Soi 11

[bkk6060]

I have not been for awhile, so sorry if this has been discussed.

A few years ago I lived on Soi 8 and would frequent Soi 11.

Lots of street food, crowds, nasty massage shops, broken sidewalks, girls hanging out and nightclubs.

Maybe some hated it, but I liked the gritty character/ambience of it.

 

Now, what a change.  All cleaned up, not many people around, western food/fast food places, sidewalk new, no street food, all those massage shops gone.

I thought I was walking down some clean street in California.

Sadly, from what I could see nothing interesting now about the place whatsoever.

[SteveK]

Was there a few weeks ago and was surprised to see a Taco Bell. Was going to eat there until the cashier wanted an extra 120 baht surcharge for beef on 2 already expensive meals.

[Keyser Soze666]

Walked down there just a few weeks back and didn't notice anything different..mind you I was p!ssed.

 

It almost look civilsied in your pics.

[tribalfusion001]

Must be pretty quiet without any tourists.

[scammed]

on the bright side there is no scantily clad girls

shouting welcome hansum man,

on the downside i note there is a no parking sign,

c'est la vie 

[toast1]

It looks boring and depressing. 
How sad. 

 

I feel so sorry seeing empty streets with chains selling junk food and all the great street cafes gone.

[timendres]

Bright and shiny boredom...

[LawrenceN]

Walkable sidewalks! Oh! The horror! What's next? Orderly overhead wires? 

[phetphet]

Must be paying top dollar rents. I wonder how many of them will still be open in six months. Scary times for most businesses unfortunately.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

The redone sidewalks there are one of the best things to ever happen to Suk Soi 11...  Before, they were horrible and miserable. Now they're actually walkable, even by Thailand standards...

 

Life will eventually come back to Soi 11, and the nice sidewalks will be there waiting for them when that time comes, hopefully.

 

BTW, Suk Soi 11 has never been/was never much of a daytime place. It was always an evenings place. That's when you need to be taking photos if they're going to be indicative.

 

[Krabi King]

The Bed Supperclub... QBar... those were my days at Soi 11. 

Just over a year ago I visited last. Rooftop bar called Above 11. Good vibe.

[GoldCoastFarang]

I stayed mostly at The Federal Hotel ( now demolished) when in BKK and enjoyed the restaurant at the front. The area had lots of character which we loved....6 times back to Bangkok.

 

[tribalfusion001]

1 hour ago, phetphet said:

Must be paying top dollar rents. I wonder how many of them will still be open in six months. Scary times for most businesses unfortunately.

Not many, soi 11 is mainly a tourist street both daytime and evening.

[seancbk]

49 minutes ago, Krabi King said:

The Bed Supperclub... QBar... those were my days at Soi 11. 

Just over a year ago I visited last. Rooftop bar called Above 11. Good vibe.

 

Yeah Above 11 has always been good.   

Havana Social Club which you can find down a small alley sort of opposite Above 11 is also very cool, there is no signage or front door. Instead, there is just a mock-retro phone booth with a 'Telefono' sign. You'll need to call Havana Social for the entry code. Step inside the phone booth, dial the secret code, and a false door in the back of the phone booth swings open.

 

 

[Bangkok Barry]

15 hours ago, toast1 said:

It looks boring and depressing. 
How sad. 

 

I feel so sorry seeing empty streets with chains selling junk food and all the great street cafes gone.

The chain stores open because people want them and use them. That's a pretty good business plan.

[mokwit]

The open air bar and restaurant area would have done well if Covid shutdown had not killed it - exactly what is missing and wanted in that part of Suk.

[hellohello123]

I have been going to soi 11 yearly for about 8 years now.

And it has/had its charm,

The overhanging power lines, the unkept side walks, the farang targeted bars, the stalls , the kombivan bars,

 

And yes daytime is pretty dead , but night time is when the action is.

 

I havent been for about 18 months , however last time I went things were already changing 

 

Some of the foot paths had started being repaired, all the kombivan bars had gone, there were a fewer newer and trendier bars and American style take aways

The huge abandoned hotel on the right (can't remeber its name) had started work on.

