Exploring Bangkok’s Red Light Districts in One Night

Bangkok’s international airport is a major hub in Southeast Asia and most may find themselves in Bangkok for a 1 day lay over. During the day there’s temple hopping and souvenir shopping. But most are interested in is what happens at night, when the lights of go go bars flicker on. But if you’re short on time and your flight leaves at 7am here’s what to do.

If you have large and heavy luggage you should consider storing it at Suvarnabhumi Airport. They’ll store each luggage item for B100. Believe me you don’t want to carry so much luggage around in Bangkok’s often crowded red light districts. To save money take the airport express bus located on the 2nd floor arrival hall near entrance 8. There is a ticket office for the bus which only cost B150. The bus you should be getting on is number AE1. The stop to get off on is next to the Montien Hotel, which is directly across Patpong red light district. The bus ride should take about 1 to 2 hours. Taking a public taxi will cost nearly B350 including tolls and airport surcharge.

There are 3 red light districts in Bangkok:

Patpong Nana Sukhumvit

 

Keep in mind most go go bars in the red light districts open at 7pm but the best time to go is around 9pm. The official closing time is 1am to 2am. You should visit Patpong first because Nana and Sukhumvit are really close to each other. To get around the red light districts it’s best to use the BTS Sky Train. The fares are cheap and the maps are in English so it’s easy to use.

Patpong’s go go bars are condensed around 2 lanes that run parallel to each other called Patpong 1 and Patpong 2. There’s also a popular night market on Patpong 1 if you need a quick souvenir run, but you’ll have to bargain hard. In a nutshell the best go go bars on Patpong 1 is named King’s Castle 1 and King’s Castle 2. You definitely should not miss Club Electric Blue on Patpong 2. Staying an hour in Patpong should suffice. It’s best to head to the Sky Train since services end officially at 12am though you may be denied entrance by 11:30pm.

Next is on to Nana or Sukhumvit red light districts. Take the BTS Sky Train at Sala Daeng station, just a few minutes walk from Patpong. Get off at Nana station. The ride should take about 20 minutes. At Nana Station take exit #2 towards Sukhumvit Soi 4, the closest exit to Nana red light district. Follow the crowd and you’ll find Nana Entertainment Plaza, a 3 story building full of go go bars and beer bars. Some of the best go go bars here is Rainbows on the second floor and Angel Witch on the 3rd floor.

By now you shouldn’t have much time left and if you want to make it to Soi Cowboy fast you have to take a taxi since the Sky Train is closed by now. A taxi ride to Soi Cowboy should cost about B40 and take about 5 minutes. You can walk to Soi Cowboy and if you hurry you can get there in 20 minutes.

Soi Cowboy is the smallest red light district and you can stroll through it in 10 minutes. Even though by now the cops are rolling in checking to make sure the business close down in time there’s still plenty to see and do.

Now that the go go bars are closed and it’s only 2am, what’s there to do next?

You can hit up the after hours bars and clubs nearby. Go to any taxi and say to them “Lucky” or “Spicy Club”. These after hours bars and clubs pay commissions to taxi drivers so they love going there and should have no problem with the directions. Both clubs close around 4am to 5am.

To get back to the airport your best option is to take a public taxi. Since it’s so early in the morning traffic should be really light so the driver shouldn’t have to take the highway and the total fare should be around B250 for a 1 hour ride back to the airport.