Patpong

Patpong sits in the Silom area of Bangkok, in the Silom and Sathorn district, off Silom Road and served by BTS Sala Daeng and MRT Silom. It is Bangkok's original red-light street, with gogo bars upstairs and down and a tourist night market on the same strip. Soi Thaniya, the Japanese-style karaoke lane, is right next door.

For one night, yes. I treat Patpong as a look-around stop rather than a main event: the gogo bars are there, but the street is now shared with market stalls and the crowd is mixed with sightseers. It works best paired with dinner or a drink in Silom. Go in with a plan, because the touts are persistent.

Touts on the street wave menus offering a live show upstairs, then the bill arrives far above what you were led to expect, often with pressure from the staff. My advice is simple: never follow anyone upstairs on the strength of a flyer. If you want a show, stay in a ground-floor bar where you can see the drinks list before you sit.

The main attraction for punters is Patpong Soi 1 gogo row, the run of ground-floor gogo bars behind the market stalls. Alongside it you will find the Patpong Night Market, plus bars, upstairs show venues and the odd fetish-themed bar. The mix is smaller and more touristy than Nana Plaza or Soi Cowboy, with more people trying to pull you in.

Which is better comes down to the night you want. Patpong is the oldest and the most touristy, with a night market in the middle and more touts. Soi Cowboy is one tidy neon lane, easier-going for a first night, and Nana Plaza is the biggest with three floors of gogo bars. Patpong wins on history and on being close to Silom restaurants and rooftop bars.

The Patpong Night Market is the stalls that run down the middle of the street after dark, mostly selling copies and souvenirs. It is a separate thing from the bars, and plenty of couples and sightseers browse it without going near a gogo bar. If you shop, haggle politely and keep your phone and wallet in a front pocket, as the street is crowded.

Soi Thaniya is the obvious neighbor, with its Japanese-style karaoke hostess bars. Nearby bars include Music Cafe, Star of Light, Rainbow Dragon Silom and Old Other Office Bar, so a bar crawl on foot is easy. Silom's restaurants and rooftop bars are close too, which makes an early dinner and a late wander a sensible plan.

Walk the street once before you sit down, ignore the touts promising shows upstairs and check the drinks menu before you order. Stay in the ground-floor gogo bars on Soi 1 where you can see what you are buying. Keep your cash light, settle each round as you go, and treat the market as scenery rather than a shopping trip.