DISASTER: Ratchada soi 8 is no more

There is no easy way to say this, so I'll get straight to the point... soi 8 has closed both the gay discos on it ("SOI 8 Disco" and "G-Star"). Indeed, they have both been demolished.

As recently as Janurary the SOI 8 Disco was rated 4/5 and a website said "Ever popular and extremely lively bar/nightclub that attracts the younger Asian/local crowd who will be dancing the night away to some of the best Thai disco music. If you are Thai, then we probably don’t need to tell you more about this place! If you are not Thai, then go with some Thai friends – foreigners (Western or Asian) are welcome but virtually everyone else will be speaking Thai".

To anyone under the age of 30, these were certainly the best options in Bangkok, and therefore the World.

Not only was the clientele of Thai men the cutest, but the Soi 8 Disco was the cheapest (a litre bottle of coke for 80 baht) and the only club with a pitch black sex maze at the back.

You can imagine what a bitter blow this is for all of us. For all who can, a candle vigil will be set up next to the car showroom on soi8 to show are appreciation for the years of enjoyment the place offered.

The rumour is a new enormous G-Star Pavilion Disco has been set up in Saphan Kwai for all the fembois who have nowhere to go...

if you happen to live here in BKK longtime one disaster of this kind will shortly follow the next.

However, advance notice has been given- in Thai of course-on the Thai site gthai.net-plus its new location (I think it was from 1/3-so you are not the frequent visitor after all??), which was further up Ratchda-I cannot remember Spn kwai. But as this is Thailand and I am too old for all that noise, it may well have been a last-minute move to somewhere else.

There are still the RamkamHaeng venues, near the Lamsalee crossing.

if you happen to live here in BKK longtime one disaster of this kind will shortly follow the next.

However, advance notice has been given- in Thai of course-on the Thai site gthai.net-plus its new location (I think it was from 1/3-so you are not the frequent visitor after all??), which was further up Ratchda-I cannot remember Spn kwai. But as this is Thailand and I am too old for all that noise, it may well have been a last-minute move to somewhere else.

There are still the RamkamHaeng venues, near the Lamsalee crossing.

The new disco (opposite the Gayanesh statue and shrine at Huay Kwang) is a parody of the soi 8 spot. Named 'Soi 8 readbeat', it lacks the weird architecture of the old place and lacks the customers. The 4am meatmarket outside the soi 8 disco has been replaced by 3 blokes and a pool table at this new joint.

The redeeming factor is a cocktail bar called "Cocktail Bar" next to the disco that offers some real cocktail acrobatic skills and drinks.

RamkamHaeng venues are a joke in comparison to the old soi 8. The crowd simply are not the same quality.

A disaster is a plane crashing, not a noisy club closing it's doors. Don't be such a drama queen