Baronbonk.com: Sukhumvit Road The main artery of Bangkok: bars, nightlife, restaurants, entertainment et al

Sukhumvit Five Years On
It is five years ago this month that Baronbonk.com was born. So it seemed a good idea to look back for a few moments as well as review what is what today. When we set the site up, we needed some launch articles and settled on three: Sukhumvit Road, Patpong and Pattaya which we decided were the defining areas for nightlife in Thailand. Those articles have since been removed from the site as newer articles updated the reality on the ground. However I still have a copy and was reading the original Baron’s words on both Sukhumvit and Patpong. As Patpong users will be aware, not a lot has changed there, but that is certainly not true of Sukhumvit.
The original article began with the following two sentences that are still as true today as they were then: If a city has to have a main artery, the mighty Sukhumvit Road must be Bangkok's. To the visitor it is the provider of all. And of course it is, a very complete area serving both expats and Thais, residents and visitors with accommodation, music, bars, myriad food options and more entertainment opportunities than most can dream about. When Sukhumvit was denied entertainment zone status, most decided that either those doing the zoning were ignorant, biased or bent. The probability is all three. Sukhumvit Road in it's entirety is several entertainment zones, and most certainly these areas are where visitors and expats spend the most money in Bangkok.
The first of Sukhumvit bar sois is appropriately named Soi Zero and I am not sure that ‘Buckskin Joes’ - the name five years ago was not a better image. On the other side of the road, there is Sukhumvit Plaza on the junction with Soi 1. My various visits and 'peerings in' do not suggest this new bar area is doing that well. There is a late night disco on the top, and rooms elsewhere all suggesting that some believe they can make this out of the way location work.
If Soi 3 is known as the Arab and Africa zone, then Soi 4 is Expat Centrum, or as I prefer it – the (Farang) Ghetto. Many believe the success of Soi 4 is all to do with Nana Plaza and judge that if that faded institution went, Soi 4 would revert to a sleepy soi. I doubt it. There is just too much going on in the soi now and certainly much more than a few years ago. And the success of this soi has rubbed of on nearby sois with Sois 5, 7, 7/1 and even 8 becoming bar sois to a greater or lesser extent. The arrival and apparent success of Soi 7/1 is really the bar story of the year (see article). Five years ago the Beer Garden was a lonely option in these sois. Soi 13 is less about bars and more about nightclub/discos with both the Q bar and Bed Club featuring here, and both relatively new.
A little further up there were disasters on both sides of the road for the unwary. Five years ago Clinton Plaza was just opening up to almost immediately fall foul of various legal disputes which resulted in the closure and demolition of the area three years later. At least here there was some due process whereas Sukhumvit Square mushroomed into existence in 18 months and just as it became a serious player in the bars game, it was destroyed in a dawn raid one Sunday morning. Despite assurances to the contrary, the people who did this seem to have got away with little more than a smack on the wrist. But the demise of both these areas is, or should be, a serious reminder to those doing business in the LOS - that smiles, money and law do not always mix!
I suppose the biggest irony is that this stretch of pavement between Soi 7 and Soi 17 is the late night drinking haunt of those who find 1am a trifle early when it comes to bedtime. Dozens of noodle stalls selling alcohol open up both sides of Sukhumvit at midnight and trade till dawn. Five years ago the Thermae, right in the centre of this area, was the late night spot of choice and late night drinkers crowded into a basement with a license and loos. Now late night drinkers use unlicensed street stalls and piss in the street. Progress in Thailand is at best confusing!
The next big area is Soi Cowboy at Soi 23. For a number of years, Cowboy became the forgotten area in nightlife terms then the collapse of Clinton Plaza drove the highly successful Dollshouse to Cowboy and the rest, as they say, is history. Five years ago, very few people would have listed Cowboy as the number one nightbar/gogo area but now many would. Also in this area Asoke Plaza came and went without doing much to inspire.
Soi 22 is home of Washington Square which although fading had quite a cache in the year 2000, but now I hear very little about Washington Square. It still exists, but as a shadow of its former self. However there are still a few fun bars in this soi as well as Queens Park Plaza (see article), a small bar soi which seems to be as much about pool as anything else.
Further down this mighty artery but on the other side is Soi 33 and Soi 33/1. Soi 33 was once a soi of hostess clubs but in recent years this soi has developed into much more than that with the arrival of more English style pubs as well as other options.
Five years ago our look at Sukhumvit stopped here. However this is by no means the end of Sukhumvit. Sois 22 and 24 have developed into entertainment sois with well-known music and entertainment venues as well as Japanese hostess clubs. Then it is not far to Thonglor (Soi 55) with a mass of entertainment places and as with the next massive entertainment area, Ekamai (Soi 71), these are aimed mainly at the Thai market and are generally, but not exclusively, singles venues. Of course this part of town is a massive dormitory area with the Skytrain feeding into downtown Bangkok, and whilst many travel to Tonglor and Ekamai to play, there is a ready made home market.
Thus by my calculation there are seven distinctive entertainment areas along Sukhumvit Road, and of course there are many venues in the other sois too. I doubt there is a soi without a bar, or a restaurant, certainly up to Thonglor. These venues are where millions of Thais, expat residents and tourists play. In five years, every area has grown bigger and stronger. If Sukhumvit Road was a main artery in 2000 it is now the aorta. But remember it is not an entertainment zone!