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Silk Bar
An open-air cocktail bar for the visiting Sukhumvit entourage crowd.
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Sin Bar
Technically an 'entertainment' complex, Sin Bar is Nana's alter ego: three floors divided into a pool hall, dance club and rooftop bar all noticeably lacking in the soi 's namesake industry, prostitutes. Reliably sneaking past the curfew restrictions, the rooftop bar is the after-party scene for clubbers and night owls not hunting for 'hello handsums'.
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Sirocco
Yet another of Bangkok's rooftop bars, the Sky Bar at Sirocco provides heart-stopping views over the Chao Phraya River, not to mention much of Bangkok. Come here for a drink and the view, not the overpriced cuisine.
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Sirocco & Sky Bar
Descend the sweeping stairs like a Hollywood diva to the precipice bar of this rooftop restaurant. A dress code is enforced and drink prices are impressive, but so is the view.
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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.
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Superfly
The gargantuan dance hall is a decent middle ground in the jungle of Bangkok clubs; not too trendy, with music that the majority of us can shake to. As with many places in town, the cover charge gets you one drink.
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Susie Pub
Before Khao San was a hip place for Thais to hang out, Susie was a local outpost for university students to play pool and drink in candy pop music.
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Taksura
There are no signs to lead you to this seemingly abandoned 93-year-old mansion in the heart of old Bangkok, which is all the better according the cool uni-artsy crowd who frequent the place. Take a seat outside to soak up the breeze, and go Thai by ordering some spicy nibbles with your drinks.
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Tapas Room
Although it sits staunchly at the front of Bangkok's pinkest street, this longstanding box manages to bring in just about everybody. Come Thursday to Saturday when the combination of DJs and live percussion brings the body count to critical level.
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Tawan Daeng German Brewhouse
Looking for a more local feel than your average expat bar? Well, you asked for it: Tawan Daeng is a massive beer hall and German-style microbrewery (rongh beea). In between stage sets of sing-along pop tunes, choruses of 'Happy Birthday' erupt from the overcrowded tables.
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Telephone
At 20 years of age, Bangkok's oldest gay bar/restaurant still features telephones so that patrons can 'ring' each other. The café-like seating in front is probably the best place from which to watch the virtual gay-pride parade that is Soi 4.
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Th Sarasin Gay Clubs
This quiet little street across from Lumphini Park has a tight cluster of intimate bars, ranging from non-orientational to gay-festive. There's disco fever at 70s Bar and karaoke at I-Chub, a bar dedicated to bear and their admirers. Bangkok has just started to develop a lesbian-only nightclub scene with two newcomers: Shela (Soi Lang Suan, Th Ploenchit) and Zeta. You'll find the clubs located between Th Ratchadamri & Soi Lang Suan.
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Tuba
Used-furniture shop by day, Italian restaurant-bar by night. Oddly enough, this business formula is not entirely unheard of in Bangkok. Pull up a leatherette lounge and take the plunge and buy a whole bottle for once. And don't miss the delicious chicken wings.
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Twisted Republic
Neighbour to Bed and Q Bar, Twisted truly is the new kid on the block. Promising an 'ultimate interactive clubbing experience', the fresh-faced club boasts an impressive roster of DJs, both domestic and imported.
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V9
The décor would even make Liberace cringe but this top-floor wine bar wins fans for its affordably priced bottles of wine and its safe-from-the-rain view of Bangkok.
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Vino Di Zanotti
Classy and mature, this wine bar is a well-mannered date. The jazz band is never deafening, the arctic air-con ventilates the cigarette smoke and the wines can be paired with victuals from the affiliated Italian trattoria to keep the spirits from having their way with you.
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Water Bar
Every new arrival should learn the whisky-set routine, a drinking tradition more at home at Thai family gatherings than in flash hotels. At this misnomered bar, a short walk from Victory Monument, the Sang Som set still reigns as the tipple of choice. The attentive waiters will keep your glass filled to the right proportions (three fingers whisky, a splash of Coke, the rest soda) after which you should offer up a toast and drain the night away.
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Wong's Place
An odd choice for an institution if there ever was one, this dusty den is a time warp into the backpacker world of the early 1980s. The namesake owner died several years ago, but a relative removed the padlock and picked up where Wong left off. Wong's works equally well as a destination or a last resort, but don't bother knocking until midnight, keeping in mind that it stays open until the last person crawls out.
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Zeta
This exceedingly popular lesbian club on the quiet end of RCA is packed to the gills with young tom-dees on weekends. Women only.
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Zup Zip
This lesbian-owned locale in the northern suburbs features a friendly atmosphere, homey Thai-Chinese fare and supping tom-dees.
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