Neighborhood Focus: Sukhumvit Soi 71 (Phra Kanong) [Season 3, Episode 80]

Big News: This show will be the final episode of Season 3!
We figure 80 episodes is the right number given the length of
previous seasons, so the Bangkok Podcast will be taking a week
off next week before commencing Season 4, which will include a
few interesting changes to the show. (Spoiler Alert: Ed is coming
back, woo hoo!) 


And a quick note - if you want to read the
esoteric-yet-fascinating Harvard study on Bangkok's khlongs that
we talk about in the show, you can get it
here.


So in the last show of the season, the boys venture out to
explore the 'Phra Khanong' area, which includes Sukhumvit Soi 71
(aka Soi Pridi Banomyong) and the area immediately around the
Phra Khanong BTS station. Why Phra Khanong? Well, it turns out
the area is in the news this week, as it was named the
12th coolest neighborhood in the world by Time Out
Magazine! Greg and Ed were so surprised by the
designation that they ran out, met up with a buddy who lives in
the area, and checked it out. This episode is their
report.


Beginning at 'W District', they sample the excellent
outdoor food court and beer garden in the back, as well as a
number of cool restaurants and cafes dotted throughout the
complex. The soi immediately behind W District, Pridi Soi 3, is
an eclectic mix of bars, small restaurants, barbershops, clothes
shops, karaoke parlors and massage places, with its own
personality. 


As for the side sois off of Soi 71, despite walking up and
down and in an out, your hosts struggled to find interesting
places to hang out, but perhaps it was the evening hour. That
being said, the entire area was bustling with activity and all of
the small Thai restaurants and shops were fairly busy. The guys
did manage to find a cool little cocktail bar called Clouds
Across the Moon on Pridi Soi 14, cheaper than the 'mixology'
joints on Thong Lor and Ekkamai but just as delicious. Pridi Soi
2 also proved interesting with many street restaurants, an Irish
hole-in-the-wall pub, and a fun looking Mexican restaurant with
great drink specials. 


Although both Greg and Ed liked what they saw and consider
the area (especially W District) worth a visit, they were a bit
amiss as to why (or how) this area got ranked so high on
TimeOut's list. But who knows, maybe the guys just aren't cool
enough to know cool when they see it. :)


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