Sukhumvit Soi 11 Is Not Fun Anymore

[swisstree]

Hi there,

On some parts i agree with you. What i really dislike is all these Indian restaurants and tailor shops (many open in the last 5 years). I really despise these people and their lack of manners.

What i like the best on soi 11 is the old and famous Cheap Charlies, and that small back soi on the left of CC with full of nice restaurants (the Spanish and the French one especially). Soi 11 is still fun but i just wish we could get rid of these taxis and Indians.

By the way, have you been recently to the soi 7/1? it did chage so much in the last 6 months !!!! still a weird place but much more clean than it used to be.

What's wrong with Indian restaurants?

I like Indian food but i just wish Soi 11 won't become a "little india" with all the tailor shops, indian restaurants and indian people living around (end of soi 11).

[DRONGOH]

Hasn't soi 11 been 'out of fashion' for quite some time now?

I don't really see the point of the post. If you don't like soi 11 don't go there. Leave it to people who do enjoy it.

True. Just like reading another post if this one is not to your taste.

[Maestro]

It's actually wheat beer not white beer. The word weiss and weiz sound very similar. The cloudy "white" hue also adds to this...

Some types of German beer using wheat are called Weißbier or Weissbier (weiß = white), some are called Weizenbier or Hefe-Weizen or Kristallweizen (Weizen = wheat). The difference seems to be in the composition, the brewing and/or the filtering process: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheat_beer. Here's a picture of a bottle of Erdinger Weiss mentioned by Angiud:

If in Bavaria you order, in German, "ein Weizen" and I order "eine Weiße", we get two different beers, but both are brewed partly with wheat.

(End of cerevisaphilia lesson)

[ALFREDO]

Bangkok is not only Sukhumvit, many other areas can be discovered everyday. I guess you know that already.

Good, than go there!

I am ok in lower Sukhumvit and its surroundings.

[BSW2519]

Change is the one constant in life. There are a lot of places I used to go to in many places in the world that I would no longer go to. I think saying that Q Bar, Levels, Bed Supper Club are full of pros is way off base. Maybe there are some, but so what. There are good crowds of nice people having fun in lively places. I think Soi 11 is a vibrant place and lots of fun to go to. Oh, and the comment about usable sidewalks,,, give me break, that's just Thailand. Maybe you should go to Singapore next time. Me, I'll be on Soi 11 at Nest, Levels, Bed, and my favourite Q Bar!!!Q :-)

[OnTheRun]

Hi there,

On some parts i agree with you. What i really dislike is all these Indian restaurants and tailor shops (many open in the last 5 years). I really despise these people and their lack of manners.

What i like the best on soi 11 is the old and famous Cheap Charlies, and that small back soi on the left of CC with full of nice restaurants (the Spanish and the French one especially). Soi 11 is still fun but i just wish we could get rid of these taxis and Indians.

By the way, have you been recently to the soi 7/1? it did chage so much in the last 6 months !!!! still a weird place but much more clean than it used to be.

What's wrong with Indian restaurants?

I like Indian food but i just wish Soi 11 won't become a "little india" with all the tailor shops, indian restaurants and indian people living around (end of soi 11).

Fair points, I've not ventured up Soi 11 for a couple of years and tend to go to Mrs B's on 11/1 for an Indian so didn't know it was getting that way. I'm in BKK in 10 days or so, this thread has whetted my appetite for another jaunt up 11.

[candypants]

So why so many new places opened in the last 12 months?

Hasn't soi 11 been 'out of fashion' for quite some time now?

>I don't really see the point of the post. If you don't like soi 11 don't go there. Leave it to people who do enj

oy it.

The point is to share opinions with ppl who live in Bangkok, thats why it's called "forum" here.

You are correct,

they try and try to make this street into some High So street, but what it has become is exactly what you described in the OP.

It has become a cesspit.

One can not even get a taxi from one of the bigger hotels without being forced to over pay 300%.

The members who say it has always been like that, should go back, or pass it just once in a while to update themselves.

