I'll be in bankok overnight in transit for 9 hours from 2000h onwards. <BR>I'd love to see some sights and buy some cheap rip-offs etc but the small guide that i've read doesn't say anything about night sights and public transport. <BR>Is it possible to travel around bankok by public transport at night? <BR>How much time should I set aside to make it back to the airport? <BR>Is anything open on a Sunday night? <BR> <BR>Thanhyou in advance

Dave - <BR> <BR>That's 8pm right? <BR> <BR>A good place to start for cheap, decent quality knock-offs is MBK. I'm pretty sure they're open until 9-10 but I'm not positive about Sunday. It's worth a shot. Great purses, wallets, watches, jewelry, gold, etc. <BR> <BR>After that, head to Patpong. Patpong is the famous street with a night market and tons of girly bars. You've got to see that. The market goes until very late, around Midnight/1am. Be prepared, it's hot, humid and crowded and the touts from the bars will be constantly asking you if you want to see a ping pong show. Just smile and say no (or yes if you want to!) and keep walking. <BR> <BR>I'm not too sure about late hours as I don't stay up til 4am but I know there are several jazz places in town including one at the Oriental Hotel if you'd like to experience the "classier" side of town. Another one I've heard about is called Brown Sugar. My husband and I have been thinking of checking that place out on our trip this coming November. If you go, let me know how it is! <BR> <BR>One other thing I heard about was disco bowling. Don't ask me the details, I don't know, but heard they had a kinda of late night party/bowling with disco music playing, glitter balls, and colorful lights. Saw a piece about it on travel channel. Even if you're not into disco music it might be an interesting place to check out for an hour. Who knows! <BR> <BR>Good luck. <BR> <BR>Lynn <BR> <BR

Thanks lynn. <BR>Are there buses/trains at night or is it easier to get a taxi? how much$$ <BR>will leaving Patpong 1 hour before my check in-time be enough? <BR>Now, dont get me wrong! but, if I do say yes,and go to see a 'show' are they safe, or are people robbed when there inside? <BR> <BR>Sorry to ask stupid questions, but you dont get this info in a travel book, and i'm only there for a short time anyway. <BR> <BR>Where is MBK? <BR> <BR>Thank you very,very much

Lynn - I want to know more about the bowling! We used to have something called Mystic Bowling that was kind of like what you described and we'd go with a bunch of friends and have a ball. <BR> <BR>Dave - as for the shows, some are okay and some are not. Be careful which ones you go in. I've read about people going in and then trying to leave only to be presented with some outrageous tab and have the door blocked by a bouncer. I've been told that King's Castle is one of the safe establishments - and any of the other King owned places. They all have "king" in the name. King's Castle is the only one I have ever been in.

Dave - <BR> <BR>Meg got that one for you. I've heard the same thing that King's group is fairly respectable and won't ream you. <BR> <BR>From what I hear, the things you have to watch out for is going "upstairs." The bars downstairs are relatively harmless and you just sit and have some drinks and watch the girls dancing waiting to be "picked" by someone. I've heard that more of the stories like Meg mentioned happen in the places upstairs. So, perhaps just stick with the downstairs places with "King" in the name and you'll be O.K. <BR> <BR>As for transportation, you need to stick with taxis. The bus system is not the easiest. We haven't even bothered to try it because taxis are so, so cheap. They also have a monorail-type thing but I wouldn't bother with your time situation. <BR> <BR>After you arrive in the terminal, you can hire a Thai Airways car for about $16 and arrive in style in the back of a Mercedes. Or, you can go up to the departures area and catch a taxi dropping someone off and heading back to town. Just tell them MBK (Mahboonkrong) and they should know it. If not, wait for the next taxi and try him. Most of them will understand you when you say "MBK" but once in awhile they don't. I read that lots of the drivers are Thais from the countryside and don't know Bangkok as well as other driver. If we get someone who doesn't understand us we just wait for the next guy to come along. Shouldn't take long. Worst case senario, say "Patpong," every taxi driver knows Patpong. <BR> <BR>Also, if you decide to try catching a taxi to town, tell them meter and point to the meter and say "tollway." That means he'll take the faster route and you'll have to pay for it but it's only about an extra $1 or so. The whole ride from the airport, including the toll and tip, should be less than $5 and only take about 30 minutes. <BR> <BR>As for leaving, just be aware that the Thai immigration officials are very, very slow. Allow plenty of time for a wait possibly as much as an hour to get through immigrations if you are going on an international flight. We almost missed a flight to Singapore last year because of this. <BR> <BR>By the way, MBK isn't far from Patpong so you don't have to worry about it being far away. It's fairly in the middle of the city. <BR> <BR>Meg - I originally saw the bowling thing on a Wild On! show on A&E. I think I have it on tape (that's from before we went on our first trip, I was taping everything on Thailand), so I'll look and see if I can figure out where it is. <BR> <BR>Lynn <BR> <BR

