Cheap Charlie's Bangkok

Cheap Charlie's is situated on the kerbside of Sukhumvit Soi 11. Charlie actually died several years ago but the name lives on.

Its got no doors, no windows and only recently installed a toilet (see below), so why exactly is this bar so popular - appearing in many "top 10" lists for Bangkok bars?

Simple - it has a great atmosphere and VERY cheap drinks in an area more renowned for more upmarket, and expensive bars.

The biggest attraction of Cheap Charlie's is the clientele. Although the odd tourist drops in for a beer, it's mainly inhabited by expats. Any time I am in the area, Charlie's is my first port of call to meet up with others and to find out what's going on. Being expats, they're well used to people passing through and it's very easy to make friends there. 

OK, so it's not really Charlie's any more but it is cheap - beer at prices not much more than you'd pay in a supermarket. It is a bar but in some ways is more like an open air beer stall. There are some stools or you could sit on an enormous penis-shaped log of wood if you like. Being outside, sometimes it's pretty bad for mozzies (wear shoes, socks and long trousers).

For me, the best thing about Cheap Charlie's is the clientele.  We even got invited to an Aussie woman's Christmas party last year.

If you're looking for a good crowd of people, who will actually be bothered to talk to you, this is THE place to go in the Sukhumvit area.

The downside? Well, being a kind of street stall it didn't used to have a toilet but they had an arrangement with a nearby Indian restaurant so you could use theirs. In the last couple of years, the innovation (???) of a toilet has meant that you don't need to wander off for a wee. And I do mean a wee. There's a urinal for the blokes and a wc for women. But, Bangkok plumbing being as it is, ladies ought to take notice of the sign which gives strict orders about the accepted use of the pot. It says "Ladies! Only pee. Do not s*** here!" 

Your Comments

Click here to add a comment

Name:


Web site:


Email:


Rating:






Title:


Comment:




Please enter the Captcha code:

There are no comments to display