Floating Market of Amphawa and the Largest Club in Thailand

Sep 21, 2013 Posted by AJ on Sep 21, 2013 in Thailand, Travel stories, Travel tips | 0 comments

Floating Market of Amphawa and the Largest Club in Thailand

February 1. Day 48. Aimee, Alex, Wachi, and I decided to go to the Floating Markets of Amphawa. Seeing as though I had been in Thailand for almost 7 weeks and hadn’t yet gone, I was super stoked to go and check it out. Here you can find pretty much anything you can imagine. Tasty food, fun knick-knacks, souvenirs of all shapes, sizes, and price ranges, clothes, crafts, art, the list is never-ending… When I have more time, I’ll upload a video of our time there.

I can sit here and describe to you what I saw and experienced, but I’d rather let the pictures speak for me.

After wandering around for hours on end checking out all the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and experiences, we decided to take a firefly tour. It’s pretty much exactly what it sounds like. About 20 people get into a long-boat at dusk and head quite a ways up-river away from the hustle and bustle of the market.

As the sun set against a backdrop of the surrounding jungle, maze of canals, and bamboo huts, we began to see them. At first they were rather faint. The boat captain cut off the engine, and we coasted along the shoreline and gazed up into the darkness. As our eyes adjusted, we saw a magnificent light show of literally hundreds and sometime thousands of tiny little fireflies dancing among the trees. Several people tried to take photos of this nearly-unexplainable experience to share with others later, but simply couldn’t get the right light settings. After a while, the flashes and clicks of cameras all around settled into the darkness with us until the only remaining sound was the wildlife around us. The air was thick with humidity. The sounds of the jungle were deafening at times. But the light show was unforgettable.

As many of you know by now, I’m at-best an average writer, so I found a wonderful poem by Marilyn Kallet that I’d like to share:

In the dry summer field at nightfall,

fireflies rise like sparks.

Imagine the presence of ghosts

flickering, the ghosts of young friends,

your father nearest in the distance.

This time they carry no sorrow,

no remorse, their presence is so light.

Childhood comes to you,

memories of your street in lamplight,

holding those last moments before bed,

capturing lightning-bugs,

with a blossom of the hand

letting them go. Lightness returns,

an airy motion over the ground

you remember from Ring Around the Rosie.

If you stay, the fireflies become fireflies

again, not part of your stories,

as unaware of you as sleep, being

beautiful and quiet all around you.

– Marilyn Kallet

As they danced around the trees like electrical sparks on a grid, I thought of my family back home and of my adventures growing up. I used to catch them in the backyard and put them in a jar. My sister and I would set the jar on the table and just stare at them – almost in a trance-like state as if mesmerized beyond comprehension. I smiled.

On the drive back, we were all wearing smiles from our time together at the market. Since it was my last night in Thailand, they saved one more surprise for me. The time had come for me to experience the gem of the nightlife of Bangkok – RCA (Royal City Avenue).

rca02 Floating Market of Amphawa and the Largest Club in Thailand

They told me that it’s likely that at least one out of 10 Bangkokians under the age of 35 can foggily recall a wild night on the city’s most notorious strip of nightclubs. Specifically, 5 nightclubs: Cosmic Cafe, Old Leng, Overtone Music Cafe, 808 Nightlife, and Route 66. Imagine the most posh, upscale, strict dress-code, and expensive club you’ve ever been to; that’s basically RCA in a nutshell – except there’s 5 of them. Oh and they’re all right next to each other. Oh, and did I mention each one holds roughly 5,000 people or more?

rca Floating Market of Amphawa and the Largest Club in Thailand

‘Phom yak pi RCA” or “I want to go to RCA” is a phrase that all too often initiates a night filled with drunken debauchery, hook ups, broken hearts, broken bottles and an overwhelming sense that the night is full of possibilities and one is forever young. Royal City Avenue (RCA), nestled between Rama 9 and Soonvijai, is the nightlife epicenter for Bangkok’s 20 and 30-somethings. Since Route 66 seemed to be the most popular and at the heart of the digital electronic ground zero heart thumping musical epicenter, that’s where we went.

IMG 3044 opt 300x225 Floating Market of Amphawa and the Largest Club in Thailand

The music was loud enough to shatter glass, the bass deep enough to alter your heartbeat, and the locals were dressed to impress (both guys and girls). Entrance was 300 THB (about $10 USD) for foreigners and instantly redeemable for 300 THB worth of drinks at any bar in the club (if beer is your thing, then you can get about 2 beers for that amount).

IMG 3054 opt 300x225 Floating Market of Amphawa and the Largest Club in Thailand

From Sunday to Thursday there are two rooms for guests to choose from. On the right hand side is the HipHop Zone, playing the best of hip hop, dance pop and R’n’B, while on the left hand side a roster of accomplished bands take to the stage to play a range of Western and Thai hits – everything from 70s American soul music, to the latest Thai chart hit. On Friday and Saturday, Route 66 Nightclub opens additional rooms which play pumping house, trance and electronic music, and a room for Thai pop. Drinks prices are reasonable, with beers and spirits starting from 160 baht.

IMG 3063 opt 300x225 Floating Market of Amphawa and the Largest Club in Thailand

Route 66 in Bangkok is especially popular with university students and the young and beautiful of the city – people dress up and make an effort here. Most of the crowd are Thai but foreigners are a common sight; however, this style of clubbing is definitely ‘Thai’, meaning the standard procedure is to arrive with a few friends, buy a top shelf bottle, choose the most visible table and sit, perch or stand for the night. If you are looking to make friends, offer a drink to neighboring tables and conversation will surely flow. If you don’t buy a group bottle then expect to be herded into a corner with little room to dance. The lack of a dance floor is something that often bemuses tourists, but most of the clubs on RCA have a similar layout.

IMG 3066 opt 300x225 Floating Market of Amphawa and the Largest Club in Thailand

Because this club is so famous, you can turn up on any night of the week and have a decent party, but after talking to some of the locals, I suggest Wednesday and Thursdays as it gets enough people to create an atmosphere without having to endure someone’s elbow in your ribs. On Saturday nights there is sometimes little space to breathe, and if you can find a table after 22:00 you should buy a lottery ticket.

Route 66 in Bangkok is the club that started the nightlife scene on RCA and has been has been a rite of passage for teenagers and university students from across the city for almost 20 years. Thanks to repeated facelifts, it’s still one of the best Bangkok clubs for socializing and seeing how the youth of Bangkok like to party. Be well and namaste.

What is YOUR favorite club in Thailand? I partied in Koh Phangnan for the Full Moon Party in between Christmas and New Years 2013, but nothing compared in my mind to the clubs at RCA in Bangkok.