Thanks, Lynn! <BR> <BR>Dave - if you want to see a "show" in Patpong, you will have to go upstairs. Downstairs, the girls just dance and wait to be "bought out" by someone who is willing to pay their "bar fine." We went upstairs in King's Castle and had no problems, but Lynn is right in that the problems I mentioned occurr in the upstairs places. It's all quite seedy and made me feel quite uncomfortable, but I had to go in. I sent hubby out on a recon mission the night before to get the lay of the land and figure out where everything was and where he felt comfortable taking me. It was an experience I'll never forget.

Meg - <BR> <BR>I think you may be braver than me. I'm pretty open-minded and my husband also went and checked a couple of places out but I just didn't feel like going. I'm totally curious about it but I just thought I would feel "weird" and wasn't up to the "seedy" environment. I'm sure it must have been a very unforgetable experience. <BR> <BR>Good for you for having the (if you'll pardon the expression) balls! Or should I say ping-pong balls?!?! <BR> <BR>Lynn <BR> <BR <BR>

Meg - <BR> <BR>I just found a mention of the bowling alley on groovymap.com I have a couple of his maps and he mentions it and saying that it's on RCA Avenue and after 9:00 pm they have music, laser lights, and glow-in-the-dark bowling balls. They charge to get in. <BR> <BR>Only problem is I'm not sure where that road is. I have 4 maps of Bangkok and I couldn't find that road anywhere. From what he says, it appears to be in the Sathorn area a little bit south of Silom area. <BR> <BR>I'll have to dig that video clip out to see if they mention the exact name and location. Otherwise, I imagine if you asked your hotel they would know. <BR> <BR>Lynn <BR> <BR

Thanks, Lynn. I will see if my friend who is meeting us in Bangkok knows anything about it. He is from Hong Kong but has friends in Bangkok and is there on a regular basis, so we may be able to find it. <BR> <BR>I never saw any ping pong balls.

Meg and Lynn. <BR>Thank you very much for your time. <BR> <BR>Cheers, <BR>

Dave - have a great trip. You can't go wrong following Lynn's advice.

I don't know about the glowing bowling balls, but RCA is between Rama IX and Petchburi Road, just a bit east of the junction with Asoke. The avenue comprises a range of bars and music places focused primarily on teenagers. If you are above the age of 21 you may feel distinctly out of place. <BR> <BR>Assuming you are just landing at the airport at 8pm (you will not be downtown until 9.30 or later), my own recommendations would be the following: <BR> <BR>1) Hire a taxi or limousine at the airport to take you on a quick tour to see the main sites - The Grand Palace, Wat Arun and the river, ending up at Patpong 9.30-10.00 <BR> <BR>2) Go to the night market at Patpong for buying any t-shirts or other small items (your starting price should be 1/3 of the quoted price and bargain strenuously - if they don't want to bargain just move to another stall) 10.00-10.30 <BR> <BR>2) Have a 30 minute foot massage at one of the places to be found on Surawongse (near Patpong) 10.30-11.00 <BR> <BR>3) If you must see a Patpong show, don't plan to spend too much time, as it is likely to become boring very quickly. Most places are safe enough, since any place with a reputation for ripping-off will quickly be out of business 11.00-00.30 <BR> <BR>4) Take a taxi to Victory Monument - to Saxophone (beside Mister Donut) - which is a good music pub and restaurant - mixture of blues, rock, jazz (I would recommend Admakers on Soi Lang Suan, but it is closed on Sunday nights. Brown Sugar used to be good a few years ago, but has declined considerably). Sit upstairs in Thai style on the floor and have some Thai food and beer while listening to the music and watching the scene. 00.30-2.00 <BR> <BR>5) Take a taxi to Pahk Klong Dtalaat flower (and vegetable market). It is quite colourful with flowers from all over Thailand and provides you with an interesting slice of Thai life. It is at its busiest at this time of night as people from the smaller markets come here to buy. 2.00-2.45 <BR> <BR>6) Assuming your departure is around 5/6am better take a taxi back to the airport - Expressway and Tollway. <BR> 2.45-3.15 <BR> <BR>If you still have some time, you can relax by crossing the bridge from Terminal 1 to the Amari Airport Hotel. <BR> <BR>Don't forget to get Thai baht at the airport before setting out and keep 500 Baht for the departure tax. <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>