Bangkok/Ratchadaphisek
From World travel guide
Ratchadaphisek (รัชดาภิเษก, IPA Template:IPA) is the district centered around Ratchadaphisek Road, north of Sukhumvit in Bangkok. If you look at a map for the Metro subway system you will see that North/South portion follows Ratchadaphisek Road.
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Get in
Use the Metro or a Taxi - its okay to say Ratchada ("RAHT-cha-dah") for Ratchadaphisek Road, everybody abbreviates it.
See & Do
Touristy sights are basically non-existent in this neck of woods.
- Thai Cultural Center, Ratchadaphisek Soi 4 (Metro Thai Cultural Center), [[1]. Hosts various cultural events.
Buy
Malls
- Fortune Town, corner of Ratchadaphisek and Rama IX (Metro Phra Ram 9). One of the best places in Bangkok to buy computer gear, this large shopping complex has an extensive mobile phone and computer section on the 3rd and 4th floors. Also includes a sporting good store, a big hardware store, a huge supermarket/department store Lotus Tesco, many barber shops, many restaurants and a food court.
- Close together are mall like department stores like Jusco, Carrefour, and Robinson
Bazaars
- Ratchada Night Bazzar, Lat Phrao intersection. A newly introduced night bazaar similar to Silom's better-known Lumpini Night Bazaar, with open air shopping, eating and drinking.
Eat
- Huai Khwang lots of restaurants, especially good for late night dinning
- Somboon Seafood 167-9/2 Rachadaphisek (Metro Huai Khwang) Good Chinese/Thai style Seafood. Try the crab.
- Emerald Hotel Very good chinese food.
- Bali Seafood Soi 6.
Drink
Clubs and bars
If you are looking for entertainment locals enjoy, Ratchadaphisek Road is a must visit. Ratchada Soi 4 is a hot spot of late for local teens with several pubs to choose from. The main clubs here include:
- Dance Fever. Previously hosting concerts by Erasure and Bush.
- Hollywood. A large drinking hall (no dance floor) with sexy entertainers performing cover tunes on stage.
- Ratchada Soi 4. Not a single venue, but a sprawling collection of several dozen music pubs very popular with 20-something Thais. The music is often too loud, but that seems to be the main attraction.
Cabarets
- Ratchada Cabaret. A Ladyboy Cabaret Show.
Massage parlors
Ratchadaphisek Road features many massage parlors that actually specialize in other services. Look for big flashy yet windowless buildings with names like Emmanuelle, Poseidon, Caesar's Palace and further south, Mona Lisa.
- Ratchadahatthawet, Metro Huai Khwang. A Thai traditional massage parlour (in front of Emmanuelle to the right), a dependable address for 'straight' massages at 300 THB per session of two hours, in clean private rooms without pressure for additional services.
Sleep
Not as popular as the Sukhumvit area for western tourists, but there are some big hotels here. Many cater to Chinese and Japanese visitors.
Budget
- Watana Mansion, Ratchada Soi 17, 100 meters off Ratchadaphisek road (500m from Sutthisan Subway station), tel. +66-2-275-0110, [2]. A 14-story hotel offering clean, basic rooms with air conditioning for B550 (US$14) per night. Wattana Mansion has a small swimming pool, 24 hour room service and restaurant with reasonable prices and an internet cafe with 4 computers and wireless access (if you have your laptop with you) for B20 per 1/2 hour.
Mid-range
- Emerald Hotel
Splurge
- Fortune Hotel, corner of Ratchadaphisek and Rama IX (Metro Phra Ram 9), tel. +66-2641-1500, [3]. Four-star hotel in the left part of the same building as the shopping mall of the same name. Internet rates from US$70/80 for a single/double.