 

But what surprised me was that entire cheap Charlie section had been demolised and the hole left (I presume for development) was absolutely enormous, I didn't even know the street went that deep

 

I admit it has a lost a bit of its dirty charm but I also noticed decreased numbers of tourists,

 

So who knows what will.become of soi 11 and its surrounds even if covid had not come

[Purdey]

I went for the blues at Apotika but that seems gone forever. Hard to find blues (not jazz) in Bangkok. Parking has always been an issue in Soi 11. No change there.

[baansgr]

14 minutes ago, Purdey said:

I went for the blues at Apotika but that seems gone forever. Hard to find blues (not jazz) in Bangkok. Parking has always been an issue in Soi 11. No change there.

There was a blues bar about a 10 minute walk up from KSR, just over the bridge....can't remember name and not sure if still there, maybe someone knows?

[ajarnmarc]

4 hours ago, seancbk said:

 

Yeah Above 11 has always been good.   

Havana Social Club which you can find down a small alley sort of opposite Above 11 is also very cool, there is no signage or front door. Instead, there is just a mock-retro phone booth with a 'Telefono' sign. You'll need to call Havana Social for the entry code. Step inside the phone booth, dial the secret code, and a false door in the back of the phone booth swings open.

 

 

wow, sounds interesting. Thanks for the tip...

[thaipo7]

Last time in that area was in Jan 2005.  Stayed at the Ambassador Hotel.  Very noisy with the birds and construction close by.  Loved the International Buffet.

[MixPiano]

Soi 11 is not Soi 11 anymore since Climax closed. They killed a Bangkok icon. 

 

[BKKBike09]

1 hour ago, baansgr said:

There was a blues bar about a 10 minute walk up from KSR, just over the bridge....can't remember name and not sure if still there, maybe someone knows?

Do you mean Adhere? Back in business from tomorrow ...

 

Nothing But The Blues down the dank end of Thonglor (Liberty Building) used to be good but not sure if still going?

 

[whaleboneman]

On 7/22/2020 at 1:28 AM, SteveK said:

Was there a few weeks ago and was surprised to see a Taco Bell. Was going to eat there until the cashier wanted an extra 120 baht surcharge for beef on 2 already expensive meals.

You should have just settled for the cat (tastes like chicken).

[baansgr]

7 hours ago, BKKBike09 said:

Do you mean Adhere? Back in business from tomorrow ...

 

Nothing But The Blues down the dank end of Thonglor (Liberty Building) used to be good but not sure if still going?

 

That's the one....great place, it's been there years...worth the trip from Sukhumvit

[hellohello123]

9 hours ago, thaipo7 said:

Last time in that area was in Jan 2005.  Stayed at the Ambassador Hotel.  Very noisy with the birds and construction close by.  Loved the International Buffet.

have stayed there a few times, the hotel that looks like it was designed half by a 4 star hotel designer and half 2 stardesigner

and breakfast was decent for the price, but yes birds everywhere and indian tourists

[mokwit]

1 hour ago, hellohello123 said:

have stayed there a few times, the hotel that looks like it was designed half by a 4 star hotel designer and half 2 stardesigner

and breakfast was decent for the price, but yes birds everywhere and indian tourists

The smell of 1970's nylon carpets.

[mokwit]

8 hours ago, whaleboneman said:

You should have just settled for the cat (tastes like chicken).

I remember thinking if it was possible to actually grind real chicken meat into a puree like that................

[5633572526]

I live on soi 13. There is plenty of street food available and you conveniently missed all the street food and outdoor bars along about a 100 to 150 meter area right in the middle of it all in what was an empty lot where cheap Charlie’s used to be. I am not complaining though because I happily visit both the farang and street places as they are all enjoyable and provide a nice variety. Also if you come back in the evening there will be plenty of girls on the street and in the bars happy to party with you. There will be more once insanity and the other nightclubs reopen. 

[fulhamster]

17 hours ago, seancbk said:

 

Yeah Above 11 has always been good.   

Havana Social Club which you can find down a small alley sort of opposite Above 11 is also very cool, there is no signage or front door. Instead, there is just a mock-retro phone booth with a 'Telefono' sign. You'll need to call Havana Social for the entry code. Step inside the phone booth, dial the secret code, and a false door in the back of the phone booth swings open.

 

 

Is that similar to the telephone bar in Pattaya ??