Recent
wanderings...
How
does that old saying go? “A change is as good as a
holiday.” Or is it “a holiday is as good as
a change”? Whatever … recently I was out of
Thailand for some time and when I returned I thought that,
rather than immediately settle back into my old routine,
I’d try to look at the pool bars and halls around
Sukhumvit through fresh eyes, so to speak. An attempt, if
you like, to view it more as a visitor, rather than a long-time
resident.
Before
I get onto that, a couple of observations from my travels
outside the kingdom. First, no matter how hard I tried,
I couldn’t find anywhere nearly as hospitable, easy
and cheap to play pool as in Bangkok. In most cities good
pool tables are hard to find, expensive (3 or 4 bucks a
game!), service as we know it is non-existent, and it’s
basically a bloke’s game. Your chances of whiling
away the afternoon around a pool table in the company of
great looking women are virtually zero in Farangstan. Stick
to Asia: Bangkok, Saigon, Manila, etc. are all better places
for the recreational pool player.
Second,
the one high spot in my travels was that I actually found
a pool table in Singapore’s Changi Airport! Despite
newer and flasher airports around the world, Changi has
long been my favourite (my airline of choice is SQ so I
often transit through there). It’s supremely efficient,
there’s a huge range of interesting stores to look
at, you can actually find decent food there, and bugger
me, now I’ve found a half decent pool table there!
It’s in a little pub area in Terminal 1, and I spent
a half hour or so playing with fellow travellers as I waited
to board my flight. Surely this cements Changi’s position
as the world’s number one airport?
Back
to Bangkok…
Upon
my return I hit the dusty sois of Sukhumvit again, albeit
with the slightly altered perspective of someone who hadn’t
been here for a while. Here’s what I found …
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Menu,
Platinum Centre.... yummm, just the way I like my pork...
smelly!
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Soi
Nana:
While
I occasionally drop into the occasional bar in Soi Nana,
I’m a pretty rare visitor these days and I’m
usually down there for lunch rather than pool. So I spent
an entire afternoon checking out the small pool bars in
the street, starting at the Tobacco Monopoly end of the
soi. And what I found is … they’re all basically
the same. Usually one or two pretty ordinary tables, the
house cues are universally dreadful, and while there’s
always the chance of running into someone interesting the
reality is that lovely pool-playing partners are few and
far between at the far end of the soi.
As
you might expect things gradually get better the closer
you get to Sukhumvit and Nana Plaza. Call me picky, but
one of the main detractions of the smaller semi-outdoor
bars is the lack of air conditioning. (Surely someone got
a sainthood for inventing air conditioning; if they didn’t
they damn well should have!) So, as hard as I tried to enjoy
myself, it was pretty difficult in the prevailing hot and
sticky surroundings. It was really only when I reached the
first Hilary Bar that things started looking up.
Yeah,
I know, we’ve mentioned the Bars Hillary before, but
remember that this time I’m trying to see them through
new eyes. I haven’t really been in either of the two
in Soi Nana for some time, over a couple of days I moved
between the two of them to decide which of them suited me
best. And the answer is … the one up past the Raja
Hotel car park. It’s a bit more like a pub, the tables
are decent, and the staff are helpful and a couple are decent
pool players if you can’t find anyone else. It’s
also more roomy and comfortable, more laid back. After a
couple of visits I wondered why I hadn’t spent more
time there in the past.
This
is not to imply that the other Hillary Bar isn’t worth
visiting. There’s a lot more action there in terms
of potential pool opponents of the long, leggy female variety.
It becomes a busy little place as the afternoon wears on,
to the point that it can be difficult to get on to a table
at times. I find the girls there a little pushy, leaning
towards the “you buy me cola” lot down in the
bars in Nana Plaza. But there’s no question that you
can indeed have a good time in either of the Hillary bars
in this soi, but they are each quite different in character.
Whilst
on the subject of bars of the Hillary variety, I found yet
another one in Soi 11 (are they trying to take over the
world to set up a Hillary Empire?). Left hand side of Soi
11 as you head down from Sukhumvit Road, it’s in a
row of shophouses so it’s more compact than either
of the bars in Soi Nana. Once again, a completely different
ambiance, but still quite OK. It’s a little out of
the way though, being quite a way down the soi – as
I tend to drop into that trendiest-of-trendy bars Q Bar
from time to time to see old buddies, I could be tempted
to spend some time in this “Hilary 3” bar to
hit a few balls around before wandering further down the
road.
Back
to Soi Nana: of course, if you’re in this soi and
you really like your pool it’s impossible to ignore
that the main Ball In Hand venue is also in this soi. I’ve
raved on elsewhere in this site on my ultimate preference
for playing in the sophisticated surrounds of Ball In Hand
so I won’t elaborate any more here. But of course
it really isn’t a pick-up joint, so if you like a
good game of pool find a partner somewhere else in the soi
and slide in there later on.
