The once sleepy soi is set for a tourist and property boom. By Sonia Boonchanasukit

Until recently, Soi Rangnam was only known for its Isaan restaurants (and, for some, its curtain motels). In a couple of short years, the neighborhood has welcomed a gleaming glass and steel complex that encompasses a mall, high-end hotel and theater. Just off the soi, an old, touristy Thai restaurant has become a mecca for clubbers seeking an alternative to commercial RCA and pricey Sukhumvit. Condo developments are also popping up all over the place, building on the existing infrastructure (BTS, highway, buses and vans departing from Victory Monument) and facilities, like a park and library. Could sleepy Rangnam be turning into the next “it” neighborhood?

A New Khao San?

Today, Soi Rangnam’s most striking feature is the King Power Complex which encompasses the King Power Duty Free Mall and the Pullman Bangkok King Power, managed by hotel group Accor. Opened in 2006, Rangnam’s King Power was a curiosity some thought could never work. The mall is open to all, but only shoppers holding an outgoing plane ticket can actually shop in the duty free section. Purchases are then delivered to Suvarnabhumi, where they can be picked up in the duty free zone.

Two years later and King Power brings in an average of 1,000 buses every day and nets in a cool B35 million in daily sales. Sixty percent of the clientele are tourists, 80% of which are Asian, the rest are from the West. “The number of tourists flocking to shop at the duty free has encouraged a lot of changes in Soi Rangnam. Many restaurants and tour-related businesses have popped up in the area,” says Jinardith Charoensudjai, King Power Shop Operations Director. “When we first moved into the soi, there was only one 7-eleven outlet, today, there are 13. That’s got to say something.”

Surapol Utintu, as Managing Director of King Power Entertainment, oversees the mall’s brand new Aksra Theater. He thinks this is only the beginning: “Suvarnabhumi has one operating terminal. It was designed to have four. Thailand brings in 45 million tourists a year. With the airport operating at full scale, those numbers will double—if not more. And of course, more tourists means more duty free sales.”

Surapol even sees the street becoming a new tourist focal point in the city. “A few years down the line, it might just end up being the new Khao San thanks to guesthouses and service apartments springing up in the area, the already available BTS and, soon, the airport link.” He adds that, ideally, the area should be blocked off for people to walk about as they please. “With no cars around, like Khao San, we’ll definitely be attracting more tourists, but the likeliness of that happening right now is rather small,” says Surapol. “Areas like Siam within the city center have just become too crowded. People need a place that’s out of the center, yet very convenient to get to; and that’s here, in Rangnam.”

In fact, it’s already happened. Oldies like the Century Park Hotel and Siam City Hotel have been welcoming guests for years. They’re often overlooked in favor of swankier hotels on the river or Sukhumvit but both have good rates, service and rooms. They’re just lacking style. Then came the 180-room property Ibis Siam Bangkok (97 Rajaprarop Road, 02-209-3888. www.ibisthailand.com), opened in 2006, marking Accor’s low-end entry into the neighborhood. Greater things were to come.

In October 2007, the Pullman Bangkok King Power Hotel opened its doors as discreetly as possible. Hotels don’t usually keep their openings quiet, but this one was the very first of Accor’s new worldwide flagship Pullman brand—it just happened to be completed before its sisters across the globe. Designed by local architecture firm A49 (of CentralWorld fame), like the rest of King Power, the hotel boasts soaring ceilings, elegant mineral and steel materials, lots of glass, and an overall look that is neutral without being boring.

Pullman aims to be the apex of the Accord brands, crowning the Ibis, Novotel and Sofitel empire with a level of luxury comparable to the Hyatt or Four Seasons.

Then why didn’t they choose to do it on Sukhumvit or the river? “We are 20 minutes from the airport, two stations from Siam Square, less than a one-minute walk from the BTS station and 15 minutes by car to the riverside or shopping areas like Khao San and Chatuchak,” says Christophe Vielle, General Manager of Pullman Bangkok King Power. “On our trip advisor website, our guests have made comments. If you go through them, location has never been mentioned and it is not a deciding factor.”

