Club entertainment in Asia
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Ageha
This gigantic waterside club rivals any you’d find in LA or Ibiza. Mostly international DJs appear here, with Japanese DJs filling out the mix. Counterbalancing the thumping dance floors are lounge spaces and a little pool area. Free buses run to the club every half-hour from the east side of Shibuya Station on Roppongi-dōri; bring photo ID.
reviewed
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A
Port Saïd
One of the few night-clubs in Dushanbe. Most women in these clubs are prostitutes so solo female travellers should think twice about going alone.
reviewed
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B
Vics
Vics is not the most sophisticated nightclub. Nevertheless, it has remained a favourite with the young crowd for many years now, which makes it some sort of institution. The tunes are mostly standard R&B and hip-hop, there’s an infamous ladies night on Wednesdays (free drinks for women before midnight), and weekends see it rammed with the footloose and fancy free. If you can’t score here, you should give up trying. Entry is free from Monday to Thursday; located inside the Workers Stadium north gate.
reviewed
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C
Zouk
Nineteen going on one, Ibiza-inspired Zouk is still Singapore’s hottest club. It features five bars, with the capacity to hold 2000, and a roomy dance floor with plenty of space to cut the rug – it’s a world-class contender and a regular destination for globe-trotting DJs. You’ll also find the alfresco Zouk Wine Bar, avant-garde Phuture and the Moroccan-inspired Velvet Underground hung with Keith Haring and Andy Warhol originals. Be prepared to queue.
reviewed
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D
SMI
More bar than nightclub, this is where people gravitate after an evening of club hopping. The flow of so many inebriated people to one place can have a creative effect on the environment. As one British expat put it, 'SMI morphs into whatever you want it to be at six in the morning'. SMI is the Russian acronym for 'mass media', and the walls pay due homage to the honourable craft of the scribbler.
reviewed
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E
Slim/Flix
Ideal for the indecisive raver, this immense three-in-one complex dominating one end of RCA features chilled house on one side (Flix), while the other (Slim) does the hip hop/R & B soundtrack found across much of the city. Oh, and there’s a restaurant thrown in there somewhere as well. Despite its size, this place is packed on weekends.
reviewed
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F
Bed Supperclub
This illuminated tube has been a literal highlight of the Bangkok club scene for a good while now. Arrive early to squeeze in dinner , or if you've only got dancing on your mind, come on Tuesday for the popular hip-hop nights.
reviewed
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G
Neptune Disco II
Neptune II is a fun club with a mostly Filipino crowd and a rockin' covers band. If everything's closing and you can't bear to stop bopping, this is the place to head for. It really rocks at the Sunday afternoon-tea dance starting at 14:00.
reviewed
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H
Tantra
Considered Kolkata’s top club, contemporary sounds throb through the single dance floor and not-so-chilled chill-out zone around a central-island bar with an overhead observation bridge.
reviewed
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I
Banana Disco
If you're after a more sophisticated nightclub experience, this is your ticket. A corny Aztec theme prevails, but at least you can dance without skidding around in puddles of beer.
reviewed
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J
Propaganda
Long-serving Wǔdàokǒu nightclub attracting throngs of liúxuéshēng (students), lured by free entry, cheap booze and wildly popular sounds. It's 100m north of Huáqīng Jiāyuán east gate.
reviewed
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K
Drop
Deluxe lounge action, excellent tunes and potent cocktails keep Drop strong on the scene. It’s like walking into Wallpaper* magazine, but the vibe here is unpretentiously inclusive and the crowd reaches a happy fever pitch on big nights. The members-only policy after 10pm Thursday to Saturday is (flexibly) enforced to keep the dance floor capacity at a manageable ‘packed like sardines’ level. Enter from Cochrane St.
reviewed
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L
California Club
Located on the ground floor of the Upstairs at Park 97 complex, this place is rather more sophisticated than most of Shanghai's clubs. The dance floor is tiny, but the surrounding area is stylish. The 2nd floor hosts a different live band each night and is very popular with Hong Kong Chinese, well-heeled Shanghainese and expats, who pack it out on weekends. Get here before midnight, or be prepared to queue. Admission prices vary.
