Bangkok's famous nightspot - RCA - complete makeover

[ronnie50]

I've passed through RCA a couple of times this month during the day - something I hadn't done for years - to use the short cut between Petchburi and Rama 9 roads. While the famous Thai nightclub Route 66 is still at the top of RCA (Rama 9 side), the rest of the strip is (almost) unrecognizable. Nearly every sign, shopfront, restaurant and barfront, is Chinese - only a few places where Thai language can be seen and virtually no English. The RCA sign itself is in tatters (though it had been in bad shape for years). I guess young Thais had been going to other clubs in other areas and this was RCA's way of finding a new crowd? I'm not suggesting these places are all Chinese-owned, just that the targeted clientele has clearly changed. Having said that, Rachada Pisek, quite near there, has a large Chinese community in the many condos and the Chinese Embassy is on that road too. Maybe that's the rationale.