One of my old time fav bars (for 13 years) is located in this street, so I'm there once in a while, and clearly see the changes basically from month to month.

utter <deleted>, i take taxis EVERY DAY from 11, and most certainly do not pay 300 baht for the privilege. in fact i rarely have issues at all unless my destination is somewhere obscure

I have lived on 11 for over 15 years and while it changes rapidly, most change has been an improvement.

the only downside is traffic when the clubs empty out or on weekend nights.

He mentioned the hotel taxi mafia, big difference.

find me a major hotel in Bangkok where you dont have this problem.

if he is approaching stationary taxis anywhere in bangkok he is bringing trouble upon himself.

there are 3 or 4 guys who hang out near the german and in front of the grand president. they are easily ignored.

after 13 years he should know better -- he is either using hyperbole, or a is fool.

[OnTheRun]

Change is the one constant in life. There are a lot of places I used to go to in many places in the world that I would no longer go to.

Agreed mate, Phuket being the main one for me in Thailand, I lived there for several years and change is the operative word for me when it comes to Phuket. I'm not knocking the place as I had some fantastic times there but you cant turn back the clock.

[candypants]

Hi there,

On some parts i agree with you. What i really dislike is all these Indian restaurants and tailor shops (many open in the last 5 years). I really despise these people and their lack of manners.

What i like the best on soi 11 is the old and famous Cheap Charlies, and that small back soi on the left of CC with full of nice restaurants (the Spanish and the French one especially). Soi 11 is still fun but i just wish we could get rid of these taxis and Indians.

By the way, have you been recently to the soi 7/1? it did chage so much in the last 6 months !!!! still a weird place but much more clean than it used to be.

What's wrong with Indian restaurants?

I like Indian food but i just wish Soi 11 won't become a "little india" with all the tailor shops, indian restaurants and indian people living around (end of soi 11).

Fair points, I've not ventured up Soi 11 for a couple of years and tend to go to Mrs B's on 11/1 for an Indian so didn't know it was getting that way. I'm in BKK in 10 days or so, this thread has whetted my appetite for another jaunt up 11.

there are no more or no less indian restaurants on soi 11 than there have been for the last 15 years. In fact, i think there are less tailors.

me thinks this fellow has an issue with indians pure and simple.

[whybother]

Hi there,

On some parts i agree with you. What i really dislike is all these Indian restaurants and tailor shops (many open in the last 5 years). I really despise these people and their lack of manners.

What i like the best on soi 11 is the old and famous Cheap Charlies, and that small back soi on the left of CC with full of nice restaurants (the Spanish and the French one especially). Soi 11 is still fun but i just wish we could get rid of these taxis and Indians.

By the way, have you been recently to the soi 7/1? it did chage so much in the last 6 months !!!! still a weird place but much more clean than it used to be.

I think you'll find that most of the Indian restaurants and tailors have been there longer than a lot of the bars.

[Travel2003]

And the stench!

My God the stench the next day, until long after noon, when they finally manage to get rid of all the garbage, and food waste from the seafood nights vendors, which have been baking in the heat for 10 hours.

The pavements are falling apart, with pot holes all over.

[wanderluster]

when i become an old fart i want to just sit and complain about how things used to be

[Travel2003]

when i become an old fart i want to just sit and complain about how things used to be

Was that a complaint?

[corkythecat]

I think the whole place has never been the same since the original "Thermae" closed.

Friend wistfully remembers that Baht300 covered a whole night's "entertainment", never mind a taxi fare.

[ALFREDO]

Never been. I will visit there my next trip!

I hope it is bad as people describe

Not only visit, stay there, feel the pulse! Has plenty of Hotels in all price ranges. Cheap Hotels also, in Soi 11/1

[aalek85th]

I don't get why would someone live in a tourist area (of bkk), unless he's a tourist ofc.

There are much nicer places to live, 10 minutes away from soi 11/nana by bts.

There is no:

- Rip off tuk tuk drivers

- Rip off taxi drivers

- Working girls (though, I wouldn't mind !)

