Chiang Mai Nightlife
Last updated 2008-02-14
If you're coming to Chiang Mai hoping to find the same gogo bars, party hard atmosphere and large scale discotheques you would expect to find in Bangkok, you'll be disappointed. Chiang Mai is a far more laid back affair when it comes to nightlife. That said, there are a handful of gogo's and a few strips of bars.
Bars can be found all over the city but the main concentration is in the Thapae Gate area. Starting at the moat and heading east along Loi Kroh Road, you'll find a strip of bars, most of which are hole in the wall places, usually with a pool table and all with girls beckoning you to come inside. A few hundred yards further along this road (towards the night market) behind the Imperial Mae Ping Hotel, there is an arcade of bars with a Muay Thai boxing ring in the middle. This is also where you'll find Sexy Star gogo.
Sexy Star is on two levels. The ground floor is a massage establishment, while the gogo dancers are upstairs. Admission is 150 Baht including one drink on entry. It's very dark inside, too dark in fact and you can barely see where you're walking. It's also very difficult to see the face of the person you're speaking to (that's probably the idea). There are also a high number of Thai clientèle and some of the girls are very attractive Thai/Chinese in appearance. However, they waste no time in asking for tips, or encouraging you to take them out of the bar, almost as soon as you sit down to drink your beer. If you're not confident you can handle yourself in such an environment, you might want to steer clear of this bar.
Another gogo in Chiang Mai is Foxy Lady on Thapae Soi 1. Quite a small place and on our visit, the girls are nothing special but a handful of lookers. The real attraction to this bar is that you will be left alone if that's what you want. The girls are not pushy at all and that's a real winner. A hundred yards down the road from Foxy Lady is a small laid bar strip of bars, sandwiched between Thapae Soi 1 and the night bazaar.
A five minute walk heading north along the moat from Loi Kroh is Spotlight gogo. It's really laid back in here. You can either sit at one bar and watch the girls dance, or you can sit at the other bar and watch an array of TV's with the news and sport. Definitely no pushy girls here on our visit. Our favourite at the time of writing.
There are a number of discos around town where local Thais go. Ask around for the latest hotspot. If you're after a late drink, there are karaoke bars all over town but you'll need some Thai language skills. Ask a tuk tuk driver and he'll know some place for sure. We tried Hi-Class Karaoke on the other side of the river. Not cheap but some stunners to sit and sing a song with you until the Sun comes up.
Overall, don't expect to find a raunchy party atmosphere... Chiang Mai is laid back, relaxed and rather tame.
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