Tag: Quirky

Iron Fairies Bar Thonglor Bangkok

Posted on by

The Iron Fairies bar is a quirky and sophisticated bar and restaurant located in Thonglor, Bangkok. It’s distinctive wall of illuminated, potion-like bottles makes it stand out prominently on the main Thonglor road. Searching along the font for the entrance, you’ll find a mysterious, rustic wooden door which upon opening, leads you through to a rather ominous, dark curtained entrance and further into a very dimly lit, industrial blacksmith-meets-Victorian apothecary bar.

iron fairies

With quirky, ancient industrial-looking machinery dotted throughout the bar; cute touches such as tiny potion bottles of fairy dust cluttered around the surfaces; dilapidated, vintage wallpapered surroundings; and iron, gothic, spiral staircases leading to various floors upstairs, the Iron Fairies Bangkok bar boasts a very unique and enchanting, old English-dark gothic fusion atmosphere.

The trendy surroundings are complimented with vintage 20s flapper music and jazz; later on in the night, the Iron Fairies Bar features live bands performing swing music at the top of one of the spiral staircases. On the occasion I last visited, the Frank Sinatra voiced swing singer entertained from the spiral staircase while the band played on their very own balcony.

iron fairies 1

Iron Fairies Bangkok Menu

The menu at Iron Fairies Thonglor is impressive, with particularly amazing burgers averaging around 300 baht. The menu includes salads such as avocado and tuna for 240 baht, side dishes such as potato wedges and crab cakes for around 160 to 200 baht, steaks from around 695 baht and seafood such as salmon steak from 350 baht per dish. Everything on the menu at Iron Fairies is pretty much guaranteed not to disappoint and for the price, the food is very good quality.

Chunky burgers with brie, bacon, onions and mushrooms come served on a large chopping board pierced with a steak knife through the middle. Drink prices on the Iron fairies menu start from 100 baht for a fruit juice (sugar-free, pure juice – a rarity in Thailand), 300 baht for a cocktail and 350 baht for a glass of wine.

iron fairies bangkok

The Iron Fairies bar may be viewed as a tad pretentious and a little too trendy or superficial by some; It gets extremely busy on weekends and the clientele tend to be mainly rich, young Thais and expats. Sometimes, along with the sometimes fast jazz music and masses of people, the Iron Fairies Bangkok bar can be slightly stressful and not so relaxing. However, overall, The Iron Fairies Bar is ideal for a sophisticated night out with a quirky twist in Bangkok – just be prepared for it to get real claustrophobic on the weekend!

How to get to Iron Fairies Thonglor

Bangkok Iron Fairies is located on Thonglor 55, on the main road opposite Thonglor soi 13. You can take the sky train to BTS Thonglor, then catch a taxi to soi 13 for around 50 baht. You could walk it but it would maybe take 15 minutes and you’d end up pretty sweaty by the end of it.

Moose Bar & Restaurant Bangkok

Posted on by

The Moose Bar is a very modern and quirky, cool bar located on Ekkamai Soi 21 near the equally eccentric Tuba Bar. It has a real cool clientele yet still maintains a casual and mellow, chilled out atmosphere. The inside of the Moose Bar itself is spacious, dark (verging on vintage gothic perhaps) and simple with dim lighting.

moose bar bangkok

Not a place to be seen, but a place to be cool

There are subtle, quirky decorations throughout and a steady theme of hunting-trophy style moose heads mounted on the walls (actually, after long cocktail fuelled debates and googling – deer heads, not moose heads. Without sounding too pedantic).

moose bar bangkok

The list of cocktails at the Moose Bar is impressive with cheaper drinks starting at about 140 baht and specialty cocktails costing up to 250 baht per glass. Make sure to head to the Moose Bar Bangkok at happy hour for buy one get one free drinks between 5pm and 8pm. Also be sure to try the Gimlet, a particularly good cocktail with subtle herby flavours.

moose bar bangkok

The background music played at the Moose Bar is usually more of the typical accoustic Thai pop-style music, which makes it real pleasant and laid back to hang out. Some nights, the Bangkok Moose Bar hosts live music sessions too.

moose bar bangkok

How to get to the Moose Bar Bangkok

You can take a taxi from Ekkamai BTS to Ekkamai Soi 21 for about 40 – 50 baht depending on traffic. Walk in the Soi just a few metres and you will notice the Moose bar just ahead on the left hand side.

Tuba Bar Bangkok

Posted on by
bangkok tuba bar

The Tuba Bar in Bangkok, Ekkamai, serves both Italian and Thai food with a nice selection of Belgium beers and cocktails. The most distinguishing feature of the Bangkok Tuba Bar though, is the quirky décor and attention to detail throughout the whole bar & restaurant.

