I’ve just added a new page that talks all about buying a bottle of whiskey at bars and clubs in Thailand. A lot of people don’t realize there’s a huge cost savings that comes with buying a bottle instead of individual drinks. The new page Bottles of Whiskey goes into great detail about this, and how to avoid getting ripped off.
I’ve recently gotten quite an education about massage places in Thailand, and decided to dedicate a page to that subject. Most notable is the section of dirty massages, something I had no idea existed.
I finally got a chance to check out the new Maxis Bar & Restaurant in Soi Twilight. You don’t even have to go inside to see someone spent a ton of cash on the place, and speculation among some of the expats is the new venue will give Dick’s CafĂ© a run for their money. Well, I’m not so sure about that.
My party of four (2 farang and 2 Thai boys) hit the place rather late in the evening, after 12 as I recall. And this could have been a contributing factor in the less than satisfactory dining experience we all had. I’m also aware it is extremely difficult to get a Thai kitchen staff that can consistently turn out good western food, but the Thai dishes should not be a challenge.
Three in my party selected a total of 4 Thai dishes, and all but one of them got a thumbs down. I decided to go for a western meal, and selected their egg burger. This is just my opinion, but I believe any restaurant serving up western food should at least be able to get a hamburger right. I mean…it’s not rocket science we’re talking about here.
First of all, the egg was not fully cooked, so when I pressed down on the bun egg yolk came spurting out onto the plate. I have no doubt this additional liquid inside the sandwich greatly contributed to the bun disintegrating early in the dining experience. To make things worse, there was some sort of pungent spice in the meat that made the taste of beef impossible to detect. When all was said and done, Maxis earned my worst hamburger in Thailand award, previously held by McDonald’s. GAWD it was awful!
Now I’m quite certain Dick’s manages to serve up a stinker every once in awhile, but I’ve dined at both establishments several times and, as yet, haven’t been the victim of an off night.
Maxis is an absolutely beautiful looking establishment, perhaps even a little too upscale in appearance for its location. But after sampling the food I’ll have to say its beauty may only be skin deep.
PLEASE…someone tell me I just happened in on an off night, and Maxis deserves another try.
I’ve just added a new page about Khao San Road, a place I highly recommend seeing at least once while visiting Bangkok.
Soi Twilight is a relatively new pocket of gay establishments (mostly Go Go bars) that makes up the Silom gay district. It is a walking street, which means vehicles do not drive through during the evening business hours, but don’t be surprised if a few motor bikes pass you.
This short little L shaped street defines “Red Light District”, as you literally have to run the gauntlet of very aggressive barkers, each doing his utmost to all but physically drag you into a Go Go bar. In the mix is a sex massage place, gay beauty shop, and Richard’s Caf?…a great western and Thai food restaurant with excellent cocktails. There’s also a couple of open air bars, opposite of each other at the Suriwong Road entrance to the Soi. I don’t remember the names of these two bars, but they become very important around midnight.
Beginning around 11:30, peeking at about 12:30, and pretty much over with at 1:30 is the nightly parade of boys. As the mostly Go Go boys get off work, they all make their way out (in street cloths) to the Suriwong Road entrance of Soi Twilight.
A large percentage of these boys hang out at the entrance of the Soi in a last attempt at finding a customer for the evening. At the same time freelance money boys, and boys getting off from other parts of Silom begin to arrive. It’s really quite a sight to see, and a great way to spend the last couple of hours during your night out.
The two open air bars I mentioned make great vantage points for this nightly event. The bar on the left, as you enter the Soi, is the better of the two, because it is slightly elevated. These bars are not very big, so it’s best to arrive around 11:30, or you may not get a seat.
I’ve attended the parade of boys on many occasions but, for one reason or another, never took a boy home. It certainly wasn’t for lack of opportunity, I can assure you!
This is one of those unique experiences everyone should treat themselves to; at least once while visiting Bangkok.
Out of Date Soi Twilight Map
Silom Area Map - Also Out of Date (see 13&14)
As I mentioned in my new information page “Thai Discos” There is a big difference between the westernized gay discos, in the Silom area of Bangkok, and those Thai boys frequent…the Thai-4-Thai or Sticky Rice clubs.
Perhaps one of the best kept secrets, from the farang, is a cluster of four clubs up north, next to the Chatuchak Market. I don’t remember the street address, but it’s directly across from all the Chatuchak gardening and landscape shops.
The four clubs are all right next to each other, with the two most popular at each end and the two in between taking the spill over crowd. The Mogue Bar was the number one club until about a year ago when El Ninio opened and stole the show. Mogue is now the second most popular, and I don’t remember the names of the other two spill over clubs.
Mogue is dark, loud, and has a nightly cabaret (drag) show that starts around 12 and runs for 30-40 minutes. On a good night Mogue starts to fill up between 11 and 11:30. El Ninio is more brightly lit, not quite as loud, small, does not have a nightly show, leans more toward hip hop music, and jam packed with the cutest college age Thai boys I’ve ever see in one location. The only possible way to get a table, short of calling in a reservation, is to get there at 9pm when the doors open. On most nights, the place will be empty at 9, but 90 percent of the tables have already been reserved. By 11 El Ninio is standing room only, and its pure disco jamming, gorgeous Thai boy heaven…EVERY night of the week!
Now don’t get me wrong, Mogue Bar is no slouch. In fact, I’ve gone there more times than El Ninio, mostly because it’s a pain in the ass to get a table at the number one venue. Aside from the music being just a little bit too loud for a man of my years, and the crowd being a mix of cute and not so, Mogue is a great club. Well, it also has these annoying boys in the bathroom that want to give a back massage while you’re trying to drain the last two glasses of whiskey and coke. To each their own, but I like to be left alone while taking a leak…thank you very much!
The real magic of this place is all the clubs have tables and chairs outside, and a lot of people never go into the clubs, other than to say hello to friends with a table. They just hang out on the street and mingle with everyone from all four clubs. It almost takes on a street party atmosphere. And when two o’clock rolls around, and the clubs close, all these cute boys, from all four bars, dump onto the street in unison. OMG…it’s a sight to behold, and it goes on for about an hour.
If you are visiting Bangkok, do try and experience this place at least once while you’re there. The best way to get there is have a Thai boy take you. All the gay boys in Bangkok know where the Mogue bar is.
