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Although we have visited Trendy Plaza on the occasional evening, we hadn't made an official visit since July of 2014. Almost without us noticing, there has been a number of positive changes. So it is way past time for an update....
TRENDY PLAZA (Sukhumvit Soi 13)
We note that the larger Nitespots are more prevalent than before, and they are doing well - Sportsman, the two Breakers bars and the Old German Beerhouse, in particular, seem to gather a crowd. As the total number of Venues creeps up, we note a good mix of Nitespots to choose from - (Sports Bars, Pool Bars, and Massage Parlors.) As is our usual consideration when visiting an Entertainment Area, we evaluate whether (or not) it has reached a "critical mass" - can it be considered a "Night Entertainment Area" in its own right? While we believe Trendy Plaza could easily grow to a "Night Entertainment Area" (where the number of Nitespots creates a 'draw' where customers are likely to congregate to spend the evening.), there are simply not enough customers to go around. As a result, Trendy Plaza tends to be an "expat's hideaway' rather than a mainstream Entertainment Area. The potential is there - there is certainly no shortage of space for future expansion - for example, the virtually empty interior doesn't have even a single active Venue.
Below we have included a brief pictorial of several of the Trendy Plaza Nitespots, which can be keyed to the map, above.
TRENDY PLAZA (Sukhumvit Soi 13)
TRENDY PLAZA (Sukhumvit Soi 13)
TRENDY PLAZA (Sukhumvit Soi 13)
TRENDY PLAZA (Sukhumvit Soi 13)
The PDT recently moved into their permanent home in Trendy Plaza when the temporary bars and restaurants were closed down in preparation for a large development project in Soi Ambassador (Soi 11).
TRENDY PLAZA (Sukhumvit Soi 13)
TRENDY PLAZA (Sukhumvit Soi 13)
TRENDY PLAZA (Sukhumvit Soi 13)
The Naritsara Thai Massage and the Dang Massage are found at the far end of Trendy Plaza.
TRENDY PLAZA (Sukhumvit Soi 13)
BOOKS ...worth a read !
( Click on book covers to order. )
BANGKOK EYES AUTHORITATIVE INDEPENDENT TIMELY THE NIGHTSCENE HISTORY-IN-THE-MAKINGBANGKOK EYES AUTHORITATIVE INDEPENDENT TIMELY THE NIGHTSCENE HISTORY-IN-THE-MAKING |
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MIDNITE HOUR
MAIL BOX
Join the 'Comments' page...
READER :
The "Traces" section is one of the better parts of my monthly reading, but one question. You often refer to the few bars on New Road as a "Night Entertainment Center" or "Area", but could it be time for a reality check? Five or six bars wouldn't be called an "Entertainment Area", I wouldn't think? I can see mentioning the bars, though, as they were part of the old Bangkok.
MIDNITE HOUR:
We have not yet accumulated all the Nitespots on New Road in the 1960's-1970's from our old clippings, but as we get more time, we will be adding them in. Below you can find our partial list as we have it this month. Normally we consider an area to be a Night Entertainment Area if there are a dozen or so Nitespots in a relatively 'contiguous' location (easily walked from one Venue to another). We note the list below covers New Road "and environs" (as Trink would say), from 1965 through 1968. It would be fair to say not all of the listed Venues would have been open at the same time, although most apparently were. Holistically, given enough time, we hope to provide a complete history of Bangkok's Nitespots through the decades from after WWII up to the present.
ABC Bar (-opp. G.P.O.)
Chiquita's Bar
Drop In Tavern
Garden Cafe
Helena's
Botany Restaurant (live entertainment)
Golden Door (nightclub)
Bamboo Bar
Riverside Club
Krung Thong Room (nightclub)
New Champagne Room (nightclub)
Sea Hag
Star Light
Tropicana (nightclub)
Balcony
Oasis
Chez Eve Club
Chalerm Krung Bar
Cafe India (live entertainment)
Can Can
Rex Nightlcub
Bar Mikado
Heaven Turkish Bath
Miami Bar (live music)
Sunya Onsen Turkish Bath
Prasitipol (dance bar)
OLA OLA REVEAL
READER :
Noticed a pic of Ola Ola with no mention of what kind of venue it is. It's a massage shop specializing in nuru massages. Here is its website: olaolabangkok.com
I've never tried it, as it's priced on the high side.
