. It's away from the normal Ratchada party road.
There is lotssss of space for dancing, there is lit up dance floor that separates the tables. I was quite impressed with this as Thai clubs seem to think a dance floor is unimportant. The place didn't get that crowded until after 12am as the club closes late. I guess some people go there for their after party.
Bathrooms are average, no live band here (am I setting the bar too high here? hehe)
Drinks are a downer though, its more expensive than most places, but by a couple of hundred baht.
Music is pretty good, although didn't find that it had a very impressive selection.
Overall the place scores high for space and also for the time you get spend there. But I suggest not going to early as it is pretty dead at the beginning when it first opens. But, a very good place to dance and bust a move on the dance floor.


Spicy (another after party place)

• Appearance (in general): 7/10
• Space (for dancing): 8/10
• Bathroom facilities: 4/10
• Drinks: 4/10
• Music/DJs: 8/10
• Overall: 4/10

Only going to type a few lines with this as it wasn't all that impressive. Its just another place to go after the 2am clubs are closed. Its quite similar to Scratchdog however the entrance fee here is 300baht and you get a free drink with that, and that's all what you are forced to pay.
The place is not really that great, but the music is quite good. Another thing is you get to dance on tables too hehe.
Not very impressed, I wouldn't advise going there, the atmosphere isn't that great.


We-za

• Appearance (in general): 6/10
• Space (for dancing): 4/10
• Bathroom facilities: 5/10
• Drinks: 5/10
• Music/DJs: varies
• Overall: 5/10

I admit I've only been once and that was to see Thaitanium perform, but I did get a general mix of We-za's music taste.
This place is typically for the underaged (unless you go on a special to see some band/group of something).
They let under 20's in, its a pretty young crowd and don't suggest going unless you're OK with that.
The place is not that huge and the stage isn't that big either. Drinks are as usual. Its more of a bar hang out than a club.
Not the best place to go. I wouldn't recommend it unless some special event is going on.






Ditch Friday (actually the place isn't called but it has this event on)

• Appearance (in general): 6/10
• Space (for dancing): 5/10
• Bathroom facilities: 4/10
• Drinks: 10/10
• Music/DJs: 8/10
• Overall: 7/10

The place looks like the basement of someone's house. Although the atmosphere is friendly and quite fun to be at.
There isn't any real space for dancing, but this is more of an Indie spot to listen to bands and drink with friends.
The music is live bands with interjections of hip hop or chart music.
The drinks I am very impressed with, you pay 650baht for a buffet drink night. That means you can drink as much as you like. I thought this was a great idea as I think usually clubs/bars ask you to pay way too much for so little. The drinks they offered were shots, cocktails and beers. So pretty much anything you fancied. But, becareful, just because its all you can drink doesn't mean that you should! Lol I found out the hard way, a very very very drunken night is easily spent here.
I thought the music was quite good in terms of live bands go. They seemed pretty professional and the crowd seemed to enjoy their performance a lot.
Overall, if you got the money and want to have a good night of drinking then go here. Its pretty chilled and fun. Although, my memory isn't fully functional for this place as the offer of buffet drinks is way too appealing to remember the whole night hehe.

Hamara Street (bar/restaurant/pub)

• Appearance (in general): 9/10
• Space (for dancing): A bar not a club
• Bathroom facilities: I don't think I will rate this one, as its a bar
• Drinks: Usual
• Music/DJs: 9/10
• Overall: 9/10

If you're in the mood for a nice place to relax and chill with friend go to Hamara street. It is a pretty cool place to sit and drink with friends. You can also order food too. Its quite a nice chillout place which I liked quite a lot. They serve a lot of different drinks and import some good bitter (Guiness!).
The atmosphere is quite relaxed, the dim lighting makes it quite atmospheric and chilled. The music adds to the whole experience. Its quite a good place hang out place. Its run by an international guy who seems to know what he's doing. He's created quite a unique place.
This has got to be one of my favorite hang outs, although I haven't been there in a while.

Internal cultural war

So what I guess is the most difficult thing to adjust to living in Thailand is this, being able to respect and understand the cultural differences. For example, kissing and hugging in public seems to be one of the most taboo things to do in Thailand. For me I find this so weird to accept, I mean how is one suppose to be in a relationship and not be able to physically express how you feel? I mean ok maybe its not so bad, but for me its quite difficult from going from a very open culture (U.K) to a rather closed culture. I mean just hugging a guy who is your friend is as if you're making out with him, I mean wtf? If we are suppose to be who we are, how are we to suppress such things? I am one of those people who is pretty open about how they express themselves so for me to go from such an extroverted person to such an introverted one makes me want to explode sometimes. It seems to be the only time when such "intimacies" are seen as acceptable, is when they are not in view of broad daylight. So these such places would be clubs and bars. But, this seems kind of seedy to me, why should a person have to go to a club or bar just to be themselves?
I guess what I'm really struggling to do right now is adapt to Thai society and cultural. I feel like for me to accept their views and values is in a way suppressing and changing my own. I can't do that, I've tried but I can't. I guess thats why I feel like being in Thailand sometimes is changing who I am, without my consent. I want to be me, and not by being me makes me feel quite sad. I am fully aware that half of me belongs to this culture, but its difficult. Who I am is probably more British than Thai, living 18 years in England does that to a person. So England's 18 years versus Thailands 1 year seems to have quite an influence wouldn't you think? I guess I'm still new to this adapting to the culture thing.
I miss being me, being who I use to be, who I want to be. No one really understands that I don't think, because most of friends here are of asian cultural which follow the same sort of rules as Thailand. I never thought this would bother me so much but it does. Its like the bar has been raised for what is socially acceptable. For example, being a teenager and going to a club is perfectly normal in the U.K, in fact in some ways its almost expected or you're seen as unsocial. But in Thailand, if you go out to a club it seems bad almost. My friends in England go out drinking etc regularly at least once or twice a week. But here, its not really seen as normal lol. I guess what I'm getting at is that being as what I call "social" is looked down upon here. The funny thing is Thailand has got one of the coolest clubs and bars I've seen, how ironic.
Ok so I've finished complaining, I should really do something more productive say...studying? Hehe.