What we wondered is, what’s a tourist to do in Soi Rangnam? Despite King Power’s claims, we found that prices of electronics at PowerBuy are the same as at King Power, except you don’t get a 7% VAT refund at King Power since it’s already “duty free.” In other words, tourists not stocking up on booze or cigarettes, should most likely head north (to Chatuchak) or south to Siam. The good news? Both are but a few BTS hops away.

Culture, surprisingly, may fare better. Suan Pakkad Palace, previously home of Prince Chumbhotpong Paripatra, is divided into five traditional pavilions and is a fine example of traditional domestic architecture. The old structure, located just off Soi Rangnam by Club Culture, houses an array of Thai antiques, such as Ban Chiang pottery.

King Power, too, have sworn to deliver some Art to its busloads of tourists. The Aksra Theatre (8/1 Rangnam Rd., 02-677-8888 ext 5606, 5604. www.aksratheatre.com), a 600-seater, is what King Power’s Surapol likes to call “the face of the Nation.” This B800 million project is home to the “Hoon Lakorn Lek” first choreographed and presented by Ajarn Sakhon Youngkeawsod to HM the King. Aksra boasts a state of the art light and sound system and finishing touches like gold leaf covered foyer walls and U.S.-made seats with Swedish leather. “You might wonder why we invested so much in a medium-sized theatre but really, we were looking to create a more wholesome experience for the viewers of the shows. This way, you’re not sitting miles away and there is much more interaction between the audience and the performers,” says Suripol. The Aksra has also played host to a number of big-name events like the Miss Thailand Universe competition and stage performances of the French Cultural Festival, La Fête.

What’s next? Hotel group Starwood has plans for a 5-star property to be completed by 2010 and judging by the property boom in the area, tourists will have lots of locals to rub shoulders with.

Property Boom

Big companies like Nokia are relocating their offices into the area, but office space is not the only hot commodity around Soi Rangnam. Over a dozen condominium projects around Victory Monument alone are already in the pipeline.

Located 700 meters away from the Victory Monument BTS, The Complete Rajprarob Condominium’s 547 fully furnished units, in both Towers A and B, are all sold out. The two structures are already up and the opening is scheduled for sometime in October this year. Nearly at its feet, the Rajvithi City Resort Condominium (Rajvithi Rd., 02-642-6245, BTS Phaya Thai), is scheduled to begin construction in October this year and due for completion at the end of 2009. “We sold 150 units in three hours,” says Alan Lin, Chief Executive of property developers Harrison. “The area around the condominium is certainly in high demand because of a lot of things: the park, the convenience of the BTS and of course just the fact that Rangnam and its vicinity is turning into a big residential and commercial hub.” All 164 units of this property, priced at B72,000 per square meter, are already sold out. Most of the buyers are Thai and are of middle or high-income. “Developers are constantly looking for opportunites in the area but it’s an old neighborhood, land is not readily available and there are also lots of rules and regulations imposed,” adds Lin. According to him, the condos in the Rangnam area are about 30% cheaper than those in Sukhumvit, Sathorn or Silom but a recent article in The Nation also noted the fact that resale prices for these city condos have risen by 10 or 20 percent this year compared to 2007.

On Sri Ayutthaya, The Victory (Sri Ayudhaya Soi 8, 02-642-5775) a “ghost building” leftover from the late 90’s crash, hopes to finally be completed over a decade after construction began, by the end of next year. It is currently selling at B70,000 per square meter and the 39-floor building will house 446 units.

If many people are coming to the neighborhood it is, in part, for the same reasons tourists are: relative proximity to the city center and good transportation (on top of the BTS and airport link, Victory Monument offers highway access, with buses and vans radiating into the suburbs). It’s nothing to write home about but Century Movie Plaza (corner of Soi Rangnam and Rajthevi) is also very convenient for locals, thanks to its movie theatre, shops, supermarket and restaurants—everything you need to survive. For a bit of education, the Soi Phranang Discovery Learning Library (Rachawithee Road, at the corner of Soi 4, 02-246-3517. Open Tue-Sat 8:30am-8pm, Sun 9am-5pm. www.bma.go.th/dll) is a modern breezy building that focuses mostly on education but sees a lot of adults come to work and read there, too. It doesn’t have that many books, unfortunately.

Ask anyone who lives in the area and Santhipab Park always come high on their list of reasons to live on or by Soi Rangnam. The prim 20 rai park, a green lung between Soi Rangnam and Rachawithee Road, plays hosts to concerts, daily musical fountain shows and your usual park favorites: aerobics, picnics and a cool playground for kids.

