Party people seek THE UNEXPECTED

BANGKOK’S NIGHTLIFE and party scene downsized in 2015 and somehow still managed to get bigger – and better. It’s not that there aren’t still a lot of mega-clubs and major brands pulling in the clientele, but smaller, more exclusive venues surged in appeal this year.
The shift was due in part to the way these places – and the parties they host and the drinks they serve – are now more tailored to specific niche groups. The social media played their usual key role in shaping public opinion, yet it was the personal tastes of the customers and the nightspot owners that first altered course.
Bangkok has its established nightlife entertainment zones, each one drawing a particular crowd. RCA, Khao San Road, Silom Road, Sukhumvit Soi 11, Thong Lor and Ekkamai have their own indigenous party people, with expatriates and tourists mixing in with Thais. You soon learn how to distinguish between “a Thong Lor type” and “an RCA regular”.
This year, though, things changed, and rapidly. Smaller, cooler places popped up all over town, some in back alleys so hidden that you literally need GPS and a pal on the premises to guide you there. And these days, if someone asks if you’ve been to Soi Nana, don’t be too hasty to nod. They don’t mean Sukhumvit Soi 4. There’s another one now near Chinatown. It’s a whole road paved with hip, cool places like Cho Why, 23 Bar and Gallery, Teens of Thailand and El Chiringuito, every one of them a magnet for the pub-crawlers who are always scouting for something fresh.
Soi Thong Lor obviously proved too small for its bloat of bars and clubs, so they’ve started spilling out into other Sukhumvit lanes, and the same is happening along Silom to Sathorn roads, creating a bigger and more diverse selection in nightlife.
Another emerging trend is “secret addresses” – beloved by those who wish they’d been Americans in the Roaring Twenties when booze was banned. Rather than speakeasies, we have places you can’t get into without some prior arcane knowledge.
J Boroski Mixology is hiding in a back alley off Thong Lor, Q&A on Sukhumvit Soi 21 has no sign out front at all, and across the road, at the recently opened Havana Social, you actually have to punch in a four-digit code to open the door. Where do you get the code? That’s the secret!
What makes these places so special is that they take you out of your comfort zone – and away from the crowd – and they’re “genre-fluid”, which means they’re not easily categorised. Terms like “wine bar”, “cocktail lounge” and “dance club” have lost all relevance in this scene. You’re apt to find anything and everything in a single place – one day a DJ, next day a live band. That flexibility translates into more casual fun.
Also gone is the era when you had to dress nice to get into a nice place. Now it’s the bars doing the dressing up. Casual attire is totally cool (at least the “just got off work” look, as opposed to “just got up”), but the bars are more extravagant and theatrical, frequently parading themes.
Maggie Choo’s on Silom Road was a pioneer in this approach in Bangkok and this year the majestic Sing Sing Theatre on Sukhumvit Soi 45 and AR Sutton Engineers Siam on Ekkamai are making guests gasp in wonder. Their d้cor is intricately detailed and the alternating concepts are out of this world.
We seemed to get a hundred more so-called “party organisers” in 2015, too, running theme parties every weekend. Rather than professionals, they’re more often just groups of friends doing it for a lark, but that’s what makes it great.
These days anything can form the theme for a party, not just someone’s birthday but also pets, tattoos, maybe even refugees. The most popular theme remains music, though, especially if the vibe is retro. There are electronic-music parties (heavy on the drum-and-bass), minimal techno bashes and house raves, but danceable tunes from the 1980s and ’90s will always guarantee a crowd.
Meanwhile a lot of the clubs have started tapping live acts, shunting aside their DJs for an hour or two. These aren’t just cover bands, either, but decent, original outfits plying rock, ska, funk and jazz. Some nightspots have even begun hosting concerts with foreign indie performers.
This was the year that gay parties returned, thanks entirely to G Spot Entertainment, which shrugged off the stalled economy and resurrected fun times for the LGBT crowd. What began humbly (but wildly) at Maggie Choo’s every Sunday soon took hold at the Mango Tree on the River (at Yodpiman River Walk) and Double Tree by Hilton (Sukhumvit Soi 26).
“There’s a sizeable pool of gay partygoers in Bangkok looking for something new and fun,” says Ken of G Spot. “They have the same old places to go to, so they needed new, exciting experiences. And that’s where we came in. And, because our parties are not restricted to gay men, we have a decent mix of guys and girls, which makes for an even better vibe. We were the first to do pool parties for gays, and that’s been very successful.”
A good slice of the success is due to Panpan Nakprasert, the rising star in drag shows, who hosts and performs at most of the G Spot soirees. “We had gay parties with drag shows before,” says Ken, “but since Panpan came on the scene the dynamic has changed. Parties are much more fun when you become part of the experience, and Panpan’s showmanship, wit and foul mouth really help!”
As to the booze that fuels the fun at any bar and any kind of party, craft beers and organic wines continue to gain in popularity thanks to wider selection and attractive prices. Bangkok’s cocktail culture is taking root as well, so spirits are always a hit.
“There’s no denying that gin and single-malt whisky have attracted a huge following among Thai drinkers this year,” says Bhumichitr Chennarong, the senior ambassador for Diageo Moet Hennessy (Thailand).
“In fact these drinks have been popular since late last year. It has to do with the fact that Thai drinkers have become more knowledgeable about these drinks. I would say they know a lot about what they’re going to order. Interestingly, they’ve consumed less alcohol per capita over the past year and instead have focused on quality, on having an enjoyable drinking experience.
“We’ve also seen that Thais prefer bitter, low-sugar and low-calorie drinks to sweet cocktails these days, indicating that they’re more health-conscious,” Bhumichitr notes.
“And more consumers now enjoy uncomplicated drinks, like the highball cocktail, the latest trend from Japan, which is just whisky and carbonated water. Global drink trends tend to arrive in Thailand very late, though. Right now mezcal is all the rage overseas, but I hear it will only be imported to Thailand next year maybe. Meanwhile microbreweries seemed to be setting a trend this year, only to vanish because of the government’s strict regulations.”