reviewed
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M
Joe Bananas
JB’s, in Wan Chai forever it seems, has dropped its long-standing wet T-shirt/boxers aesthetic and gone for more of a bamboo-bar feel. Unaccompanied females should expect a good sampler of bad pick-up lines; go with friends and have some un-PC fun. There are free drinks for women from 6pm to 3am on Wednesday, and ‘Crazy Hour’ (6pm to 8pm daily) is even more generous than happy hour.
reviewed
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Kumush Ay
The biggest, brashest nightclub in Ashgabat is this newly renovated venue, located above the British Pub and owned by the same people. The dance room is a flashing inferno of strobe lights and lasers while a second room contains a huge bar and lots of padded nooks where you can sit and watch the action. Note that some taxi drivers may know this place by its alternative name, the Florida Nightclub.
reviewed
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O
Seduction
One of Patong’s most popular dance halls comes courtesy of a Finnish club impresario. Known for buying up Helsinki’s best clubs, he opened this one in 2006 and has since attracted international party people dancing to well-known global DJs. Design, lighting and sound system are all top shelf. The club opens before midnight, but the party doesn’t start rocking till the wee small hours.
reviewed
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Q Bar Samui
Overlooking Chaweng Lake, Q Bar is a little piece of Bangkok nightlife planted among the coconut trees. The upstairs lounge opens just before sunset treating cocktail connoisseurs to various highbrow tipples and a drinkable view of southern Chaweng – mountains, sea and sky. After 10pm, the night-crawlers descend upon the downstairs club where DJs spin the crowd into a techno amoeba.
reviewed
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P
New Makati Pub & Disco
It has to be said: you can’t go lower than this sleazy pick-up joint, named after a Manila neighbourhood. Imagine dimly lit booths, Filipino amahs and middle-aged white male booze-hounds, who all just wanna have fun. In fact it is less wretched than this description might make it sound and it’s a friendly, unpretentious place to dance the morning away.
reviewed
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Q
Ka Jok See
Ostensibly, this is a restaurant, and, by all accounts, a quite good one. However, it has two identities, and once the tables are cleared it becomes a bohemian madhouse and the kind of party you’ve always wanted to go to. The superb music bounces between soul, rare groove, ambient and hip-hop. Some folks get on the mic, others bang away on bongos and everyone must dance.
reviewed
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R
King Club
An Itaewon institution that likes to change its spots. Early on the bar girls serve up W5000 drinks to a quiet clientele who play pool and chat, then the GI hip-hop clubbers arrive around 10pm and leave at 1am, when the late, late-night party begins with a more Korean atmosphere. A bottle of Oscar ‘champagne’ is only W10,000, but you probably won’t buy a second.
reviewed
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Tropical Rainforest Disco (Mua Rung)
Tropical Rainforest Disco - called Mua Rung in Vietnamese - is done up in Amazonian rainforest-theme decor. It is one of Ho Chi Minh City's hottest dance spots and, surprisingly, is brought to you by Saigon Tourist (it's not just lounge music anymore!). Their cocktail list features such perennials as Envy, Seduction and - our personal favourite - Orgasm.
reviewed
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T
World of Suzie Wong
Still jumping most nights of the week, Suzie Wong’s opium-den chic with a 21st-century twist has made it a Beijing nightlife legend. The dance floor, roof terrace and traditional Chinese-style beds you can lounge on attract a really mixed crowd, from models to business types and working girls. The entrance is just by the west gate of Chaoyang Park.
reviewed
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U
D2
This two-storey bar and dance club is where to strut your stuff. Downstairs there’s loud dance music, a dance floor and a bar-lounge area; upstairs there are fashionable booth seats and a terrace overlooking the dance floor. Its sister club DD3 at the Fisherman’s Wharf is also a throbbing, groovy spot to revel and to flirt.
reviewed
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V
Timber Hut
Thai and expat locals have been filling this old clubhouse every night for nearly 20 years. They gather at long wooden tables on two floors, converge around thick timber columns, swill whiskey, and sway to live bands that swing from hard rock to funk to hip-hop with aplomb.
reviewed
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W
Poachers Inn
Probably the most popular bar in Beijing, cavernous Poachers literally heaves on weekends with exuberant throngs and thumping bass. If you want a conversation, take turns with a loud-hailer and if you want a beer, grease yourself down to get to the besieged bar. The dancefloor is a writhing knot of liuxuesheng (foreign students) and partygoers.
reviewed