Keep up the good work.
MIDNITE HOUR:
Feedback appreciated. (We've recently had others asking, as well.) Note to readers: It is located at the back of Subsoi Titanium on Sukhumvit Soi 22.
Thanks for reading and for writing in.
Don't hesitate to send your questions and comments - always welcome.
Note: Letters may be edited for brevity and/ or clarity.
'Reader's Corner' moderator -
'Boge' Hartman
Historical Research
* Zootramp
Publications
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Dave is BACK...
Let the Follies begin-
Vol. XXXII No. 10
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Bangkok, 01 October 2023
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Free Distribution
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PATPONG 1
 For decades Patpong Road reigned as the planet's foremost Night Entertainment Area. However now - with a less-than-Critical Mass of Nitespots, the below photo is what you get (other than the usual copy-watch / T-shirt night market.
PATPONG 1 
PATPONG 2
 In what was most recently the Dream Boy Bangkok, the new SOL Club has rolled out the red carpet. ( Dream Boy has opened nearby on the Soi). Located at the Suriwong Road end of Patpong 2 Road, the modus operandi is ' Gay Lounge". May they keep on keeping on.
PATPONG 2 
The sign that we hoped we would never encounter... (The black and white sign at the lower right side).
PATPONG 2 
The Hotmale (second level, on The Ramp) is re-imagining itself - new signage, new image. However, it's business as usual...
PATPONG 2 
SOI COWBOY
 After months of prep, the Venus has rolled out the red carpet. We haven't been inside yet, but the facade is very well done. Welcome them to partytown.
SOI COWBOY
NANA PLAZA
 The Essence A Go Go has moved in, assuming lock, stock and chrome barstool from the recently closed Whiskey & Gogo (second level). If you didn't see the new sign, you wouldn't have known there had been a change of ownership. Same friendly service. Welcome them to the neon circus.
NANA PLAZA

SOI NANA
 The Nana Night Club has nearly completed it's renovations, we suspect it will open this month -providing the new escalator is in operation (right side, below photo).
SOI NANA - (SOI 4 SUKHUMVIT)
 The single-shophouse Nit Massage Traditional Massage, has fallen afoul of the fates. It has been replaced by yet another ' room for rent' mini 'boutique' hotel. Located deep in the Soi.
SOI NANA - (SOI 4 SUKHUMVIT)
SOI
KATOEY
 The Banana Room Club at the top of the Soi has done another facelift - brighter, and presumably more attention-grabbing (although it looked very quiet the night we passed by). That's how they roll, let them roll...
SOI KATOEY (Silom Soi 4)
 The upstairs Hugs Bar-Karaoke is yet again closed. We won't be providing a photo, as it would be the same photo we have used ten or more times on their closings and reopening.
SOI KATOEY (Silom Soi 4)
SOI
22
 The Private Bar, having closed down two months ago on the main Soi has reinvented itself at the back of Subsoi Hana (just past the Marriott). Welcome back to the same-old same-old...
SOI 22
 The White Night has moved into the digs formerly occupied by the Absolute two months before. May they be dealt all aces and faces.
SOI 22
 The Halo 22 having closed down the previous month in Subsoi Hana, has moved out onto the main Soi next door to the B 52 Cowboy Bar. Welcome back to the trough...
SOI 22
 The Suvanmalee Spa & Massage has just opened its doors in the long-gone Lemongrass Massage property. Rub-a-dub-dub.
SOI 22
SOI
AMBASSADOR
 The new Venue is either Abun or Abundance, depending on how you read it. We asked the kind receptionist what the Venue was, and she replied, it is a Bar with a good food menu. I asked about the dancing. She said, no dancing, however they do have a dance floor. Welcome them to the machine...
SOI AMBASSADOR
(Sukhumvit Soi 11)
 The Lush Rooftop, upstairs above Hemingway, was battened down as though awaiting a typhoon... We note they have a large open area on the roof, so they may be closing down temporarily, waiting out the worst of the rainy season. We'll keep an ear to the ground, and should they resurface, we shall so note....
SOI AMBASSADOR
(Sukhumvit Soi 11)
 The Blaq Lyte has not only closed down, they are doing a top-to-bottom building renovation behind construction barriers. No indication of when it will reopen, or what it will be when it does. A wait-and-see item.
