Goodbye Soi 4....and more?

[reader]

The current Stickman Bangkok column is dedicated  to an interview with the curator of the Patpong Museum. it includes a few bombshells: an imminent, Twlight-like destiny for Soi 4 along with Silom sois 1 and 2.

https://www.stickmanbangkok.com/weekly-column/2020/06/the-curator-talks-patpong/

[vinapu]

now it's race what happens first, letting us in or ruination of those sois ?

[spoon]

Gentrification of the area, hopefully for the better. As we can see before in soi twilight, most of the destruction also resulted in either the movement of the bars or a rebirth of bars such as lucky boys. Soi 4 bars like jupiter will surely take another venue, most likely on the same road as the other gay bars, perhaps replacing one of the straight girlie bars that didnt survive. 

The night market transformation is what id like to see! Hopefully some beer bars will grab the prime location and we will see a revival of dicks/maxis of soi twilight there. Food trucks at the like, more foods that can be enjoyed hopefully at street food price, nothing wrong with that lol. One thing Bangkok have too much already is the place to shop for cheap knock off. 

[anddy]

The demise of Soi 4 and Soi 2 will be very sad and a big loss in the same way as Twilight is/was, in that the condensed nature of these Sois make them unique scenes. While the gogo bars of Twilight had an excellent transition arguably for the better in Patpong, it is still not the same as the cozy atmosphere of Twilight, which continues to be missed by members of this board, as evidenced by recurring references to the missing Maxi's equivalent for instance. The same will be true true to an even bigger extent for Soi 4 and Soi 2. Especially Soi 2 is a microcosmos of it's own, completely hidden from and unconnected to the outside world. Both Sois are/were a huge magnet not only for tourists but also expats and locals. 

Yes, (gay) nightlife will continue in some form around the area, presumably in Patpong, and fun will be had, but with a very different feel to it. I admit I'm rather sad about that. 

As for the Patpong nightmarket, I've been waiting for something to happen for years. It has been declining for a long time. 20 years ago, all stalls were occupied and throngs of tourists making the aisles almost impassable. In recent years, every other stall unoccupied and tourists few and far between. A slow death. The new development plans outlined in the interview sound very good indeed, though, I'll welcome that with open arms.

[spoon]

Soi 6, has long been neglected, except for tawan and the lesser of the 3 small host bar tucked away in the smaller sub soi. Maybe soi4/2 bars might go there as well. Location wise it is still convenient.

[Patanawet]

On 6/15/2020 at 7:50 PM, spoon said:

Soi 6, has long been neglected, except for tawan and the lesser of the 3 small host bar tucked away in the smaller sub soi. Maybe soi4/2 bars might go there as well. Location wise it is still convenient.

The small host bars are actually gogo bars.

[anddy]

as of right now, Soi 4 is in a state of gradual reopening. Last night, not only G's Restaurant, Connection Bar Restaurant and Fork&Cork Restaurant were open, but also Balcony Bar Restaurant Karaoke and even Welcome Bar (with no attempt to hide the word "bar", but with a food menu prominently put on display). 

Balcony had "bar" and "karaoke" covered up, and Telephone the same, though not open yet last night. But this afternoon there were workers busy, apparently preparing for the reopening.

[DivineMadman]

Stranger "bar" posted that they would be having a party Friday night.  I think they included the hashtag "#dragdinner.  

You could always ask to order food at (if not necessarily from) the bars there, so good for them for recognizing their inner restaurant.  

[anddy]

What I hadn't realized before is that Welcome Bar apparently is part of Balcony. The name and logo on the door of the bar also include the Balcony logo. Hence, they are automatically a restaurant, too.

[vinapu]

so it looks we should change a tittle of this thread to " Good evening soi 4 ...and more ? "  

[Patanawet]

5 hours ago, anddy said:

What I hadn't realized before is that Welcome Bar apparently is part of Balcony. The name and logo on the door of the bar also include the Balcony logo. Hence, they are automatically a restaurant, too.

No it's not.        The space is rented from Balcony.  It is owned By  Banana Club Room (or whatever).

[Patanawet]

I left Soi 4 at 9:30 this evening (Friday).

Balcony terrace was packed. No spare chairs. A few inside as well

Telephone and Connection were also busy.

'W' had customers as well.

One of the bars further down the soi was open (is it Sports bar or the other one?).

Tapas is closed but "G's was open.

ADAM Massage was open

Fork and Cork open.

Jupiter and Banana closed.

I believe that the 'restaurants' serving alcohol are licenced till midnight.

It's so good to see lights and atmosphere in Soi 4 again.  Do not listen to the doomsayers about Soi 4 going the way of Twilight, they know NOTHING!  Fake news.

[anddy]

On 6/19/2020 at 11:27 PM, Patanawet said:

It's so good to see lights and atmosphere in Soi 4 again.  Do not listen to the doomsayers about Soi 4 going the way of Twilight, they know NOTHING!  Fake news.

Soi 4 being somewhat alive and kicking again is not a contradiction to the possibility of it's eventual Twilight fate. The lights are on in the present, the eventual closure is (hopefully far) in the future. I have heard such rumours even before the stickman article, and as we all know every so often there is  some truth to rumours. WHEN and HOW exactly these will play out is the big unknown obviously. But it's hardly fake news.

[Patanawet]

13 hours ago, anddy said:

Soi 4 being somewhat alive and kicking again is not a contradiction to the possibility of it's eventual Twilight fate. The lights are on in the present, the eventual closure is (hopefully far) in the future. I have heard such rumours even before the stickman article, and as we all know every so often there is  some truth to rumours. WHEN and HOW exactly these will play out is the big unknown obviously. But it's hardly fake news.

Fair enough. I'm sure you know much more than me.