How to Have a Girls’ Night Out in Bangkok

Whether you love or hate Bangkok, you have to admit that there are all sorts of things to keep you entertained. If you’ve seen The Hangover 2, you know that this can often be a dangerous quality to the city, where ladyboys and cheap drinks are plentiful and streets like Soi Cowboy and Khaosan Road exist.

But if you want to have a night out with the girls, is the Thai capital the place for you? I’d only visited Bangkok once before, on a quick stopover en route to Cambodia, but this time I went with one thing in mind: the perfect girls’ night out.

1. Gather your entourage. On this particular girls’ night out, friends new and old from all over the world (Germany, South Africa, England, Australia and more!) came together to celebrate the hen’s night/day of my dear friend Flo, who I worked with during my working holiday. We met up at 2 in the afternoon, decked out in matching little black dresses and with the bride-t0-be in white. I couldn’t have asked for better company for the night!

2. Check into a swanky hotel. You’ll need somewhere to get ready for your night out and to recover once it’s all said and done. I preferred staying near Siam Square, but many of the other girls stayed in Sukhumvit. I loved the hip new Siam@Siam Design Hotel for its delicious breakfast, infinity pool overlooking the city and location steps away from the city’s best shopping. It also has its own restaurants and a rooftop bar overlooking the National Stadium. Be sure to take advantage of the spa and gym after your big night out.

3. Find drinks with a view. There are dozens of rooftop bars all over the city, including the famous Moon Bar at the Banyan Tree and Skybar at the Lebua (featured in The Hangover 2), but we spent the day at Arun Residence’s The Deck, which overlooks Wat Arun, known better as Temple of the Dawn. It was a stunning view for sunset and the meal was delicious Thai fare.

4. See the city’s other “ladies.” You can’t have a girls night out without paying tribute to Thailand’s original girls, the famous ladyboys. Catch a show at the Calypso Cabaret, where you’re sure to find yourself saying, “Are you sure that’s not a woman?” I even got a bit jealous of the shape these ladyboys were in. Sing along to their lip-synced versions of “All That Jazz” and “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend.”

5. Drink till you’re broke in Sukhumvit. We ended the night wandering down Soi 10, home to the best invention ever: street bars. Take converted VW buses, add cheap drinks (80 baht tequila shots…), disco lights, and you have yourself a fabulous time. I loved that there seemed to be no sort of restrictions or permits involved, just some basic fold up tables and chairs and plenty of bottles of liquor.

If my 4 am arrival back at Siam@Siam is any indication, Bangkok is the ideal Asian city for the ultimate girls’ night out, hen night, or just an average weekend, of course assuming you’re not under military curfew.

I was a guest at Siam@Siam Design Hotel through a partnership with AsiaRooms, but all opinions are my own.