There’s a huge range of nightlife options in Bangkok, and downtown Bangkok at night can become a frenetic, pulsating, lively place. There are many western-style expat pubs, go-go bars, hostess bars, cocktail lounges, huge supper-clubs, street-side cheap and cheerful places and many more options. There are also lots of gay and lesbian bars, with whole areas dedicated to gay or mixed crowds.

There are many areas in which you can bar-hop between many close-by pubs, or you can take a taxi to a stand-alone club which will typically feature live music and lots of whisky. Most places in Bangkok close at 1am or 2am at the latest, leaving you to either go home (the sensible option!) or continue on to find an illegal “after-hours” pub which often involves quickly ducking under a half closed shutter and tip-toeing upstairs into a packed and sweaty room filled with other like-minded party-goers. Some after hours places don’t actually open until 3:30am or even 4am, meaning that the many pavement bars on Sukhumvit Road may be your only option.

Thailand is famous for beautiful girls.
Budget: there are various clusters of bars in which tourists inevitably find themselves. Khao San Road has probably the highest density of bars per square metre, and they play a large variety of musical styles including hip hop, drum and bass, house, trance, chart music, rock and Thai music. Bars here are lively, cheap and draw a predominantly foreign crowd, although in recent years it has become a popular destination for more cosmopolitan Thais.

Sophistication: also, Silom Soi 4 is worth a look as it has a sophisticated mix of both gay and straight bars. Just nearby is the Langsuan area in which the bars have mainly Thai clientele and most also feature live music.

Pubbing: for the expat scene, head to Sukhumvit Road, along which you can do a pub crawl of the many British, Irish, German and American style pubs. These are a bit more pricey and there’s rarely a Thai customer to be found. Also in this area are many larger clubs, which have large dance floors and often very talented DJs spinning the tunes.

Clubbing: but if big, banging clubs are your thing then look no further than RCA - six huge clubs next to each other, all playing hip hop, R&B or drum and bass. These swanky places pull in moneyed Thais and a few of the more hip expats. Be sure to take a photocopy of your passport here though as absolutely everyone is checked on the door. You’ll find discos in the central tourist areas too, full of punters and ‘pickup artists’. of course you can hardly talk about Bangkok nightlife without mentioning the go-go bar scene - it’s the much loved and much loathed phenomenon that Bangkok’s been famous for for a long time. There are three main areas in which the go-go bars are concentrated: the Nana Entertainment Plaza, Soi Cowboy (both Sukhumwit road) and the infamous Patpong (Silom). Although they’re tamer these days than they were in the more hedonistic 80’s and 90’s, they’re still pretty full-on and probably unlike anything you’ve seen back home. Some are touristy and have the boorish ‘ping pong shows’ others are smaller places to simply pick up a girl for the evening. Although these bars are plentiful, they’re segregated enough from the ‘normal’ bars so that if this scene is not to your taste it won’t encroach on your evening’s enjoyment.

Some recommended Bangkok clubs and discos

Q-Bar: very popular with Thais and, more recently, some expats, this expensive but fun place always gets busy. Sukhumvit Road in-between Soi 5 and Soi 7. Best to taxi there though rather than trying to navigate the back streets on foot. (nearest BTS: Nana), 600/400 baht cover charge weekends/weekdays, with two free drinks. Open: 20.00 to 01.00, nightly.Santika: mainly Thai students and other upmarket Thais frequent this buzzing club which is a little out of the way but is worth making an effort to get to. Ekkamai Soi 11. Nearest BTS station: Ekkamai. No cover usually. Open: 21.00 to 01.00, daily.Astra: Plays the best music of all the RCA clubs and often has big name drum and bass and hip hop DJs. Nearest MRT station: Phra Ram 9, then a taxi ride. Closed Sundays, cover charge: 100 baht usually. Open: 21.00 to 02.00, except Mondays.Bed Supperclub: famous throughout Bangkok, this popular and pricey venue always provides for an entertaining night. Sukhumvit Soi 11. Nearest BTS station: Nana. Cover charge 400 baht, with free drink. Open: 19:30 to 24.00 week nights and 02.00 weekends. CM2: located in the basement of the Novotel in Siam, this is a lively, popular centrally located venue. It only gets going after 11pm and is full of freelancing ‘ladies of the night’ (Thai and Eastern European). The bar staff also have a terrible attitude. Nearest BTS station: Siam. Cover charge 300 baht, with free drink. Open: 18.30 to 02.00, nightly. RCA: not a disco but a whole area for clubbing, including Route 66, Slim, Dude with nearly a dozen clubs on one pedestrianised street, pulling the young rich Bangkok Thai crowd any night of the week. It also attracts the clubbers among expats and some tourists. Best bet for a guaranteed night of boogeying, but don’t expect any girls for hire. 20 minute taxi ride south of city.

