Thailand has long had a reputation of providing some of the best - and raunchiest ;) - nightlife on the planet. And that reputation is not undeserved.
It's major cities - Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket - all boast vibrant nightlife areas, there's something to suit all tastes, ranging from quiet pubs to throbbing discos and go go bars to the infamous massage parlours and seedy blow job bars at the other end of the entertainment spectrum.

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Bangkok Nightlife

Bangkok's naughty night life is located in 3 main areas, Patpong, Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy. Each of these areas is home to 20-30 go go bars as well as a few beer bars with friendly hostesses to entertain the visitors.

Patpong is probably the most famous of Thailand's nightlife spots, many tourists of all ages and nationalities visit it nightly, to ogle at the Thai girls, be amazed at how good-looking the ladyboys are, and of course, to bargain with the vendors at Patpong's famous night market. As a result of the street market and the family friendly atmosphere, the bars in Patpong are relatively tame, nudity is rare and they're usually couple friendly, there's no problem if your wife or girlfriend wants to take a look.

Nana Plaza is the destination of choice for many single male tourists. It's a 3 storey sex mall, for want of a better description. Nana Plaza's home to almost 30 go go bars, a few open air beer bars and probably close to a thousand bar girls not to mention quite a few lady's who where not actualy born female. With no street market to dilute the action, Nana Plaza's a hedonistic, in your face, no holds barred sort of place, where at times, the action defies description. The infamous Nana Hotel, home of the equally infamous Angel's Disco, is just across the road. After the bars have closed, the Nana's car park is flooded with predatory bar girls hunting their pay check for the night, which makes for quite a spectacle.

Soi Cowboy, this is a small side Soi, located just off of the large Asoke intersection, and connects Asoke with Sukhumvit Soi 23. Both sides of Soi Cowboy are lined with neon clad Go Go's and hostess bars, Tilac, Baccara and Long Gun are probably the best known. The Old Dutch restaurant is located at the Soi 23 end, the Country Road music bar and couple of Short Time hotels can be found at the other. Soi Cowboy is considerably more laid back than the other bar areas, and over the last few years, has become the favourite haunt of expats and hardcore 'mongers'. While it is not nearly as naughty as it once was, the action's still hot and hedonistic, it's tourist friendly, but I wouldn't take my mother down there :)

Massage Parlours, no review of Bangkok nightlife would be complete without a few words on the world renowned parlours. These decadent, palaces of pleasure can be found all over downtown Bangkok, where a basic soapy rubdown to a full service, 'Siam Sandwich' can be had for 1500 Baht upwards. The best looking soapy girl's can be found in the expensive, neon lit, complex's of Rachadapisek Rd. These establishments predominantly cater to the hi-so Thai, Japanese and Korean crowd, but farangs are usually welcome when paying their inflated farang prices. A model or side line girl could easily cost you in excess of 6000 Baht for a few hours pleasure, but from what I've heard, it's money well spent.

Thermae's located on Sukhumvit Road, one of Bangkok's main arteries and home to several naughty nightlife venues. Without a doubt, Thermae is the most notorious by far, this institution has been part of the Bangkok late night scene for over 35 years. Thermae emanated an all pervasive air of anticipation, its subterranean location added a sinister edge to this wild hunting ground where hoards of Western men and Thai women became both hunter and prey at the ultimate party. The original location was demolished in 1996 to the dismay of many, but like a phoenix rising from the ashes, its doors opened 2 days later at its present location under the Raumchitt Plaza. For many, it's a shadow of its former self, but continues to attract a crowd of predominately Japanese men to sample the delights of the Bangkok underworld. This ultimate meat market deserves its place in the history of Bangkok.

Eden Club is to be found on Sukhumvit 7/1, it's rapidly become one of the most talked about clubs in the nightlife arena, but hard to place into any particular catagory. It has a bar, but it's not a bar,. girls are available, but it's not really a brothel, Eden is more of a fantasy club, where your wildest dreams can become reality for the asking. Monsieur Marc, the manager is so confident of the quality of his establishment, he operates an only pay if you're satisfied policy.

Gay Scene

Bangkok is a Mecca for gay nightlife, it's centred around the Silom Soi 4 and Soi 2 area, which is home to many boy a-go go bars as well as several gay discos, GOD (guys on display) and DJ Station are the best known venues, where the dancing queens can be found strutting their stuff to the latest house vibes. X Boom, situated off Surawong Road is where the late night crowd drifts to as other venues close. These 'boy bars' also cater to women, as many of the young guys working there are not necessarily gay, more gay for pay, if you get my drift.

