Soi Selakam

Soi Selakam is in Hua Hin town center, right next to Soi Bintabaht. It is a beer bar soi within walking distance of most town-centre hotels, so you do not need transport. Big Red Machine, Father Ted's and Hua Hin Beer Garden are all close.

It is a beer bar soi next to Bintabaht. Expect a short lane of open-fronted beer bars, with staff chatting at the door and a relaxed, small-town mood. It is much smaller than the strips in Pattaya or Bangkok, so treat it as a casual place for a drink and a game of pool.

They sit side by side. Soi Bintabaht is Hua Hin's main bar soi, with beer bars and a couple of hostess bars, while Soi Selakam is the beer bar soi next to it. Walk both in one evening, and let the friendliest bar decide where you sit.

Nearby are Big Red Machine, Father Ted's, Hua Hin Beer Garden, Black Out, London Bar and Soi Bintabaht itself. So you have beer bars and ordinary bars within a minute or two, and a bar crawl across the two sois is easy to put together.

Yes. Many visitors drop in for a beer and leave alone, and the staff are used to it. If a lady drink is suggested, a polite refusal costs you nothing. Buying one or two for good company keeps you welcome.

Walk the lane once before you sit, since every bar is run separately with its own staff and prices. Good signs are a posted price list, contented regulars and girls who chat rather than pounce. Leave any bar that sends drinks to the girls before you have asked.

Count lady drinks against the chits, agree what one costs before it is poured and check the bill before you leave. Settle each bar before you move on, and keep small notes for change. Keep your phone in a front pocket, and plan your ride home if you are staying outside the center.

Stay in the town center so you can walk, eat first and start on one soi before trying the other. Play pool, chat and settle your chit before you move on. Go back to a bar you like on a second night and you will be treated as a regular.