Nerds like myself will appreciate the life-size comic hero models scattered around the place, cabinets full of retro, childhood figurines and a ceiling forming a sky of dangling model planes. The nostalgic and artistic memorabilia at the Bangkok Tuba Bar makes it really charming.

Bangkok nightlife

There is also a small and cozy, fairy light lit garden at the front of the bar ideal for a chilled out drink on a cool evening in Bangkok. The bar offers use of the pool table and a comfy living room-style area to watch TV also. Make sure to make the most of Tuba Bar’s Happy Hour between 5pm and 8pm when you can buy one, get one free on all cocktails.

bangkok bar

As an idea, cocktails cost around 230 baht each; salads, pasta and pizza cost from around 200 to 400 baht; and Thai dishes cost an average of about 150 baht. The menu at Bangkok Tuba Bar is huge – there is loads of choice in food with plenty of vegetarian options and lots of seafood dishes also.

The Tuba Bar has a super chilled out vibe to it, making it a great, casual hangout.

bangkok tuba bar

How to get to the Tuba Bar Bangkok

Take the BTS to Ekkamai station and take exit 1 out of the station. When you head down the stairs, keep walking straight ahead until you reach Banrie Coffee, located on the corner of Ekkamai Road. Turn up Ekkamai Road and head to Ekkamai Soi 21 – it’s walkable but still quite far, a taxi will cost about 40 baht in low traffic. Turn into the Soi and the Tuba Bar is just on the left hand side after a few metres walk.

 

Banrie Coffee & Beer Garden Bangkok

Posted on by

Banrie Coffee makes for both a quaint, pretty daytime cafe and a laid back, cozy night time beer garden in Bangkok. The look of Banrie Coffee is almost ruin-like, reminiscent of the remnants of a historical Thai landmark. The gardens are enclosed by an old, ancient wall with battered holes serving as windows looking out onto the Bangkok city streets. Inside the gardens, many huge trees scatter the grounds linked by colourful flags hanging cheerfully between them during the day. Banrie is open in Bangkok 24 hours a day every day with fairy lights illuminating the gardens at night.

banriecafe

Banrie Coffee serves a selection of Thai food, coffee, cake, milkshakes, cocktails, wine and beers complete with live, mellow Thai music during the evenings. Bottles of wine don’t come too cheap and vary between 1000 and 2000 baht. You can buy cocktail jugs for 300 baht and beer towers for 500 baht for 2.7 liters. The chilled out atmosphere with mild, live Thai bands and the pleasant, warmly lit natural  surroundings of Banrie Coffee Bangkok make it a must visit local Thai hangout.

banrie

How to get to Banrie Coffee Bangkok

Simply take the Sukhumvit line BTS to Ekkamai. Banrie Coffee is right next to the BTS station, at night time you can just follow the sound of music. Banrie Coffee is difficult to miss.

Mr Jones’ Teddy Bear Orphanage Bangkok

Posted on by

Mr Jones’ Teddy Bear Orphanage is a quirky and cute Bangkok patisserie with unique character – there are two branches in Bangkok, one cafe located in Seen Space, Thonglor (on soi 13), and the other cafe in Siam Centre (at BTS Siam). The attention to detail and presentation is amazing – Teddy bears line the walls, swing above from the ceiling and even squeeze in amongst the cafe seating and tables. Mr Jones’ cafe interior is light and airy with classic, pine decor and an elaborately enchanting display of amazing cakes for customers to choose from in the foyer.

Bangkok cafe

Mr Jones’ Teddy Bear Orphanage offers take-away or eat-in and have also recently added a brunch menu to accompany their drinks and desserts; brunch menu prices start from 150 baht and they offer tuna sandwiches, classic eggs and bacon and eggs bennedict. Patisserie cakes cost from around 80 baht to 150 baht and they have pretty much any kind of dessert and flavour you can dream of, from giant marshmallows and apple pies to oreo pizzas and custard cow poos. For all the other brits out there, they even have english scones and jam! Something I’ve craved in Bangkok for months (*drool).

Mr jones teddy bear orphange

 

Smoothies, coffees and milkshakes can cost up to 150 baht. It’s not that cheap for Bangkok but hey, you’re also paying for the scenery and charm that comes with it. When the waitresses serve your food and drinks, you almost don’t want to ruin the effort put into making it by eating it – food and drinks come served with a tiny, toy soldier accompanied by a delicate pot of yogurt, strawberries and flowers positioned on the side of the plate.

