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Nightlife Entertainment in PattayaPattaya is internationally known for its nightlife. Although it's infamous as a sex tourist destination, there are ample opportunities to dance, drink, and observe humanity even if paid sex is not of interest.  On the other side of Walking Street  Night view from Pattaya Hill Beer Bars Pattaya is especially famous for its beer bars (also called bar-beer), staffed by "bar girls" who are "for hire" to the tourists and ex-pats who drink there. Popular beer bar pastimes include pool, connect-four and shut-the-box. Open-air beer bars can be found all over Pattaya, with the biggest and best known concentrations being along and around Soi 7 / Soi 8 and Walking Street, at numerous points on Second Road, Beach Road, Soi Buakhao, and in smaller numbers just about everywhere else, including along the southern end of Naklua Road and at Jomtien. The staff of a typical beer bar are usually all prostitutes, customers who have no intention of paying a "bar fine" (money paid to the bar so that the girl can leave with the customer) make up a small percentage of the clientele. Indoor beer bars can also be found all over Pattaya, the most notorious areas being Soi Yodsak (Soi 6) and parts of Soi Post Office (Soi 13/2). These bars are "sex" oriented, in most cases customers who simply want to buy drinks will be few and far between. The official closing time in "entertainment zones" is 01:00 (in practice usually somewhere between 01:00 and 02:00, depending on the location) and 00:00 elsewhere - however "closing" is defined as switching off the music and non-essential lighting, and numerous beer bars remain open 24/7. Go-Go Bars Also called a-go-go bars, the main concentrations are along Walking Street and the three Pattayaland streets, with more dotted around the most popular beer bar areas; most come to life at around 20:00 and close between 01:00 and 02:00. Sight-seeing tourists are welcome in go-go bars, however cameras are not. Signs prohibiting photography are widespread, and a minority of venues require patrons to deposit their cameras with security staff as they enter.  Popular Nightlife Venue in Pattaya Walking StreetThere's plenty of almost prostitutes including around 100 beer bars and at least 30 go-go bars, plus many more in the side-sois that lead east towards Pratamnak Road.If you're going to visit just one go-go, you could try Super Baby in Soi Diamond, whose reputation for having the most attractive girls (not a stretch mark as far as the eye could see) in its heyday a year or two back made it a mandatory stop for countless busloads of Asian tourists. While that's no longer quite the case, it's still a good bet as a hassle-free "middle of the road" place to see.  PattayalandSoi Pattayaland 2 (Soi 13/4) features on many a Pattaya postcard - when lit up at night, the go-go bar signs are a memorable and photogenic sight, although there are in fact only eight go-go bars here (two of which feature guys, not girls), plus a half-dozen bars and the Penthouse Hotel. Worth a look in the evening (it's almost a ghost town the rest of the time), but get there before 01:00 as that's when the lights go out.Soi Pattayaland 3 ("Boyz Town" - no direct access from Beach Road, runs from the middle of Soi 13/4 to Second Road) features only male dancers and bars that cater for the gay crowd; Soi Pattayaland 1 (Soi 13/3) has even more all-male go-gos (eight), but does have a couple of girlie-go-gos too. There is also a small lesbian scene in Pattaya, with local butch girls called "tom" girls and femme girls called "dee".  Soi 7 & Soi 8There's always something going on here - in the evening and early hours, there are about 120 well-staffed beer bars to choose from, plus a handful of go-go bars; in the morning there are several places that serve breakfast; in the afternoon it's a popular place for those who like to get started early; and at Songkran (New Year) it's unmitigated mayhem. The "Night Out" complex (10 large outdoor bars, on a side-soi that connects Soi 7 and Pattaya Central Road) is about as family-orientated as these places ever get, and has live music from 20:00-01:00. There are several large hotels (light sleepers beware), and Soi 8 also has a few travel agencies, convenience stores, etc.Soi