For anyone after a more exclusive kind of leisure, Bangkok's collection of private clubs offers an alternative to the usual embassy groups, expat organizations, and chambers of commerce.
Leading the pack are these four private clubs. They keep a close eye on who they let through the door, but if the fit is right, you might just find yourself among their members.
ChindAsia Club
Entrepreneur Hillman Lenz had been a cigar lover his whole adult life, smoking nothing but the famous Cubans. Then one day he stepped outside his comfort zone and lit up a Nicaraguan Perdomo.
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"It was far better constructed, the tobacco was better, the draw lasted longer, it was a completely different experience," he says.
He was so impressed with the then little-known brand, in fact, that he secured the rights to sell it across Asia, the Middle East, and Australia, then opened a club that let him indulge his passion.
Walk into ChindAsia and you'll be reminded of an American hunting lodge. Dim lighting, brown leather furniture (handmade in Thailand), and the distinctive, musty scent of lingering cigar smoke.
"There are no phones here," Lenz says. "If your phone rings, the rule says you have to buy a round for everyone. If the place is packed, that can get pretty expensive, but since 50% of the takings go to charity, nobody complains."
The club is built so members can relax with a fine cigar, savor a single malt, and strike up good conversation with the other members. A fully stocked bar downstairs sits next to a room that holds each member's smoking jacket, a must-have if you take the hobby seriously.
The basement is one large humidor housing personal stashes of expensive spirits and rare cigars, while the upper floors hold a lounge and rooms for private gatherings.
"Thailand ranks second in Asia for the pace of its growing cigar culture, behind India, and Perdomo is seeing a matching rise in club membership," Lenz says. "Members receive several boxes of cigars, discounted drinks, and full access to the club. In the near future we plan to open 10 more clubs like this one."
"We regularly host private wine and bourbon tastings and other events, but above all, it's simply a great place to sit back and unwind with a good drink and a good cigar."
The British Club
One of Bangkok's earliest clubs, the British Club was founded in 1903 to organize social life in the style enjoyed by its members' peers across Britain's colonies throughout Asia.
The club still stands on its original plot of land, though the current building dates back to 1915. At first, members had to come from Commonwealth countries: Britain, Canada, New Zealand, or Australia. Women were not admitted until the 1980s.
Today the club welcomes members of all nationalities, though a quota system is in place.
The club offers all the best of British life: pub food, good beer, billiards, darts, and football on the telly indoors, while outside you can play tennis, squash, football, field hockey, or take a dip in the pool and work out at the fitness center.
Several comfortable lounge areas, function rooms, a business center, and plenty of space inside and out for socializing and relaxing make it one of the most popular venues in the city for all sorts of events, from mahjong matches to Canada Day celebrations. There are also dozens of reciprocal clubs around the world.
Membership fees vary quite a bit depending on your age, marital status, whether you have children, and whether you want voting rights.
Pacific City Club
When a group of businessmen couldn't find the right spot in Bangkok to recreate the private club experience they'd known in Hong Kong, they decided to build their own.
Founded in 1996, Pacific City Club occupies 2,700 square meters on the upper floors of a downtown high-rise. There's a well-stocked library and bar, bespoke artwork on softly lit walls, dark brown leather sofas, and aged pale hardwood that creaks gently underfoot (at least when you're not walking on the thick carpets).
There are two restaurants, one Chinese and one French, and members can store their personal wine and spirits collections on the premises.
The club has a fully equipped gym and a well-appointed spa. The club's private elevator, according to general manager Alexander Scheible, is meant for "VIP guests who prefer anonymity, such as high-ranking government officials or celebrities."
There are also several fully equipped conference rooms that can be reconfigured for large and small groups, plus plenty of nooks where you can gather over a bottle of wine and talk one on one.
"We take service seriously and keep a high staff-to-member ratio. For example, when someone calls and says, 'I need a meeting room for 50 people in 20 minutes,' we know which water and snacks they prefer and how to prepare the room to their specifications," Scheible says.
The Royal Bangkok Sports Club
The granddaddy of all Bangkok's private clubs, the Royal Bangkok Sports Club, grew out of the Bangkok Gymkhana club in 1901.
With its vast horse track, golf course, and other sports grounds in the heart of the capital, it's the most exclusive of all Bangkok's private clubs. Some of Thailand's wealthiest and most influential people still haven't been admitted, thanks to a long waiting list: securing a spot can take up to 10 years.
But once you're in, your children get in, then their children, and so on.
Details are hard to come by. Attempts to reach the club for specifics went unanswered, and there isn't much on the club's website, but we managed to track down a member who filled us in on all the details.
To become a full member, you have to pay 2 million baht, but you can also become an "associate member" if you're married, which costs just a few hundred thousand baht.
Only full members get voting rights, however, and in a reminder of the less charming aspects of years past, women cannot vote.
After that, there's a relatively modest monthly service fee of a few thousand baht. There's also a range of reciprocal clubs around the world.
Our anonymous member noted that "the facilities are excellent: gym, tennis, swimming, squash, bowling, golf, boxing, rugby, football, and much more, and the food is tasty and remarkably cheap."
The club has a reputation as a gathering spot for the "hi-so," but our insider says that while that's certainly true of some members, "there are also plenty of down-to-earth people who drive Toyotas and shop at MBK."
