The year is ending soon and it’s time for celebrations!

Generally, we go to eat at all sorts of restaurants that are always evolving and changing. There are now some very brand new “ways of dining” that includes eating in pitch black or being raised fully off the ground for a chef’s table experience. Although thinking about the latter one where would you go if you really HAD to go!

But let’s start small. One novelty that is ever-so-popular during the cooler seasons in Bangkok is the ultimate rooftop bars. We, in Thailand, have decided that this is the month where we’re just about ready to delude ourselves enough into thinking the weather is cool and this merits a whole lot of alfresco dining. Although, I must say that I do enjoy a bit of alfresco dining especially when I’m high above the all the pollution below.

I’m not going to pretend that I have any knowledge or will try to critique food or things of that sort, rather, I’m going to stick to what I know!

First things first,  the multitude of steps. Some of you might be wondering why are there usually steps to the rooftop bar: why can’t the lift just get to it? Well…

This is a simple architectural constraint; elevators all have a machine room on top for the mechanism to work. Because of this, the lift stops on the last floor and the machine room is housed on the roof. Of course, this isn’t always the case! A lift could also go up to the roof, although there would still need to be a machine room making it a bit of a thick tall box sticking out there.  Some simple fixes are hiding it with plants or partitions, but  it is an intrusion in a space you want clear and unobstructed.

Then the restaurant and bar itself: the tables are usually arranged off the side because let’s face it, it’s all about the bar! Looking out onto the town, it’s undeniable, the views  from above usually beat seeing anything at eye level. The tables usually will be for serving dinner up until a certain time, at which point the entire place will focus its energy on drinks and the bar turns into a feature in its own right.

With the advantage of being high up the air is cooler and slight breeze create a very nice cool atmosphere. By the riverfront, it is slightly cooler, whilst downtown there is usually a need for fans. The safest way of having fans is usually the wall/ceiling mounted type because there are no wires running on the floors, ready for someone with a few too many to trip over and sue the owners. But since you have no walls and no ceiling tower fans tightly fixed to roof top edges is the solution.

Special lighting  effects in these places are  absolutely essential. Not necessarily discotheque style but at least there must be different light settings that are suitable for the 6pm to 11pm to 2am crowds.

Competition is fierce and all restaurants are adding novelties to keep the customers interested; a restaurant I was at recently had a very nice feature; a bathroom with a view! And not any view a breathtaking view of the city.

With a big city like Bangkok, we get the freedom of choice: riverside or downtown. Personally, I prefer downtown solely because it’s easier to move around and about.

So here it is, few answers to why things are the way things are….so tune back in next week for my next article or our Facebook Page to see what we’re up to!