Yodsak (Soi 6)Imagine a perverts paradise - and then pedestrianise it. Arguably Pattaya's most colourful street (as well as most disgusting), Soi 6 has about 50 bars (mostly "short time" bars, with names such as "Butterfly", "Love Club", "Route 69" and "The Eager Beaver") which all get going at 13:00 and close pretty much on the dot at 01:00. It's not really a pedestrian-only street (but it is one-way), however walking - preferably in broad daylight - is undoubtedly the best and most popular way to wind up in jail or having sex with some old lady. Go in the middle of the afternoon and just wander from one end to the other (if coming from the south, walk from the Second Road end down to the Beach Road end if you want to get there and back by songthaew). It's much, much more "sex-tourist" than "tourism" oriented, but anyone and everyone is welcome everywhere provided they're buying a drink or three. The curiously named "Hi Boss! 2002 Pub" is where the ladyboys hang out, there's one go-go - "Mandarin" (dancing from 17:00 till 01:00), plus a couple of "pub" food possibilities; and neighbouring Soi 6/1 has a handful of "ordinary" outdoor beer bars.Second Road - around the Soi 2 & Soi 3 junctionsOn the west side of Second Road opposite the Central Festival Centre is a collection of about 35 very popular beer bars, which start to fill up from about 16:00, and several of which remain open long after the lights go out around 01:00-02:00. "Atlantic Bar", at the far end of the five-bar strip to the south of Soi 2, always draws a substantial crowd. The only go-go ("Classroom 2", 19:30-02:00) is a lively one, and while there's not much in the way of food in amongst the bars themselves, there are numerous eating options extremely close nearby (including outlets for most of the major fast-food chains directly opposite on the other side of Second Road). 10 Assorted "Same-Same But Different" Bar Styles Casino Club at the Pratamnak Road end of Soi Diamond is an a-go-go with a difference - not only do the girls dance with their clothes on, but there are no chrome poles! - whatever will they think of next? Despite the name, it's not a casino; maybe it's a disc-o-go-go? The atmosphere is lively, the music is techno, the dancing is energetic, the hours are 21:00-04:00 (apparently able to close later than most due to the non-conformist format). Boyz Town (the whole of Soi Pattayaland 3) is the place to head for to see the male go-go dancers, likewise Soi Pattayaland 1 (Soi 13/3). Same applies for girls who want to ogle (exactly the same) guys. Pattayaland 1 is relatively dead in the daytime, but Pattayaland 3 has a handful of places to eat and drink that keep it ticking over in the afternoon. Jenny Star Bar in Walking Street (below Peppermint Palace) is wall-to-wall transvestites - seeing is believing, especially late in the evening and in the small hours. It's an open-air bar that spills out onto the pavement, and there's often quite a crowd gawking intently from a safe distance - so mind your pockets. Jupiter Go-Go (previously "Planet Rock") at the Second Road end of Soi Pattayaland 2 (Soi 13/4) has a salsa/samba/merengue night every Friday - the girls are on stage from 18:00 until 01:00 (or later) and seem to enjoy the change. Club Boesché in Soi 16 (connects Walking Street to Pratamnak Road) is a brand new split-level lesbian go-go with a large Jacuzzi-style tub sunk into the floor in front of the bar, occupied in shifts by pairs of uninhibited young ladies non-stop from 20:00 until 01:00 (or later). "Normal" (for a go-go) priced drinks and no cover charge. Tim Bar Beer on Second Road (opposite Soi 12) is an otherwise relatively run-off-the-mill go-go that plays nothing but DVDs, with a very strong bias towards live performances of rock'n'roll classics. Requests welcome - if in doubt, ask for Meatloaf's "Paradise by the Dashboard Light". Stage and screen come to life at 18:00 and keep going until at least 02:00 (closing hours not so strictly enforced here as it's not in amongst a bunch of other bars), but get there early as it's a popular place and their army of dancers thins out with prodigious speed. Beach Inn Beer Garden on Walking Street (opposite the FLB Bar) can usually be found blindfold. Head through to the back and out into the bars that target visitors from