Bangkok's Lesbian scene is nowhere near the size of the straight or gay scene, and it's not centred around any particular area. Lesbian women can frequently be seen in the male dominated entertainment areas such as Soi Cowboy, as many of the bar girls are more than pleased to offer them their services for a fee. A few places cater exclusively for girls, no men, lady boys or gays are allowed inside and all the staff are female, these venues include 'Zeta' which can be found in RCA block C, Rama 9 Road, and also part of the same group is, 'Shela' a pub restaurant with live music, which is situated at Lang Suan, behind Lumpini Park. There's also the weekly 'Lesla at Chit Chat' night, held every Saturday at the Chit Chat pub, Choke Chai 4, Soi 85, Lad Prao Road, which is reputed to be the largest Lesbian event in Bangkok, so it's probably worth a visit if you're that way inclined.

Pattaya Nightlife

Nightlife in Pattaya is pretty much unrivalled anywhere on the planet, especially if you are a single male. The city has often been called the world's largest brothel, and when you consider it is home to several large message parlours, dozens of go go bars, hundreds of beer bar and literally tens of thousands of Thai bar girls, two huge transvestite cabaret's, a large gay area, and an active street scene, along Beech Road, it isn't too hard to see how it got that well deserved reputation. Pattaya really is the extreme city, you will love it or you will hate it, there's no half measures in this town.

They're several large concentrations of night life in Pattaya, the best known being 'Walking Street'. Situated at the southern end of Beach Road, this street is lined on both sides by little else but Go Go bars and beer bars fiied with hundreds of Thai girls, and quite a few lady boys too :), all vying for your attention and trying to get you into their bar, it's not unheard of when verbal persuasion fails, to be physically dragged or carried in. In addition to the bars there's no shortage of Disco's full of willing women looking for a 'handsum man' for the night, Lucifers, Marine Disco and Tony's fit into this category. In case you're wondering, most men with a couple of thousand Baht in their wallets are considered 'handsum'.

Travelling North up Beach Rd. you will soon come across Soi Pattayaland 1,2 and 3 where many bars and go go's are located, some providing 'action on the premises'. Continuing north along Beach Rd you will find a large complex of beer bars just before the police station. Further up Beach Rd, the next stop is Soi 7 and 8, these two Soi's connect Beach Rd with Second Rd and are probably the rowdiest area outside of Walking Street itself. Continuing north again, the next place of interest is the infamous Soi 6 where the action starts around midday and continues until the early hours, most of the male customers are taken care of on the premises if you get my drift. The next stop's Soi 2, it's the largest concentration of nightlife outside of Walking Street, it starts near the top of Soi 1 and extends down Second Road to Soi 4 and is the home to dozens of beer bars, a couple of go go bars, three of Pattaya's largest Massage parlours and two of the worlds biggest transvestite cabaret shows, it's well worth a visit. Travelling south, back towards town, you'll find many beer bar complex's lining 2nd road, all full of wild, willing women seeking your attention for a couple of hours, or longer. This is what Pattaya's all about, it has to be seen to be believed, and once seen, life can never be the same again.

For more detailed information on Pattaya's nightlife check out Robaus' 'Pattaya Nightlife Newbie Guide'.

Gay Pattaya

Like Bangkok, Pattaya doesn't just cater to the heterosexual male, gay nightlife makes up a significant proportion of the nightlife in Sin City. It's mostly centred around Soi Pattayaland 3 or 'Boyz Town' as it's better known, which is home to several gay go go bars, pubs and restaurants, nearby is Sunee Plaza, it's quieter, more discrete and can be found just off the main strip. The North end of Jomtien Beach, also has many gay friendly hotels, guesthouses, pubs, clubs and bars.

Phuket Nightlife

The island of Phuket is much more of a family destination than Pattaya and the nightlife reflects that. Having said that, a trip to Patong Beach, and especially Soi Bangla, will have you doubting this.
Bangla Road and it's side streets, Soi Eric, Soi Easy, Soi Seadragon, Soi Crocodile (aka Soi Katoey), Soi Vegas and others are the heart of Phuket's nightlife and home to dozens of beer bars, a few Go Go bars as well as a disco or two. For sheer spectacle, the lady boys of Soi Crocodile take some beating with their nightly antics. If you're into the gay scene, the Paradise Complex situated off Rat U Thit Road will probably be your destination of choice, it's the home of many gay and gay friendly businesses, including the James Dean bar, Time bar, The Boat Bar, My Way Cabaret and the aptly named 'Flying Handbag' bar. You can also find a bunch of bars near the Thara Patong hotel, or if you prefer something a little quieter, head over to Kara beach where some beer bars can be found behind the Centre Inn Hotel. Phuket is family friendly, but could never be classed as tame or boring, there's action a plenty to be found, and the beaches are beautiful.