Other entertainment in Thailand
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Watermark
Although it’s located at the Phuket Boat Lagoon marina on the east coast, Watermark is one of the best spots on the island for a sundowner cocktail. The espresso martini and passionfruit margarita are the house specials, although the tome-sized wine list is also very tempting. This chic venue is the island’s preferred address for jet-setters and, for the last six years it has been featured in the Thailand Tatler as one of the country’s best restaurants.
reviewed
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A
Ayuthaya Fighting Show
Behind the elephant ‘taxi’ stand is the Ayuthaya Fighting Show. The 10-strong crew stages 30-minute shows at 10.30am, 11.30am, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm. Their dextrous displays of swords and sticks are a reminder of how wars used to be fought. Each show is quick and slick, and the comic touches are as sharp as the sickles they wave around.
reviewed
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B
Khan-Asa
Too lazy to cab it over to Th Nimmanhaemin, but need a break from the backpacker trail? This arty spot is mainly known for its Thai food, which is cheap enough not to put a dent in your beer budget. The soundtrack is light years beyond Chiang Mai’s strange fascination with Phil Collins and Jack Johnson.
reviewed
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Doi Chaang@Art
Doi Chaang is the leading brand among Chiang Rai coffees, and its beans are now sold as far abroad as Canada and Europe. In addition to sublime coffee, tasty sweets are available, and located next door is Doi Soong Cha, a small tea-tasting gallery featuring Chinese-style teas also grown in Chiang Rai.
reviewed
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Muay Thai Stadium
The pick-up trucks that circle Chaweng advertise moo·ay tai (Thai boxing; also spelt muay thai ) fight most nights. Chaweng’s stadium (south of Chaweng Lake) hosts an increasing number of respected showdowns between title fighters as well as match-ups between foreign and local fighters.
reviewed
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Apache Bar
With a strange Native American theme (think the Village People) lit by fluorescent lights, this long-time favourite is definitely campy. It fills up early and blasts loud music to all hours (to the annoyance of people sleeping nearby). Look for a new instalment of Apache in Tonsai Village.
reviewed
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Rin Coffee
This light-filled, glass-fronted cafe is popular with young Thais. Whole menu pages are dedicated to various green tea, coffee and chocolate drink concoctions. Sit in the brightly coloured seats or perch at the bar and sample the ice cream, hearty breakfasts, waffles, sandwiches or salads.
reviewed
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Street Lamp
Several drinking options are conveniently located along a 50m strip of Soi 8, Th Naresuan, the epicentre of Ayuthaya’s traveller scene. When we visited, Street Lamp was the pick, with a local one-man-band teeing up the patrons for a remarkably good open jam session.
reviewed
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Eat & Chat
For a couple of beers and a chat at conversation, rather than shouting-over-the-guitar-solo level, head to this low-key place across from the Blue Lagoon Hotel. Music ranges from jazz to Sinatra, there’s live acoustic most nights, and as the name suggests, there’s food as well.
reviewed
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Pai Post Studio & Gallery
This white wooden building is home to Pai’s English-language rag, and the front is a white space for photography. But every night, after the computers are turned off, a fun mixture of live music (mostly rock/jazz) and performance (a ventriloquist, at last check) takes over.
reviewed
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Drunken Flower
Though this old standard has changed locations, it has carried across its loyal cast of characters, a mix of CMU bohemians and NGO expats. The closet-sized bar invokes an antique mood where the shaggy-headed students might have drunk and noshed away their haircut money.
reviewed
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Carlitos
This fairy-light-lit beachside bar, which puts on impressive fire shows, attracts fa·ràng seeking beers and a chair in the sand. It gets rowdy and packs in major crowds on dance-party nights. We like how Carlitos does its bit for the environment by recycling.
reviewed
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Sunflower Bar
If it’s a beverage you seek, come to Sunflower Bar. Poetically ramshackle, the owner cobbled it back together post-tsunami with reclaimed wood. The four booths, built from long-tail hulls, are named for the four loved ones he lost in the flood.
reviewed
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Silver Sand Bar
As the clock ticks towards the witching hour, the island’s night owls congregate under trippy spherical lights to watch the fire twirlers show off, grind to cheesy dance music and knock back more than 35 types of cocktail (all served in buckets, of course).
reviewed
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Montana
This bar has relatively authentic Western decor including stuffed animal heads (don’t worry, they’re fake), Budweiser neon and nightly gigs with the Big Boss Blues Band from 9.30pm. In the kitchen there are no concessions to the West with a zingy Thai menu.
reviewed
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Park@Pai
Parking Toys, one of Bangkok’s best live-music pubs, has opened a branch in Pai. Rock to visiting bands while seated on funky furniture and snacking on their excellent food (it’d be a crime to miss their fantastic ‘hot & sour crispy chicken salad’).
reviewed
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E
Cosmic Café
Decidedly more low-key than most places on RCA, Cosmic calls itself a cafe and looks like a live-music club but in reality is more of a bar… Despite the slight identity crisis, this is a fun place to drink, rock to live music and meet Thai-style.
reviewed
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360
This open-air patio, covered with giant rattan lounge chairs, sits high above the gnarled jungle trees. The lychee Bellini goes down real easy while admiring the 360-degree views as the sun sets over the manicured Laguna grounds.
reviewed
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Port
An outdoor bar smack in the heart of the action, the Port features glowing blue-and-green lounge chairs that match the designer cocktails and pulsates all evening long. Complimentary bar snacks are served throughout the night.
reviewed
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94° Coffee
Almost an attraction in its own right, Soi Kaafae (Coffee Lane on Soi 9, Th Nimmanhaemin) is populated by two bustling coffee shops and lots of laptop-tapping Thais. One of the coffee shops here is 94° Coffee.
reviewed
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Pride Festival
Both gays and lesbians are well advised to visit Bangkok in mid-November when the city’s small but fun Pride Festival is in full swing. Dinners, cruises, clubbing and contests are the order of the week.
reviewed
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Mc Club Thailand
Half-heartedly decorated with motorcycle memorabilia (look for the single tyre), this bar is a good place to kick-start a big night in PKK. During the high season, the club sets up on the promenade beside the beach.
reviewed
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Cat Bar
Kind service, the coldest beer in Thailand, and a Bob Dylan soundtrack make this the best among the strip of bars along Th Jet Yot. There’s also a pool table and live music nightly at 10.30pm.
reviewed
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Kung’s Bar
Popular with the NGO set, this fun bar is decked out with murals and an odd combination of antiques and kitsch. A huge and detailed drink menu will appeal to those who don’t do beer.
reviewed
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Phu Pai Art Café
This attractive wooden house is another highlight of Pai’s live music scene. The amps turn on at 8pm, and on our visit we enjoyed some very good live acoustic guitar music.
reviewed