'Mr Jones' Teddy Bear Orphanage

Chao Mae Tuptim ‘Penis Shrine’, Bangkok

Posted on by

Nestled away in a random and hidden spot of central Bangkok, you can find the very surreal Phallic shrine; a small site filled with numerous, large carvings and phallic statues. It is located within the grounds of the very posh, and maybe unfortunate, Swissotel Nai Lert hotel. Crossing over the small bridge leading into the typical Bangkok cityscape scene of the Swissotel grounds and it’s concrete car park, you will see a very small and overgrown-looking garden tucked away amongst some trees. If you were not actively looking for the penis shrine you may well easily miss it as it so hidden away, almost as if it has been conveniently shoved into the corner and out of people’s view.

A visit to the penis shrine in Bangkok can be a somewhat odd experience. Sometimes there may not be another visitor in sight, the only other signs of life around being a couple of stow away workers slacking off around the outskirts of the garden and a family of cats who have made their home underneath one of the many piles of phallic sculptures. 

The Bangkok penis shrine is around 100 years years old and Chao Mae Tuptim is the name of the spirit or goddess believed to reside there. There seem to mixed feelings from the locals of Bangkok about the shrine, some apparently finding it to be embarrassing and perhaps vulgar (I have heard that if you mention it to a member of staff in the Swissotel, most of them will deny all knowledge of it’s existence). There are others throughout the region however, who regard the penis shrine as a place of good fortune, endowing fertility to visitors who worship Chao Mae Tuptim at the phallic shrine.

Visiting Chao Mae Tuptim

The phallic shrine is very small in size, it is literally like stepping into somebody’s back garden. It is not really something that would make a trip worthwhile on it’s own (particularly if you do not have a specific interest in phallic sculptures), but there are absolutely masses of shopping centres, malls and cafes around to explore nearby, and so the penis shrine can make an interesting stop off whilst wandering through the area of Chit Lom. Other places to visit in the area include Central Chit Lom (a department store with an impressive and high quality food court below), Central World, Amarin Plaza, Pratunam, Erawan shrine and the Baiyoke Tower. Every other person who’s been to Thailand has a picture of themselves in the Grand Palace and Wat Arun – the shrine can make for a more unconventional detour to the usual tourist sights.

And besides, who wouldn’t want a photo of themselves posing next to a giant pile of men’s oversized gooblies?

Directions to the Bangkok penis shrine

Take the BTS to Chit Lom and follow the exit signposted for Central Chit Lom. You should be walking in the direction towards Ploenchit, rather than back towards Central World. You can exit through the air conditioned Central Chit Lom and head back onto the main road with the BTS on. From here, carry on walking left along the main street until you come across a road turning left with a small canal running along the right-hand side of it.

Continue to the end of the street until you see a small bridge across the canal and a security guard booth just on the other side. Walk on through the car park and follow the road to the left. Straight ahead of you from here you will notice some trees and a small garden which is the penis shrine.

Cheap Charlies Bangkok

Posted on by
cheap charlies nana pub

Cheap Charlies is a very casual and laid back, outdoor open bar just off the main Soi 11 in Nana, Bangkok. It’s a small and cozy bar with plenty of character, hidden from the hustle and bustle of the main street. After searching for an opening amongst the maze-like, driftwood structure of the bar itself and it’s assortment of knicknacks; ordering a drink from the engulfed Cheap Charlies owner can be quite a challenge in itself. This, mixed with the cozy old fairy lights, miniature train chugging along it’s track at the top of the wall of worldly souvenirs at the bar, definitely make Cheap Charlies a more interesting experience than your average pub in Bangkok.

cheap charlies bangkok

The selection of music played in the background of Cheap Charlies Bangkok tends to be a laid back mixture of country, honky tonk, classic rock and rock and roll. Being able to sit amongst this casual environment and still be on the street people watching is very entertaining and the vibe among it’s loyal patrons can be quite friendly and welcoming.

Cheap Charlies gets busy later throughout the night though, and it can be difficult to squeeze in and fit in the crowd let alone even grab a chair to sit down. It’s great for the atmosphere if you are happy to stand though, and if not, dropping by Cheap Charlies earlier in the evening before 9pm is ideal for some quieter starting drinks before heading out to other Bangkok bars and clubs. The drinks are a reasonable price at Cheap Charlies costing from 60 – 70 baht for a bottle of beer, 70 baht for spirits and 20 for soft drinks.

How to get to Cheap Charlies Bangkok: You can find Cheap Charlies on Soi 11, which is just next to the BTS Nana station. From here, it is just a few hundred metres down the road on the left hand side, past ‘Zanzibar’. You will see the tiny bar down an alley just past this.