Charoen Krung, Bangkok

Charoen Krung is the old road running along the Chao Phraya river in the Bang Rak area, close to the Silom end of town. The riverside hotels, the Asiatique night market and the ICONSIAM mall area all sit in the district. It is a short ride from Silom, and it has its own cocktail-bar scene.

Relaxed and a little arty. The evening revolves around riverside dining, cocktail bars in converted old buildings and the Asiatique market, with massage shops dotted along the road. It is much calmer than Sukhumvit and has no bar-girl strip. It suits a date or a drink, and a taxi or boat gets you on to somewhere livelier.

No. No red-light hub is listed in Charoen Krung, and no gogo bars or beer bars are either. The adult side here is the 20 massage shops among the listings, so check what each one offers before going in. For gogo bars and street scenes, Patpong in Silom and Sukhumvit are the nearest choices.

Of the 47 places, 20 are massage shops and 18 are bars, with 6 attractions, 2 malls and 1 market. Maggie Choo, The Bamboo Bar, Three Sixty Lounge and Mahaniyom Cocktail Bar are among the bars, and Asiatique The Riverfront is the listed market. There are no nightclubs or gogo bars.

Charoen Krung is quieter and more about cocktails, hotels and the river, while Silom has Patpong, Soi Thaniya and a larger choice of adult venues. The two sit close together, so many visitors have a rooftop or riverside drink in Charoen Krung and cross to Silom afterwards for the street scene.

Stay by the river if you want views and a calm base, and start with a cocktail bar or dinner at the riverside before moving on. The riverside hotels are polished but a taxi ride from the main punting streets. Check each hotel's guest policy before booking, since the rules differ between places.

Use the river boats and the BTS Skytrain's Saphan Taksin stop for the waterfront, then taxis or Grab for the road itself, which has no train line along it. Asiatique runs its own shuttle boats from the pier. Traffic can slow the road in the evening, so build in extra time, and agree any fare before getting in a tuk-tuk.

Quiet streets after dark. Parts of the road empty out early, so stick to the lit and busy stretches and book a ride home rather than waiting on a dark corner. Check what a massage shop actually offers before you go in, as standards vary, and confirm the price on the board first.