Sanuk
Bar:
This
one’s a pleasant little surprise. It’s in what
I call “E-sarn Alley”, the little walkway connecting
Sois 5 and 7. I must have passed this place hundreds of
times travelling between New Wave on Soi 7 and Gullivers
on Soi 5.
Now,
if you know the little alley of which I speak, with its
tiny one-chair hairdressing “salons”, equally
minute internet cafes, and stalls selling delicious authentic
E-sarn fishguts ‘n’ gravel meals, it’s
hard to believe that you can actually fit a pub with three
decent pool tables and a pretty well stocked bar in there.
Truly, it’s a real life J.K. Rowlings “platform
nine and three-quarters” – I’m buggered
if I know where the space comes from.
So
having ignored it for years, I finally ducked in and found
a very nice little hiding place. As I said, three tables,
reasonable cues and good service, partly because I’ve
never been in there when there’s been more than about
half a dozen punters. The staff are very friendly and one
or two are capable of playing a decent game of pool. All
in all, a good place to lose an hour or two mid-afternoon,
and a useful place to meet friends because of its handy
location to transport.
Gullivers/New
Wave:
Just
quickly, after being away for a while I’ve found these
two old staples less inviting than before. For some reason
the slickness of Gullivers I find increasingly annoying;
there are all kinds of unnecessary “rules” that
annoy me, such as not being able to play on the back tables
until about 5 pm. Paying for each drink as you order it
pisses me off too, it’s a hangover from Gullivers
beginnings with backpackers, but every other bar in town
runs a tab and you pay when you leave. The staff also seem
to be specially trained to not recognise you (maybe it’s
just me?), whereas in virtually all the other bars I go
into on a regular basis greet me and my wallet with open
arms. New Wave just seems to get grottier – the tables,
cues, etc really are pretty ordinary, you’d think
that a place that does really turn over some customers during
peak hour could sink a bit of money back into their equipment.
Bottom
line is that while I’ll poke my head into both to
see if any old friends are hanging around, I’m disinclined
to spend any real time in either of them. It seems a lot
of old regulars are thinking likewise. Sanuk bar is the
more pleasant choice to play a little low-key pool.
Woodstock:
The
original Woodstock was, I believe, the very first bar in
what is now Nana Plaza (it got off to a shaky start with
a couple of tourist gem shops and a few restaurants, I used
to park my car in the centre which is now filled with beer
bars). It was originally at the top of the sometimes-it-works-sometimes-it-doesn’t
escalator near the spirit houses at the entrance to the
plaza. It was started by an Aussie bloke named Kevin who
developed the format of Woodstock-era music, burgers, etc.
It soon expanded and moved into the far corner on the same
floor (near G-Spot) where it survived for many years with
its mix of good music, good food, and (was it three or four?)
pool tables.
So
it was with some anticipation that I headed to the relocated
Woodstock, in Soi Akapart (Thonglor Soi 13, which runs from
Dom Kruang restaurant on the Thonglor corner down to Samitvej
Hospital at the other end). I have to say I was quite disappointed.
For a start it looks a lot grander on their website, but
it’s basically a pretty ordinary shophouse in an out-of-the-way
location. It doesn’t really stand out, so it would
be pretty easy to go past if you were in a vehicle.
It’s
not all negative. It does have a better-than-average pool
table, and reasonable house cues. But there’s only
one table, and when I (and my carefully selected pool-playing
partner) started making moves towards the table the small
group of incumbents seemed to regard us as intruders. After
we’d won our way onto the table they didn’t
get any friendlier, and sulked as we fought off all challengers.
The
food is still good, the menu being recognisable to anyone
who knew the old Woodstock bar. And the bar itself, including
the selection of spirits, was better than most. But the
whole place was lacking in ambiance, a consequence I’d
suggest of its location. Yes, it is handy to trendy Soi
Thonglor with it’s ever-changing selection of restaurants
and drinking holes, but it’s still a bit of a hike
and if you’re down that way, you’ll probably
find better entertainment on the main soi without having
to trudge down the side sois. As indeed we did …
Witches
Tavern:
This
big, plush bar, restaurant and entertainment joint is right
on Thonglor, pretty much opposite Soi 13 (the Woodstock
soi).
The
Witches Tavern has been around for ages (the owner also
has Witches Oyster Bar down on Soi Ruamrudee which is something
entirely different). As I’ve lived in the Thonglor
area ever since I first arrived in BKK, over the last few
years I’ve dropped into Witches Tavern from time to
time. I’d describe it as the Thai eccentric version
of what they think a farang bar/pub should be, and it’s
all the better for it. The architecture and fittings are
weird and over the top, but that doesn’t stop it being
a good place. It’s all rather grand in that Thai-Doric-columns-badly-cast-in-concrete
manner, but weird décor aside it’s just plain
good fun.