- Beggars

Flats are cheap(compared to anything in nana), Food is cheap and the same or better. Drinks are a lot cheaper. It's not dirty as much. Not crawling with packs of young just-arrived for the first time tourists getting drunk, packs of people trying to sell drugs to you/scam you.. and all those other things that make tourist areas what they are. Tourist area. Get in get out.

I would go mad if I stayed there for more then couple of hours at night time.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Suk Soi 11 is fine... just a kind of compressed example of farang areas around BKK, with everything packed into one soi.

Overall, I'd say the soi has actually improved some over the past few years, with various new hotels, condos, pubs and other places opening up during that time.

A couple years back, they were tearing up the street for drainage work and it was a mess for many months. Now it's far better by comparison, despite the substandard sidewalks. But where in BKK aren't there substandard sidewalks? Nowhere!!!

The happy ending massage girls have been hanging out in front of Villa Market for a long time, because there's a row of small massage shops in the interior hallway there that adjoins Villa. But they don't bother anyone, so why should anyone be bothered by them? They're just earning a living, or trying to.

So many comments here about "Suk Soi 11 would be great if it weren't for the XXXXXX group." How about relaxing a bit and being a bit more tolerant of those different from yourself?

And let's not forget the recent addition of one of my favorites, the Angel City Diner in the Prime condo complex about two-thirds of the way down the soi on the left hand side. Great breakfast choices, excellent milk shakes and a good menu of American-style food, in addition to a full menu of traditional Thai entrees under 100 baht a piece.

[candypants]

there are virtually no tourists my end of 11. I suspect you have an opinion of the soi having ventured no further than 50% up it.

as regards your question:

-central location

-proximity to sky train

-variety of pubs/clubs/bars within a short walk

-2 grocery stores within walking distance

-ability to get anything i want day or night

-ability to get a taxi in under 5 mins day or night

-atmosphere

-large garden

-2 bedroom house

-ability to meet attractive foreign women

-variety of restaurants

-excellent pizza

-excellent thai food

-excellent fish and chips (snappers)

- decent tapas

-decent german

-good pool tables

-proximity to schools

-excellent community of vendors and motorcycle people

-NO stray dogs

-low crime rate (not heard of a burglary in the area in 15 years)

-vast choice of hotels for visiting friends to stay in

-proximity to excellent middle eastern food

-choice of three hotel swimming pools i can use with my gym membership (not telling where)

-free grocery delivery

thats just a few of my reasons

[MaxYakov]

Soi 11 needs a 5am closing for the bars.

Nope. Needs a Costco or a WalMart to alleviate its obvious deterioration.

[charmonman]

I used to live on Soi 11 before it was considered a nightlife street and it doesn't seem all that long ago to me, I think I moved away about 5 years ago. I moved because of the number of bars and "clubs" opening. There was one that opened right beside my building, I think it was called "Twisted Republic" or something idiotic like that; the doormen looked like they belong to some neo-fascist group. I got sick of looking at all the wasted Eurotrash hanging around outside every time I came home at night. I also got sick of traffic jams late at night caused by the popular bars like Q and the bed. So, I moved.

I guess Q-Bar is the oldest major bar on the street, followed by the Bed. The rest are mostly well less than a decade old I would think. I can't feel too sorry for someone who thinks Soi 11 has gone downhill as a nightlife area when it really hasn't even been one for all that long. Most of my favorite places around town are long gone, even before most places on Soi 11 even started. Welcome to the club.

[moe666]

Ill stay on Soi 4 at least there the girls are honest about what they do heheheheeh

[Fgis]

You are getting old :-) Soi 11 always suxx as any nightlife in BKK.

[thaiboss]

by the way who says that soi 11 is red light center ?????

[HardenedSoul]

I agree with the OP, 100%.

Those VW Camper bars block pretty much every square inch of sidewalk real estate forcing people to take their chances dodging kamikaze motorbike taxis blasting up and down the soi.

