Patpong Night Market, Bangkok

Patpong is the most famous red light district in Bangkok. Tourists come here to the daily night market in Patpong 1 and Patpong 2 to haggle with stallholders for souvenirs, pirated DVDs and imitation clothes and watches. However, there is a more sleazy side to Patpong - the go-go girlie bars where scantily clad girls gyrate on poles on the stage. The equivalent of go-go boy bars are located at Duangthawee Plaza off Surawong Road. What is irritating though, are the numerous pesky touts who shove a card in front of you with the words `Sex, VCDs, DVDs'. Just ignore them and walk on. Do not patronise them. Touts are not working for charity - they earn a cut from the establishments they promote.

Dress Code: Casual

There's a few night bazars in Bangkok. I think the most familiar is Patpong where you can find go-go bars where mostly young Thai girls "dance" at the table. You can find some sad faces when you look at those young ladies making their "performances" there.

This is a very touristy place. Also there's street vendors selling pirate watches, handbags, t-shirts etc. You have to bargain very hard! This is also an easy place to be a victim of very professional con.

Patpong road has turned out to be a busy place for shopping at night in the night bazaar. A lot of traders come in the evening and to open their stalls.

Walking along this area is an exciting event for visitors. You can find clothing, leather bags, watches, handicrafts, ceramic, wood carving, paintings, souveniers.

Patpong also offers many adult entertainments, pole dancing show gals, bars, beer bars, gay pub, discotheques, pubs, a-go-go dancing, and shows.

Patpong is the infamous stretch of nightclubs and night bazaar in bangkok.

Shopping wise, the stalls are almost selling the same thing and the items are usually pretty expensive, compared to Chatuchak and other places. You will really need to bargain hard. Try to look around first....

Item-wise, a lot of watches, sunglasses, bags and t shirts and thai handicrafts are sold at Patpong. But i would say they can be mor expensive than elsewhere.

A lot of tourist like to visit Patpong for the tiger show and the bar top thai gals. Just be careful of being ripped off by the waiters and waitress. And the wait staff would stand at the entrance of the nightclub and just pull you in, you will have to really firm and say no. Even if they said the price is 100Baht, chances are by the time the tiger show is finished, you will need to pay thrice or five times the 100baht.


Foodwise, if you are into extreme gourmet food, you are in the right place! I have personally seen hawkers @ Patpong selling fried cricket, croakaches and some unknown insects to me. I have yet to master my courage to put it my mouth and chew it. Not my cup of tea. =P

Overall i would say that Patpong is more of a place whereby you go, take a look at the night scene of bangkok and not really spending money to buy the items.

Just my 2 cents worth. =)

Dress Code: casual

Patpong is easily Bangkok's most famous (infamous) and popular red light district. It earned its reputation during the American-Vietnam conflict, when American GIs made it a hub for their R&R. Today however, Patpong has become much more family friendly and is one of the city's biggest tourist attractions. You will still find the seedy bars, stripclubs and massage parlours, but the streets are now lined with a huge night market, known for selling some of the best (and worst) fake designer goods in the world.

So whether your pleasure are girls or fake Rolexs, you will find it in Patpong. And if you have come just for the innocent fun, as my wife and I always do, be sure to avoid the over-zealous stripclub touts who try to lure you in with the prospect of seeing a ping-pong or dart show (I'm sure you can use your imagination to guess what these shows involve).

Even if you're not into Go-go/Cocktail or Beer bars go see PATPONG located between Silom Road and Surawong Road.

Can you believe that well-known road is hardly 500 meters long!!
There is a night market so it's always possible to do some shopping and of to eat or have beer or two!

For guys, the name "Patpong" means something 'adult'. But for myself, as someone who love to try local food, it means ... thousand hawkers stalls and carts of food. Try as you like :)

Dress Code: So many fried assortments; chicken, prawn, sausages and calamari with sweet sour sauce.

Besides sex shops, Patpong is also a large night market. The pavement along Silom and Patpong are transformed into a busy market for garments and other products after sunset.
You can find everything here: ready-to-wear garments, imitation watches & bags, pirated CDs, Clocks, leather goods, handicrafts, etc.

Bargaining is a must at this lively market. Everything is marked up 500% higher! I personally do not enjoy this style of bargaining-shopping, sort of tiring and time consuming.

It's at night. So, the heat is a bit more bearable. Open air stalls are on the road, while bars line both sides of the street. The stalls sell a wide range of products - from handicraft to fake Rolexes. The bars - sell beer and entertainment. I went to a place that was rocking called Muzzik. Corona beer for 180 baht. Nice live band, and pretty good crowd. And you have a place to people watch.

Dress Code: Anything goes.