Solid returns from rental yields or capital gains is the main attraction for international investments in high-end condominiums in Pattaya, Thailand.

In a new research report on the resorts city, the company found that condominium and land prices in Pattaya had risen by 52% from 59,000 baht/sq. metre in 2004 to 89,842 baht in 2007.

The company also noted continuous growth in new housing construction permits since 2004, which grew to 3.9 million sqm. approved in 2006, indicating a healthy property market. Of the total, the percentage of permits issued for high-rise residential construction tripled to 21% in 2006 from 7% in 2004.

The luxury condominium market began in 2004 with the launches of 465 new units, followed by 1,049 units in 2005, 1,395 units in 2006 and 2,268 units in 2007. This translates into 440% growth in the 4 years period.

Mr. Cornick viewed that the growth in condominiums and real estate in Pattaya was backed by a thriving economy and a populace brimming with retirees, tourists, expatriates and prosperous businessmen. Condominiums attract international investors as they are the only type of property in Thailand that a foreigner can own 100% freehold.

”Pattaya continues to attract astute property investors, who believe today’s market conditions offer the opportunity to lock into excellent future returns, either from rental income or through capital growth,” he said, adding that Raimon Land alone received between 700 and 1,000 new inquiries every quarter for its Pattaya developments.

The report cited an example of Raimon’s 187-unit Northshore launched in 2004, for which resale value brought returns exceeding 30% in 2005 before rising to 40-50% in 2006. The original selling price range of 70,000 to 90,000 per sq m rose to 132,479 baht in 2007 and the latest resale that occurred in January reached 180,000 baht.

12 months rental contracts range from 500-650 baht per sqm., or a 6-10% annual return on investment.

A real estate event that will draw big-time property developers from the Middle East as well as other parts of the globe will take place in Singapore from April 15-17.

Among the companies participating at Cityscape Asia 2008 will be Limitless, a Dubai World affiliate and a global developer that has been very active in Asia of late with Singapore the hub for its projects across the region. Its first international project in the region is Halong Star, a $220-million mixed-used development in Halong Bay near Hanoi, Vietnam.

Saeed Ahmed Saeed, the CEO of Limitless, describes Southeast Asia as “one of the most exciting and dynamic regions” providing “endless opportunities to demonstrate our core skills of master planning large-scale, balanced projects and waterfront development”.

The event’s Gold sponsor, London-listed Aseana Properties, will also be represented. The company focuses on property development in Malaysia and Vietnam with approximately $250 million worth of assets under management.

Late last year Aseana Properties announced its first acquisition in Vietnam with the purchase of 202,800 square metres of seafront development land. The estimated total development value of the project is $150 million and will include a luxury hotel and resort-themed residences comprising a condominium tower and other facilities such as a conference centre and recreational clubs.Cityscape Asia has also attracted new exhibitors from the Americas. MGM Mirage CityCenter will be putting on a big show. With a total cost expected to exceed $7.8 billion, MGM Mirage CityCenter in Las Vegas is the largest privately financed development in the United States. Dubai World paid $2.96 billion for 50% of the equity in the mixed-use, residential resort and retail complex.

“Singapore is a natural choice to host Cityscape Asia,” said exhibition director Graham Wood. “Singapore gives access to a regional market of 2.8 billion people and with one of the highest per capita GDP it is the lion of the Asian market.”

Taking place at Singapore’s Suntec City, the event will also include the International Property Investment and Development Conference with more than 50 speakers expected to air their views.

The inaugural Cityscape Asia last year attracted 4,500 participants from the region and beyond. However, the flagship event, Cityscape Dubai, shattered all previous records in October 2007 with 52,000 participants from 120 countries. Other similar events have been staged in India, China and South America.