nightlife

สถานบันเทิงยามค่ำคืน

From sophisticated gourmet restaurants to the famous full moon parties,  Koh Samui has some of the best nightlife in Thailand. Discos, clubs, music venues, bar beers, classical Thai dancing, mud wrestling (yes) and even weekly Thai Lady boxing… Plus, a huge variety of excellent restaurants all over the island.

chaweng by night

 

RESTAURANTS

In Chaweng you’ll find a huge range of different restaurants and eateries and there really is something for everyone; if you walk down the main beach road you are sure to find something that you will enjoy. You can even eat right on the beach in Chaweng, which can be a relaxing and memorable experience during your stay on the island. With a wide range of international cuisine, including German, French, Italian, Swiss, British, Japanese and Brazilian, not to mention great tasting Thai food, Chaweng has is arguably the best place to ensure your taste buds are well and truly satisfied when you visit Koh Samui.

BARS , CLUBS, SHOWS

Chaweng is Koh Samui’s Party Central. All along the Beach Road you will see sois (streets) leading off into warrens of bars and pubs of varying appeal and popularity. The epicentre of all this hedonism and fun is undoubtedly Soi Green Mango in Central Chaweng, with Soi Reggae, by the lake, coming in a close second. Bars close at 2:0am by order of the police so the party curve zooms upward past midnight and peaks a little earlier than some would prefer. And yes, some bars stay open later – those whose owners have friends in high places

Similar to the many of the bar districts found in Bangkok, Pattaya or Phuket, you can find the same kind of decadent nightlife on Samui. There are not too many GoGo bars on Samui but the ones that are here can be found primarily around the Soi Green Mango area.

Soi Green Mango is the equivalent of Phuket’s Soi Bangla or Bangkok’s Patpong. It’s loud, it’s brash, and surprisingly it’s pretty compact, so much so that before you know it you’ve walked through it to the other side. Bar after bar features scantily clad (almost always in black) bar girls sing-a-songing ‘welcome, come inside’ as you drift by. But things are gradually changing here: The Russians are coming, and with them Galaxy, featuring Russian show girls doing erotic pole dancers.

There are several dance joints here, too (the massive Green Mango Club after which the soi was named and Mint are a couple), where you can get your moves in without bar girls lunging for you. Many of the beer bars are so similar that you’d be forgiven for mixing them up if you head back for a second night of fun here.

The Ladyboy Cabaret might not be everyone’s cup of tea but on Chaweng Beach you can enjoy a sparkling evening out with this fun form of entertainment. Thai society is generally more open to ladyboys than many other cultures, and its katoey, or the ‘third sex’, have played a prominent role in the nation’s entertainment industry for generations. Thailand’s katoey are world famous, partly because there are so many of them and also because they are so feminine. In fact it can be difficult to tell if the beautiful young lady paying you attention was a lady at birth… as many an unwitting tourist has discovered!

A typical show involves lip-synched interpretations of popular songs, complete with elaborate costumes and make-up. Some of the performances are skilfully choreographed and the tone is light-hearted, sprinkled with glitter and glitz.

Most of the cabarets in Chaweng are located near the Centara Grand beach Resort, which makes for interesting competition before the show. The ‘girls’ hand out flyers and sometimes drag you in to their bar forcibly. Keep an open mind and enjoy the show.

LADYBOYS

One of the most striking differences between Thai and Western culture revolves around sexual orientation. Probably the most prominent example of this is with Ladyboys who live freely and are very much accepted as part of Thai culture and society. In some cases Ladyboys are even celebrated and simply regarded as the ‘third sex’ in Thai culture.

It is quite a joke and often said amongst young male travellers to Thailand that the cute girl you end up chatting to in a bar one night, might not actually be a girl at all! And to a certain extent this could be true. Ladyboys are everywhere in Thai society and you will often see them working in all walks of life including shop assistants, travel agents and beauty therapists.

Koh Samui itself has quite a lot of Ladyboys, as do the other popular tourist destinations of Pattaya and Phuket, many of whom appear in cabaret shows in these tourist hotspots. Go to any popular nightclub or bar of an evening and there is a good chance that you will see a Ladyboy dressed up to the nines and dancing the night away.

It is fair to say that the whole culture of Ladyboys or Katoeys, as they are known in Thailand, will probably be viewed very differently in the West. Some Western countries are actually quite homophobic in their attitudes towards gays, transsexuals and Ladyboys. Very often these minority groups are not treated equally and can even be persecuted against.

As mentioned, the ‘third sex’ is almost celebrated in Thailand, where people are free to explore their own sexuality and be who they want to be, without any fear of backlash or persecution from other sections of society.

In many high schools and universities it is common place to see Ladyboys in a class mixing with the other pupils, who do not even bat an eyelid that someone of a different sexual orientation is sitting alongside them in the classroom. This accepting attitude is very different to what it would be like in Western culture.

One of Bangkok’s most famous women’s universities, the Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, actively welcomes and encourages Ladyboys to attend their classes. The university itself is thought to be the first in the world to sanction Ladyboys or transsexuals to attend what is regarded as a women’s only university.

lamai by night

Behind Chaweng, Lamai is Koh Samui’s second most popular beach resort and has a large following amongst foreign tourists, as well as expats who live on the island. Lamai is smaller than Chaweng, and generally quieter, although you would hardly notice in the peak of the high season.  The scene at Lamai has everything from the ubiquitous bar beers to discos, music venues, and even lady boxing. There’s lots of foot stomping at Fusion and a few genuine pubs as well as restaurant/bars for those who like munching as they booze. Despite Lamai’s size it has a huge selection of pubs, bars and nightclubs, some of which are considered to be amongst the best on the whole island.

Lamai also has a large number of girlie bars, which are located around the area close to the McDonalds fast food restaurant in the town. These bars all compete for male customers with a cacophony of ear splitting music, beautiful girls and the occasional pole dance.

All of this is pretty harmless, generally very friendly and can be an entertaining place, even for non-customers who might simply like to people watch or linger around the area to check out what is going on.

Rather than listing these bars, should you want to visit them, it is probably easier to just go on a bar crawl from one nameless bar to next.

This is because many of the bars in Lamai change name, ownership and even location, more often than some people change their socks. This is partly down to the fierce competition between bars in this area. Another reason is that the ‘farang dream’ of bar ownership on a beautiful tropical island, quickly turns into a nightmare.

Along Lamai Road is another area where you will find dozens of bars to choose from. This area can often become central to the night time action in Lamai as you can easily walk from one bar to the next having a beer or two and sampling the odd cocktail.

At times the nightlife in Lamai can be just as raucous and hedonistic as that found in Chaweng, as well as being just as fun!