Now,
it always used to be a pretty Thai kind of place, with the
occasional farang resident and girlfriend floating through
briefly. I’ve occasionally dropped in there in the
rainy season when inclement weather has halted progress
on my motorcycle, so I’ve dropped in there to have
a drink and listen to the music until the rain stopped.
On the night I went to Woodstock I arranged to meet my Thai
friend there because she lives nearby and wasn’t sure
she’d find Woodstock by herself. I noticed that it
seems to have developed more of a mixed audience, although
it still caters more for the locals. But the ambiance is
great, you can sit at the bar or find a table, there’s
live music (both in Thai and English), the staff are quite
good fun and on the ball, and there are even a few pool
tables (although not particularly good ones) up in the dress
circle on the second floor. And, of course, if you’re
Thai you can’t drink without eating so there’s
an extensive menu too.
After
we’d wandered off for our unrewarding visit to Woodstock,
we headed straight back to Witches Tavern where, as it turned
out, we should have stayed all night. When we got back the
place was rockin’ (no sign in this bar of the quaint
notices one sees in Australian pubs advising that they don’t
serve drunks – so why have a bar?). Your Thai friends
will love this one, and you can even play pool there! I’ll
be spending more time there.
Chiangmai,
pool or just chinese billiards?
Yes,
I know this site is primarily about the Sukhumvit area,
but these days more and more of my friends are moving out
of town, and I’m beginning to think that I might eventually
choose to live outside Bangkok too. So I’ve been spending
more time visiting friends up around Chiangmai, and obviously
I need a place to play pool while I’m there.
Anybody
who has ever been there will know that there’s no
shortage of pool tables in the bars there. They are universally
terrible, with torn tables and lousy cues, but if you wander
around you will find some that are better than others. The
area around the night market, near the boxing ring, has
lots of bars with pool tables. But you’ll really need
to check out the tables if you really want to play a half-decent
game – some of the tables are just atrocious, with
torn surfaces and battered cushions. Persevere and you can
find a table or two that are slightly better, and it’s
always an interesting place to people-watch, so it’s
still worth a look. Once again, the lack of air-conditioning
can make them pretty hot and sticky, particularly during
the rainy season.
There’s another little bar area on Loi Khro road,
which runs from the Night Bazaar (bizarre?) area to the
eastern side of the moat. This is quite a fun place later
in the evening, very much like the bars in the smaller sois
off Sukhumvit. There’s quite a cluster of bars at
the moat end of the street, nearly all of them with pool
tables of the same questionable quality. Once again, look
around and you’ll find a place that’s worth
hanging around in for a drink or two.
Now,
a little pool-playing surprise! On my most recent trip to
Chiangmai I was studying the inside of the airport while
I was waiting at the carousel for my baggage to turn up,
and I happened to notice an ad for a 10-pin bowling alley
that also claimed to have pool tables. So my buddy and I
went off in search of it a couple of days later, and it
turned out to be OK – not great but OK.
I
don’t really know how to describe this place, except
that it’s at the north-west corner of the road that
runs around the perimeter of the inside of the moat. The
only real landmark (apart from the corner of the moat) is
the Ram Hospital on the other side of the moat, which is
a facility that the farang residents of the area use (you
can go in there to have your wrist bandaged up when you
sprain it playing pool).
The
place itself is uniquely Thai. It’s a huge edifice
of rotting concrete, and from the outside looks like an
above-ground version of the bunker that Hitler spent his
last days in. But when you get to the top of the sweeping
staircase that leads up from the street, lo and behold there’s
a room on the right with perhaps a dozen full-size snooker/billiard
tables in it. This is OK, the tables are worn and maybe
one or two are being used by the local whisky-fueled snooker
hotshots. If you really want to play snooker or billiards
you can certainly give these tables a shot.
More
interestingly, if you go straight ahead at the top of the
stairs into the bowling alley, you’ll find four pool
tables on one side of this vast room – the bowling
lanes are on the other side. The tables are very average,
but playable. The have one of the strangest systems of paying
that I’ve ever seen – you put coins into a slot
to turn the table lights on! The best thing is the eye candy
– because it is the local bowling alley all sorts
of interesting feminine visions flash by, and some of the
staff (who are primarily there to serve the bowling crowd)
are pretty easy on the eye too. When we first started to
go there we were very much outsiders, but we played a couple
of hours there every second or third day for a couple of
weeks, by which time the entire place had become much more
familiar and friendly. Needless to say, there’s food
and drink there, and you can park right at the entrance
to the building. No idea of what it’s like at night,
but as a way of killing some time mid-afternoon it turned
out to be just fine.
Back
to Bangkok (again) …
So
after some time travelling outside Thailand and Bangkok,
it’s time to settle in again (at least until the next
trip). The one thing a spell away has taught me is that
there’s really nowhere like the Sukhumvit area for
the pool fanatic! The range of establishments, the variety
of playing partners, and the sheer value-for-money make
this perhaps the best place in the world to rack ‘em
up. Looks like I’m here for a while longer then!
Chuck
Wao
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