Manila and Bangkok nightlife

I really wonder why none of these cities made the top 10 party cities list in Lonely Planet’s book “1000 ultimate experiences”. Both Bangkok and Manila are great when it comes to nightlife, Bangkok probably being the one that is most famous for it. I guess you’ve all heard the song “One night in Bangkok” originally sung by Murray Head, if not you should, it’s a great song.

Anyways, I first visited Bangkok about 6 years ago, and in the last 3 years I’ve been back there several times. The first time I was in Bangkok I was hanging out with a lot of Thai students so I got to check out many Thai nightclubs. They often have Thai live bands, it’s a great crowd there and I usually had a great time. It’s real cheap to go to those places too, usually I didn’t spend more than $20 for the whole night. The last few times I’ve been in Bangkok I’ve mostly been hanging out with other foreigners, and then we usually go to the “international” nightclubs where they don’t play as much Thai music. It’s a little more expensive there, but still way cheaper than Europe and the US, and it’s lots of fun.

The main nightlife areas in Bangkok would be the Sukhumvit area, Khao San Road with all the backpackers, Silom with lots of Thai nightclubs, Ratchadapisek with the RCA clubs, Siam with the karaoke and cinemas as well as the more upscale nightlife at Chidlom Ploenchit. If you’d like to check out the gogo bar scene you have three venues, Patpong, Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy.

In Manila the nightlife scene is even more spread out I would say. There are less fancy upscale nightclubs than in Bangkok, but just as many bars and clubs overall. You’ll find most of the bigger fancy nightclubs either in the Makati and Greenbelt area or at The Fort. The prices here are about the same as the nightclubs in Bangkok. Just as in Bangkok if you go to the nightclubs the locals go to, prices will be way lower, and in my opinion you will have just as much fun.

Filipinos are friendly, speak good English and are easy to get to know. They are very outgoing, love singing, dancing and going out drinking, so every day of the week you will find a vibrant nightlife scene in Manila. One thing I really love when going out in Manila is that so many places have good quality live bands. They sing mostly in English, but now and then they sing some Tagalog songs too, many of which are really cool. You also have the gogo bar scene in Manila as you have in Bangkok, mostly in P. Burgos street in Makati, EDSA Complex in Pasay City, Quezon City and some areas of Malate.

Like I said I’m surprised none of these cities made the list, they would have made my top 10 for sure.

Tags: band, Bangkok, Burgos, cheap, Chidlom, EDSA, gogo, Khao San Road, life music, Malate, Manila, music, Nana, Nightlife, party, Ploenchit, Quezon City, Ratchadasipek, RCA, Silom, Soi Cowboy, Tagalog