Thursday, May 15, 2008

Patpong in Bangkok

Although Patpong Road is probably the most famous street in Bangkok, it is in fact two small streets - Patpong 1 and Patpong 2. Located between Silom Road and Surawongse Road, Patpong 1 and Patpong 2 run alongside each other and house more Go-Go bars than you could possibly imagine! These days, though, many people come to Patpong for good shopping rather than visiting bars.

The street stalls in the middle of the road offer just about everything you want � a really perfect place to pick up gifts for people back home. A word of warning: The Patpong street stalls take up a lot of road space leaving very little room for people to walk. If you have difficulty walking, or you are wheelchair bound, it might be best to avoid the Patpong area, or at least visit very early evening.

Patpong's ground-floor Go-Go bars are probably the best places to visit. Unless you are very sure of where you are going, try to avoid the second-floor bars. There are occasions when people have been seriously overcharged in some of these bars and although it�s a bit unfair on the properly managed establishments, avoiding the second-floor might mean avoiding unpleasantness. Small beers and spirits should cost in the region of 100 Baht.

How to get there: The nearest BTS Station is Saladaeng and the nearest MRT station is Silom. From both Saladaeng and Silom you need to walk down Silom Road away from Lumini Park. When you see a MacDonalds on your left, Patpong is on your right.

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