The likes of Q Bar, Levels and others try to portray their venues as appealing to the more "sophisticated" and/or "discerning" punter but, in reality, are nothing more than hooker pick-up joints. I don't have a problem with hookers per se; it's the pissed up, boorish men who chase them around that I find utterly unbearable. Still, I suppose if a man thinks he's a big hit with the women by virtue of his ability to purchase a couple of drinks and inflate his chest, who am I to criticise? The playing field's been leveled and that's all that matters, right?

Everything on that soi is geared toward excessive consumption of alcohol. It's all about getting hammered and going back to your hotel with a skank. I can imagine that, for sex tourists and sexpats, it's heaven and that's absolutely fine but if you're not really into P4P and getting rat-arsed on watered down, overpriced drinks, it gets a little dull after a while.

There's this company that organises pub and club crawls on soi 11 and their promotional material always features images of their staff pouring hard liquor - straight from the strategically positioned-for-the-camera bottles of their corporate sponsors - down some wasted munter's throat. Quality image, eh??!! Frankly, whenever this company has one of their crawls, I make a point of avoiding soi 11 like the plague because I know there'll be fights over hookers, vomiting and neanderthal behaviour wherever they go. One does have to ask, though, are they really encouraging binge drinking or are they just giving their paying customers what they want?

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that BKK will never be a credible destination for those looking for a genuine, quality clubbing experience. Don't get me wrong - it probably shouldn't be because there are plenty of cities in Asia where the nightclub scenes are perfectly decent even if they are if some way off approaching the standards set by cities in Europe and the UK.

Bangkok in general and Sukhumvit soi 11 in particular are what they are and, if like me, one finds it all a little crass and formulaic, there's always places like Glow on Sukhumvit soi 23, Bar23 on soi 16 and Tapas in Silom where the emphasis is placed on creating a less booze-fueled, hooker-saturated atmosphere.

[Bazt]

Why would you want to catch a taxi to go 1 block away ??

Soi 11 is great even though I'm an old fart.

[candypants]

I think the whole place has never been the same since the original "Thermae" closed.

Friend wistfully remembers that Baht300 covered a whole night's "entertainment", never mind a taxi fare.

thermae has absolutely nothing to do with soi 11.

we are not talking of freeelancer bars from days past

[MyFriend You]

I like soi 11

I elaborate:

I love the German Beer place with wonderful Erdinger Weiss draft

I love the Thai garden with live jazz

I love the President Solitaire Suite hotel where I always go when in BKK

I love the small soi with Mexican, tapas and many more nice small restaurants

Nice night life

It's close to Nana BTS

There is a Villa Market

something more I forgot

yes, like the beer garden too. Though not been for about 2 years, i didn't find it that bad

Cheap Charlies, I know it well, remember when both brothers ran the place, one died, the other kept it original with all the funky skulls, stuffed birds, witchy stuff etc etc etc. I always stayed on Soi 11 - Ambassador Hotel, President Palace, Grand President, just enough class and funk to remind you that Bangkok is a world of its own, and you can get it all on Soi 11 - like the OP, I liked it alot better 10-15 years ago, but still go there today, not happy with al the West African drug dealers and scmmers that have popped up in the last five years or so, but I ignore them, and look tough enough so they ignore me. The OP says the street vebdor resturants are Russian Roulette??? Thats part of the atraction, great food, inexpensive,and I have not gotten sick (too often) only gripoe is they don't know how to keep the beer ice cold. Arguably the Grman Berr House has the best Rotisserie Chicken and Pork Knuckles in town........................lighten up and enjoy Soi 11

[NoshowJones]

bash can usually pull that off.

Not like the old days at soho on 11 mind you, but there you had to listen to hip hop.

Who is Hip Hop? Sounds like a Chinese guy.

[MyFriend You]

Ill stay on Soi 4 at least there the girls are honest about what they do heheheheeh

Actuakly my last three visits I stayed at The Dawain on Soi 4, nice neat hoel, reasonable, I miss Soi 11 though, I dont stay there anymore, personal preferences about the clientle from sandy environments that I prefer not to live with. I mean 'shady' environments..............

[dantilley]

This is supposed to be a thread about Soi 11, Bangkok. Why are you derailing it with this nonsense?

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