Bangkok and Thailand are almost synonymous for nightlife. Rumor has it that there are several distinct areas for foreigners to partake of this world-famous activity. The most famous (or should I say infamous) is Patpong Road between Silom Road and Suriwong Street. There are currently two Patpongs now with the two adjacent streets turned into nightlife heaven. Hey, this is not the West, so don’t expect anything like you are used to. General rule for tourists is quite simply, go with someone who speaks Thai and you can trust. If you don’t know someone who speaks Thai then just go and observe and do not participate except in the ground floor “open beer bars.” To go upstairs to the “floor shows” without guidance is asking for trouble, especially to your pocket book. This, of course, is all speculation on my part!
Here is how the system works (according to those who are in the know): A naive foreigner is lured to second floor sex show and is given the hospitality treatment. There is usually a cover charge which grows especially large if you don't ask about it. As you watch the weirdest, most far-out things being done in the name of sex, you are plied with drink after drink. At the end of the show, you are then presented with a bill for several thousand Baht (read US hundreds of dollars). If you refuse to pay, get ready for a very unpleasant and physically disturbing time. What to do if caught in this situation? Don’t be stupid and be in such a situation! Patpong is THE SEX CAPITOL of the world and this means a lot of seedy characters are involved. If you are really in to this kind of thing (and I am not) there are several websites available (noncommercial) which give detailed explanations of what Patpong means. Just do a search on Bangkok, Patpong, Nightlife.