SOI AMBASSADOR
(Sukhumvit Soi 11)
 The Chaba Massage has burst forth from it's renovation cocoon to become the Royal Chabaa Traditional Thai Massage. Welcome them back to the bright lights, big city.
SOI AMBASSADOR
(Sukhumvit Soi 11)
7 CENTER POINT
 The rumor has turned into news (a rare example) - the recently closed Soi 7 Bier Garten is currently, and hurriedly, being turned into bar beers. From our observations, the area will be home to no less than 9 separate beer bars, but possibly up to 12. It remains to be seen whether there will be two-way access between these new bars and the next door 7 Center Point (we note the area between Pookie and Nordic Bar looks primed for such a walk-through). We can expect a rolling out of the red carpet early November.
7 CENTER POINT
 The Leo's Wall is transitioning into The Wall Bar, currently keeping both signs. Modus Operandi status quo ante... May they keep on truckin'.
7 CENTER POINT
SOI DEAD ARTISTS
 Arising from the ashes of the old Pent 33 (closed March 2019), the Ten % Membership Karaoke is now holding court. Welcome them as they give a roll of the dice....
SOI DEAD ARTIST (Sukhumvit Soi 33)
SOI EDEN
 The long closed Plame specialty massage is undergoing renovations. Will it be a new Nitespot, or will it be another cannabis shop? With the new government viewing cannabis somewhat less liberally than the old, yet another cannabis shop might not be what is called for... Another wait-and-see item.
SOI EDEN (Sukhumvit 7 / 1)
Traces of Bangkok's Early Years
The New Year 1967 saw the large Night Clubs continue to bring in celebrity acts from abroad. All the while, the Petchburi Road 'Golden Mile' and the Patpongs continued with their own expansions - new bars, massage parlors, lounges and clubs.
The Sani Chateau (Gaysorn Night Entertainment Area) began advertising early for the arrival of Jayne Mansfield in the coming month of February. "Imagine Her Size !", indeed...
January 1967
Sam Scott, having made good his transition from the New Road area (previously the Drop-In Tavern), his Yard of Ale quickly became a popular (mostly British pub) on the corner of Silom & Convent Roads (opposite Patpong 1).
January 1967
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The Riverside Supper Club shared live entertainment acts with the Oriental Hotel's famous Bamboo Bar. The Oriental can legitimately be considered the 'seminal venue' for live entertainment in the New Road area - opening years before the other Venues got their start.
January 1967
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Old timers and history buffs tend to forget - the '50's and '60's were an endless procession of "dance crazes", each new dance sweeping the old from prominence. The L'Amour was obviously proud to have 'scooped' the other Bangkok Venues, being the first on the scene with the Bugaloo....
January 1967
The Naturist A-Go-Go was one of two Bangkok Nitespots to feature A Go-Go that year. (The other being the Oasis on New Road.) -Both Venues ramping up their A Go-Go stages the previous year (1966). Both Venues were extremely popular, the 'way of the future' was clear...
January 1967
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The Star Light remained one of the "Big 5" in the New Road Night Entertainment Area during 1967. (Along with The Balcony, the Oasis, the New Champagne Room and Garden Cafe). The modus operandi for New Road Venues was generally live entertainment - a mix of local and foreign.
January 1967
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By January the Cafe De Paris (Suriwong Rd. opp. Patpong) had already booked Brenda Lee, American singing sensation of the 50's - 60's for early February (one night only).
January 1967
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In January the Tropicana was hosting Bob Arno and Akiko (Wakabayashi). Arno was a renown performance pickpocket of Swedish descent who took his shows from the Nightclubs of New York to the troops in Viet Nam. Akiko, soon after the above performance, would become known as one of the "Bond Girls" in the film You Only Live Twice.
Silom Road, January 1967
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The Silom Rose Club is not currently known to us, nor is the Victory Hotel. We are assuming for the time being they were located on Silom Road. Readers? Should we come upon any further info, we will do a return visit.
January 1967
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An ad for telephones would seem strange in this day and age, however, in the 60's, there were only so many telephone numbers in existence, so if one wanted to obtain a telephone, the number would have to be purchased from someone else. The going rate was about Baht 30,000 per number, so the above advertiser is looking at up to a Baht 300,000 outlay...
January 1967
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