Pressure for land around the park is huge. Noble development has made an offer of B150 million to the owner of one plot of land right by the park. A kindergarten in Soi Rachawithee 3 is charted to be razed and replaced by a condominium and at least one more condominium, probably for rental this time, is already going up in Soi 1.

“Soi Rangnam has improved since the opening of King Power and the Pullman Hotel,” says Khun Rawiwan owner of B-Resto (see Flavors) who also runs Baan Rangnam, 18 serviced apartments at B17,000-27,000 per month (27/16 Rangnam Rd., 02-640-1700). “It has made Rangnam a much popular place and since then, it has also made the road cleaner and more orderly. The upcoming residential projects won’t affect my business directly, but it’s a good thing overall.” Soi Rangnam has a lot of unassuming pubs, none of which really stood out except for the Skytrain Jazz Club and the nearby Saxophone, a nightlife legend in Bangkok.

But with the arrival of Club Culture, then Glen and Wine Pub (both at the Pullman Hotel), it seems the sleepy soi is staying up later and later. Before we look at the new, let’s acknowledge the classic of classics. Saxophone (3/8 Phaya Thai Rd., 02-245-3592. Open daily 6pm-2am), an over two-decade old venue by Victory Monument, welcomes some of the best artists—even the posh hotel divas slip in here for an occasional late night jam. It alternates jazzy and blues nights—the food is not great but who cares when the music’s this good.

Despite the name, the SkyTrain Jazz Club (5/F, Jo Home Gallery Bldg., Soi Rangnam, 08-9895-4299, 08-1584-7896. Open daily 5:30pm-1am), can’t compete on the jazz front. But climbing the long, long flight of stairs to this jazzy pop venue is worth the sweat. Its open air rooftop setting offers a very nice view of the Skytrain (yes, the BTS is pretty from higher angles) and if you’re feeling romantic, you can declare your love on the pub’s giant billboard. One thing is clear, it’s original.

“I think because of our location, we have to try harder, we have to be more original, here,” says Marc Bichet, F&B Promotions and Communications manager at the Pullman, which houses both Glen Bar and Wine Pub (Pullman Bangkok King Power, 8-2 Rangnam Rd., 02-680-9999. Open daily 6pm-2am).

Glen Bar on the lobby floor of the Pullman is perfect for cocktails or a good whiskey. They have an extensive selection served by slightly clueless staff, so you better be an expert yourself. The décor is extremely handsome. Super high ceilings, black mineral walls, eerie boxes of green light—it’s a very strike-a-business-deal sort of a place, but it could work for a romantic drink, too.

The Wine Pub, on the second floor, might not be quite as sensational but is a lot more fun. It offers daily special promotions (like the buy-one-get-one-free on Champagne bottles on Sundays) and rotating DJs on the decks spinning chilled lounge and house with the occasional live guitar or vocal act thrown in.

“There are not enough night crawlers to fill all the nightspots in town. You have to always be the talk of town, always come up with new promotions, new artists. That’s what Club Culture, Saxophone and Wine Pub do,” says Bichet. “People are ready to cross town to go to Kao San or Ekamai but when they hear Soi Rangnam, it’s always ‘Oh, that’s so far.’ Once they come once, though, they come back because this place is actually so easy to get to.”

If just want to skip the small talk, head straight for a crazy night on the dance floor at Club Culture (Sri Ayutthaya Rd., 08-9497-8422. Open daily 9pm-late, BTS Phaya Thai) a little walk away from Rangnam. Now if Dudesweet digs this joint, then you know most of the young partygoers in Bangkok do too (see BK Asks, page 14). They’ve hosted an array of international and local DJs plus a variety of themed parties—the recent Madonna was another tick mark on their “hit” list. Club Culture has already established itself as one of the best clubs in town despite its location off Sukhumvit or RCA.

And just to top it off, if you’re lucky, you can hit up one of the handful of maan rood motels a.k.a. short-time motels, to finish the night in style. There are at least three in the neighborhood but the one with the nicest sign (we didn’t visit any of these), Motel 99, is in Soi Sri Ayutthaya 12. Enjoy.