Chilling at the Bay
Regrettably, the new smoking law leaves shisha lovers at a loss in Khao San Road as most Indian restaurants that used to provide shisha have now stopped doing so. You can still go to Gazebo and pay a little more, but we headed to our old friend—Baytara (Bar Talay). After going through a quick nip and tuck, Baytara now has a comfy outdoor lounge with sofas, plus a pool, which makes it far more inviting. The late-night band rocks so hard that the indoor area is simply packed with dancing boys and girls. Baytara has also added shisha (B350) to its menu, yet the choices are not very varied. Still, what else could be better than lying on a sofa by a pool with a hookah in one hand and a cold drink in another?

Bedllywood
All of a sudden, all around town, it’s Bollywood party here, Bollywood party there, basically Bollywood parties everywhere. So when we heard that Bed Supperclub was joining the crowd, we were pretty psyched. However, a shortage of people didn’t help boost the show. That of course can be credited to that fact that the party itself was only promoted through minimal outlets: Bed Supperclub’s bathroom posters, an email the day before and a text message blast received on Mar 26 that read something along the lines of “releasing/unleashing your inner Shiva and diva.” Too bad both of them—plus the rest of the supposed-to-have-turned-up crowd—stayed indoors. The music was good and it certainly got a few farangs in the crowd doing the little shake of the hips. No matter, we’ll try again next week. Rumor has it that Bed is going to turn Bollywood into a weekly Thursday night thing now!

Groove Away
Groove Bar opened with the hope of raising the bar of the Liberty building after the failed attempts of Bombay, Ashley and many other pubs. These high hopes made them throw huge sums of money on the bar and property. However, it’s not so groovy anymore. Not enough customers to cover their expenses and voila! Groove is gone. Jam Bar met with the same fate. Liberty building is now totally dead as a nightlife venue.

More to Come
Despite frequent visits by the cops on Sarasin Road, there are always new comers who want to open up bars and pubs. Welcome Bliss (former Pub 2high) and Fabulous (former Hip That) to the neighborhood. Too bad Bliss was asked to close at midnight on its first night. Keep your fingers crossed that these too will be really “fabulous” and give us real “bliss”. Speaking of new bars, The Tube at Coco Walk by the Ratchathewi BTS station promises indie tunes from past and present. Keep your eyes open for a BK On the Bar soon.