Wong's Place

Last drink at Wong's, my local Thai bar, famous for its late opening hours (never before 11pm), huge collection of old music videos on VHS and the fact that you have to help yourselves to beers from a large fridge at the back. It's run by Sam, who set it up with one of his eleven siblings in the late 80s when the area was Bangkok's backpacker centre. The (in)famous Malaysia Hotel is just across the road where Tony & Maureen Wheeler wrote a lot of the first Lonely Planet book.

On arriving, there's a Falco (!) video playing which just about sums up Sam's collection: hit and miss. From an early 60s German TV special on rhythm & blues to Pink Floyd live in '94, you name it he's got it. We request a Top of the Pops compilation covering 1965-85 (Slade's Cum On Feel the Noize the undoubted highlight) while discussing the England v Slovenia match, which was rubbish, again, but at least they won. A few beers later we stumble out into the soi, my friends into taxis, while home for me is just 150m away. Where am I going to get convenience like that again?