Wanna make money partying?

Sounds too good to be true but Old Skool on Ekamai Road will pay 5% of the night's take to promoters or anyone looking to host a single or recurring event.  Basically contact the This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and they'll help you plan your event complete with music, drink selections, pricing schemes, etc and at the end of the night you get to pocket 5% of the earnings.  Just imagine organizing a regular university party and walking away with cold hard cash every month.  Next time you wanna plan a friend's birthday party or a theme event check it out and make money partying. 

I know I've been such a punk lately, skippin out on my bar guide responsibilities, but not to worry...after a long talk with mom reminding me how proud of me she is, she and all of you can rest easy cause I'm back baby.

Well the ET zone certainly hasn't been dormant in the last few months.  There are newcomers everywhere and a few more that have pulled a "Kirk Cameron" and dropped off the face of the earth.  On Thonglor Xperience is in full swing between Thonglor Soi 8 and 10.  The crowd is a bit older but they have plenty of nights lined up to make sure you'll have a good time.  A bit further up the old Truelife has been completely gutted and while progress has pretty much halted the signage outside seems to indicate a new club called Maya will open soon.  However, since the signage is sponsored by Ballantine's I wouldn't expect this to be a top shelf joint but that remains to be seen.

Heading down Thonglor Soi 10 (Ekamai Soi 5) there has been a ton of activity in the big lot beside Muse. A new double soccer pitch has been built with real grass (let's see how long that lasts) and a 3 story clubhouse.  Contrary to the advertising the soccer pitches are not indoors...they are merely covered. Those looking to play an air conditioned game will still have to stick it out on the 5th floor of MBK.  The 2nd floor will be a full restaurant lounge and the 3rd floor will be an actual bar.  No word on the theme yet but presumably there will be plenty of footy games to watch.  On the other end of the lot the vacant apartment building has been taken over with a new club on the ground floor suitably called Demo.  The place is looking great and if they keep the gritty theme will suit most western tastes.  Beware however that knowing clubs of this nature they will immediately stick an obnoxious Thai band right in the middle making the only difference between this place and all the others in the area the fact that it is supposed to look run down. Let's hope they don't.

The amount of activity in this lot is crazy considering the entire complex will be demolished in 3 years to make way for a condo and "Lifestyle Living" complex.  Someone obviously has cash which is also the case with Curve on Ekamai.  I don't understand why they needed to renovate but regardless the place has been thoroughly gutted and looks like it will take another few months before it is ready to open it's doors again.  No doubt the only renovations will be structural and the overall ambiance with overcrowded drunk teens will remain intact.

Finally Old Skool has launched Old Skool Cafe open 7 days a week from 9am til 2 am offering a full Thai menu and Italian pizza as well as coffees, teas, smoothies, cocktails, etc. In addition Old Skool is totally set up for relaxin with light tunes, UBC, movies, PS2 and PS3, and free WiFi (8 Mbps).  As the evening progresses so does the energy ending in a supercharged night of partying to the best hip hop, house and dance classics.  If you're looking for a more western feel check it out since Old Skool delivers and has awesome drink pricing.

Well it's been awhile since I last posted about the comings and goings of bars in the area but don't think that means there haven't been joints shrivel up and die and others blossom.  I'll start with the deaths first since that means we can leave on a high note.

Deaths

Raan Gaeng Ga Moo at the top of Ekamai which was only open for a handful of months appears to have closed its doors.  No doubt its location, far removed from the rest of the strip, was a contributing factor.  That and the lack of creativity with its concept which made it a low brow version of the other 20 places around the area.

The second big closure although less impacting since I don't think I ever saw anyone step inside is Soda.  This place took over the old Blog 9 bar on oddly enough Ekamai Soi 9.  I know what you're thinking...yes "blog" is probably a typical Thai misspelling of the word "block" rather than some cool trendy concept.  Well the lights have been off for the last few days so either they're trying something new and exciting with candlelight or their particular brand of soda has gone flat.

Births

As for newcomers, Xperience will officially launch with a grand opening on May 29.  The place plays a combination of rock, hip hop, RnB, dance, techno, latin, you name it.  Several zones make the place comfortable for multiple types of crowds but I think Xperience may struggle getting the 20 somethings.  Probably not a bad thing since they never have money anyway.

The old True Life @ Thonglor is plastered with Ballintine ads for a new venue called Maya.  Currently under renovation, and my guess will remain that way for the next 6 months, I can only speculate that with a name like Maya the place might actually be cool.  We'll have to wait and see and like a bag of socks at Christmas I'm sure I'll be disappointed.

 

After 2 years of ranting about the shortcomings of bars in the area I have finally decided to take the plunge and open one myself (along with some colleagues).  Old Skool on Ekamai is targeting the 20-35 crowd with the lure of old skool hip hop and dance tunes reminiscent of your university years.  The place makes a clear statement on socializing with a large dance floor and a limited selection of large bottles.  Cocktails, beer, RTDs, shots and shooters are the focus so if you come looking for Johnnie you've knocked on the wrong door.  Don't fret...quality bottles will be sold to those that desire it but if you really wanna experience the place you need to try the house specials.  Old Skool also opens May 29 with a theme party called Too Cool 4 Skool.  All this info and more is available on the website at http://www.oldskoolbangkok.com and at the Old Skool Facebook group.

Marriages

Here's another piece of news worthy of mention...Mike's Bar Guide and Lifestyle Asia will be working together to bring you even more awesomeness with ranting and raving that shreds like a bad spill on asphalt.  Look for some action between these two in the coming months.

Ciao!

Mike