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Thailand's famous Nightlife
Thailand is both famous and notorious for its nightlife. The whole world is aware of the high profile sex industry. Even in the far away West African country of Benin one can find a 'Pattaya Pub' named after the Thai seaside resort of the same name. Any visit to tourist areas of Bangkok, Pattaya or Patong soon reveals why this is the case. It is prostitution on an industrial scale. In reality it may be high profile but it is also confined to a very few geographical areas and is actually very easily avoided if you find it upsetting. Thailand has plenty more to offer the party animal, particularly in Bangkok where having a good time is virtually a municipal directive.
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Bangkok is a city that never sleeps despite government attempts to put it to bed soon after midnight. Where ever you go at night the surreal is often just around the corner and it is usually packed.
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Bars, nightclubs, go-go bars and cabarets are just a few of this city's nocturnal offerings. The sleazy areas are concentrated around Sukhumvit and Patpong. Sukhumvit's Nana Plaza and Soi cowboy are wholly given over to single foreign males being attended to by droves of scantily clad peasant girls from Thailand's poverty-stricken north-east. Patpong too is famous as a red-light district but it has now evolved into a mainstream tourist attraction with a busy night market, live music and eateries. From 7pm to 2am it is packed with tourists, touts and showgirls. Music pumps out from every doorway and the whole throng shuffles slowly along narrow, overcrowded pathways bathed in the glow of neon and strip lighting. It is an exciting assault on all the senses. It is also a place to keep a close eye on your wallet.
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Nearby Silom Soi 4 is home to some painfully fashionable nightclubs. Also in the same vein is the night club strip called RCA (Royal City Avenue) off Phetcheburi.
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Sukhumvit, from Soi 1 to Soi 53 (Thonglor), is a human ant heap of hostess bars, restaurants, nightclubs and all night soup stalls selling liquor. The variety is incredible. From the sleazy centers of sex tourism on Soi 4 to the 'Bed Supper Club' on Soi 11, Bangkok's trendiest nightclub packed with the rich and fashionable cream of Thai society. From the Very English Bull's Head on Soi 33 where expat Brits discuss weather and cricket to the Colliseum near Soi 36 where working class Thais pack a vast auditorium to watch bawdy transvestite cabaret and listen to cover versions of chart hits. They manage to both eat and dance simultaneously.
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Tawa Deng on Rama III is in the same vein but bigger. It is a vast Thai-German beer hall where the show includes ballads, stand up comedy and mime re enactments of episodes from ancient Thai history. It's a great place to see how middle class Thais enjoy themselves.
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Many of the major hotels in central Bangkok also have discos. They are fashionable one month and abandoned the next.
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The area of Banghlamphu in the old part of Bangkok used to be very much the preserve of pajama clad, body pierced backpackers but in recent years that has changed. Although the budget travelers are still there in force the famous Khao San Road and its environs has been swept by a new culture of chic nightclubs, trendy cocktail bars and fusion restaurants inspired by young Thai students from the nearby university. On a Saturday night it is a deafening mixture of western tie-dye-grunge and Bangkok's most fluffy, hair gelled finest.
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Pattaya and Phuket's Patong area are the resorts where the nightlife is liveliest. Both offer a combination of late night beer bars, go-go bars and discos all at top volume. Pattaya also attracts a fair number of criminals, both Thai and foreign, so it is important to not be drawn into any trouble.
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Thai people love to party so any major town in Thailand, including Bangkok, has open air beer gardens with live music, dancers and often a giant screen showing English premier league soccer. There will also be a disco or two and the ubiquitous street karaoke.
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Eating, dancing and having fun are an integral part of the Thai lifestyle. This makes it a great country for a party.
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About The Author
Alex Smith maintains and manages the Cheap Thailand Travel website at http://www.cheapthaitravel.com - All of the materials on this site are the sole property and responsibility of Cheapthaitravel.com. This material may not be reproduced in any form without express written permission.
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