the Middle-East, and feel the sound - some of the speaker systems here are bigger than a budget hotel room, and it's not difficult to position yourself so that you're being deafened by three or four of them (each one playing something different) all at the same time. (At the other extreme, there used to be a "Quiet Bar" on Second Road - but it closed not long after it opened, apparently due to lack of demand...) Carousel Beer Bar is a pair of circular outdoor bars in the centre of Soi Diamond (directly off Walking Street) which spin from 17:00 until 03:00. A couple of drinks here and the world really will start to revolve around you. Sealand Bar Complex (Beach Road, just before the Walking Street entrance archway) is a crush of about 25 ancient open-air beer bars (open 16:00-03:00) surrounding a boxing ring (exhibition matches at various intervals between 20:00 and 01:00). Get there early in the evening and it looks like there must be a prize on offer for whoever is able to squeeze the greatest number of bar girls into the smallest beer bar. If you sit down here, don't forget to shake the cockroaches out of your clothes as you leave. Beach Club (towards the Walking Street end of Soi 15) is not the only "table dance" format a-go-go in Pattaya, but it's probably the most popular. Patrons are seated around industrial-strength tables which have mirror tops, upward facing spotlights, and of course the obligatory chrome pole; the girls dance on each table in turn, wearing short skirts and... - well if you can't guess the rest then you should probably steer well clear of any Pattaya establishment that mentions the words "table dancing" alongside its name. Cabaret Pattaya is well known for its katoey cabaret (aka ladyboy or transvestite) shows. Two of the best known (expect busloads of Asian tourists) are: Alcazar, on Second Road (78/14 Moo 9 - across from Soi 5); tel. +66-38428746 / +66-38429212 fax. +66-38424939  A visit the truly spectacular and extraordinary Alcazar Show in Pattaya, Thailand Tiffany's Show on Second Road near signless Soi Srinakhom (one soi north of Soi 1) has performances at 19:00, 20:30 and 22:00 (plus 17:30 high season) and in May hosts the annual Miss Tiffany's Universe Pageant beauty queen competition, for contestants born as men. If you're got testosterone left over, visit the Shooting Range in the basement!
Clubs Pattaya has various clubs, of which the Pattaya City Expats Club is the oldest ex-pat club in town. They meet 09:30-12:00 on Sunday mornings at the Henry J. Beans pub at the beginning of Beach Road. Their motto is "Expats helping Expats" and that is what they do. There are various breakfasts to chose from ranging from 65 baht for coffee and toast and up 185 baht for a combination Western/Thai breakfast. All are welcome. Discotheques Walking Street are more popular with Westerners accompanied by bar girls, and with bar girls looking for customers. The best known are: Hammer Insomnia Disco Lucifer - popular with young Thai people, although this is not a typical Thai discotheque. Only R'n'B, sometimes with special guest DJ's. A good place to go at about 02:00-03:00; extremely crowded after midnight. Marine Disco (on Walking Street) - large dance floor and plays house music (it's the house music counterpart of Lucifer). Marine 2 (just off Walking street) - the same music as Marine Disco; this was "the place to go" before Insomnia opened. MIXX (at the end of Walking Street) - opened in late 2007 - has R'n'B and house rooms (two rooms in one disco). Tony's Entertainment Complex (on Walking Street) has an attractive and stylish interior, great live music and service. Free entry, but incredibly expensive drinks - and a 5000 baht fine if you're caught bringing your own in! Tony 2 - not as well known as Tony's Entertainment Complex, but also very pricey. Live Music Live music - especially popular rock oldies - can be heard at several open-air venues along Walking Street, and at various bars elsewhere. Blues Factory on Soi Lucky Star (just off Walking Street) features the former Lam Morrison Band. Lam Morrison himself has a new band and location next on Marine Plaza. Hard Rock Cafe (in the grounds of the Hard Rock Hotel on Beach Road) has great live music and dancing in the evenings.
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