Patpong, Bangkok

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Anything you want you will find at Patpong for a price.

There are the night markets, selling all the normal pirated goods.

Then there are the bars.

Watch out you are not ripped off, some of the girlie bars charge no admission charges but drinks are extremely expensive.

Best to go where the drinks are fixed price and you know what you are up for.

There are also "normal bars" where you can get go for a drink and not be annoyed by people trying to make you buy them drinks.

We have taken friends a couple of times to Patpong and we have all have a great time.

This area is probably best go for it's go go bars and sex scene which when you consider how young the victims of this trade lends a sadness to the area. 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.

However thankfully more and more visititors are coming to this area for shopping .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. We found this was the only area where you can large T Shirts.
Note that many of the stalls don't open until 7PM...it's pretty sleepy until then.

There lots of little restaurants in the area as well

I don't know why, but when for the very first time in Bangkok I always took my bearings by taking the SILOM ROAD and, from there to other places. Maybe because of this business district has the city's greatest concentration of luxury hotels, or just because of SILOM's ROAD most famous attraction named PATPONG!

Ofcourse PATPONG, once most famous as red-light district, has calmed down a lot and, for now draws more sightseers that ... flesh-seekers, heeheeh! Oh yeah, there are the Go-Go bars, ping-pong shows, Gay Men's equivalents, some restaurants "trés elegant" and the night street market, so do have a fun time on SILOM ROAD. Traffic can be thick in these part of town, but the SkyTrain, Subway and River Express provide some transport relief.

Patpong is, to put it crudely, a place that seems dedicated to satisfying two human cravings - sex and shopping.

Running down the middle of Patpong 1 and sprawling out into neighbouring streets is the night market. Cheek-by-jowl stalls of fake designer brands, Thai silk products and knock--ff DVD's jostle for your attention. Lining the street are girlie bars where a menu of floorshows and pole dancing are on offer. In the surrounding area there are signs that a more hardcore bill of fare is available.

It’s an energetic place, busy, brash, and exciting. You can get some great bargains in the market, hone up your bargaining skills - you’ll need them. However every time I caught sight of the rather bored looking girls standing in their underwear in the bars, or was offered the chance to watch the ping-pong or banana show it somehow felt rather uneasily voyeuristic.

The latter would not stop me visiting (indeed we went their twice in order to stock up on Burberry and Rolex) and - unless you know you’ll be offended by the sex trade- I would certainly recommend going there however it did give me pause for thought.

We visited Patpong Markets one night to do a bit of shopping... There are so many shops and markets that we didn't know where to start...haha! It was great to look through everything although after the first hour or so everything starts to look the same (and is the same actually). Still, we ended up buying some souvenirs and presents there... It was a great place to spend some time!

Of course we also had a lot of offers to see the sex shows in the bars & clubs nearby...everywhere you walk you will have people shoving 'menus' of different shows in your face. If you're into, it there are plenty of options!

Situated between the two famous roads, Silom & Suriwong, Patpong is definitely a nightlife rather than a daylight venue. For one thing, it is home to Bangkok's lively night spots vis-a-vis the famous Night Market.

Loud bars with gogo dancers lined up the Patpong streets (both soi 1 & 2), just passing along these streets even if you're on shopping, you can't get away with the "sales staff" of all the clubs & bars that will persuade you to "come & see inside" and ladies offering "other" services too. Well, you can even see the gogo dancers gyrating to the beat on the ledges or platforms even from the street view. No wonder the area itself is called Bangrak or Town of Love, you know what I mean, right? And yes, bangrak is also the business district of Bangkok. Business & entertainment goes along well here!

But for the night market alone, Patpong is really worth a trip or two, in case you don't have the time to get to Chatuchak Weekend Market - Bangkok's (or asia's or world's(?)) largest weekend market, you'll get the chance to buy souvernirs here.

...as for the Ping Pong word ...hmmmm.....well.........it's a common word that you'll get to hear along the street of Patpong.... you'll have to find out, I'm innocent.... LOL!

Beware of pickpockets!

Patpong is surreal. It is a combination of night market and meat market as it at the centre of Bangkok's sex industry. Patpong consists of four parallel streets which run between Silom Road and Surawong Road. Patpong 1 is the main street with many bars of various kinds. Patpong 2 also has many bars. Patpong 3 has bars catering to gay men. Patpong 4 has a few bars with Thai girls that cater to Japanese men.

Although Patpong is sometimes referred to as a "red-light district," its bars are not brothels in the traditional sense. Most are "go-go bars" where women (or men) dance or pose on a stage and are available to customers, who can pay a bar fine to take them out of the bar. Some establishments advertising "massage" are disguised brothels. Some on Patpong employ kathoeys ("ladyboys" or transwomen) either exclusively or as part of a mixed staff.

In recent years, Silom and Surawong have been taken over by the Patpong night market, making movement in the area difficult and filling the area with tourist couples and backpackers.

The area started as a R&R (Rest & Recuperation or Rape & Riot) location for US troops involved in the Vietnam War. In its prime during the 1970s and 1980s, Patpong was the premier red-light area in Bangkok, famous for its sex shows. Today, the other red-light areas of Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy provide strong competition.

At night, this is a wild and busy area. Known as their red light area. Mostly patpong has various clubs (doors are open as you walk by). Women, who look quite bored and seem to hate their jobs are dressed in skimpy clothes dancing next to a pole or other girls. The main street clubs are mostly women or lady boys dancing in the clubs. Further down, is the boy's town-with lots of gay clubs.

There is a long nightmarket along Th Silom. Lots of stalls selling tshirts, crafts, textiles and such. Some people may wander up to you -ask if you want to go and see sex show. Most famous are ping pong shows and such. We didn't do this, but we heard it's more of a freak show kind of thing.

Anyway, if you don't have kids you should definately come down here. It;s a very interesting area and not too sleazy. Can get some good shopping done.

Lots of bars and clubs.