We don't often get down Khao San Road simply because it is a backpacker's domain where you will meet the great unwashed from virtually every country on the planet. And who said the hippy movement was dead? The street is totally awash with the badges of hippiedom - pleated hair, tattoos, skimpy shorts, revealing, cutaway T-shirts and unspoiled virgin skin…and that's just the guys! It really is like a throwback to the sixties and there's more than a suggestion that you can score Mary Jane and other wacky backies here should you fancy that third stone from the sun! Ooops! Slipping back into the Hendrixesque vernacular…must be all that hair and tie-die T-shirts!

Apparently there's a lot of chat on the internet among the backpackers heading for Bangkok as to where the best place to buy a Guinness on Khao San Road is. Up until quite recently it meant an ‘off-road' visit down to places like Sukhumvit or Silom. But no longer since the spacious Shamrock Bar, an Irish theme bar on the second floor of Khao San Center opened. Here a pint of Guinness is 180 Baht and the place is, to say the least, a popular hang for travellers and quite a few locals alike.

We fronted up to the second-floor bar kind of reluctantly reaaly because we are shy of farangs in such numbers having been entrenched among the locals for longer than we care to recall. And it is a bar dominated by T-shirts and sweaty shorts, hair and thongs. The cream of the Eurotrash are here and they are in a party mood because, they tell us, this is a bar with a reputation for enjoying yourself, the music and a good drink – without breaking the modest bank tucked away in the backpack or on the money-belt.

And if you enjoy watching the staff tag fighting for fun and filling in the time between orders in boisterous bar-room antics, then this is your bar too. I was a bit surprised at the inter-staff fun and games, but later discovered there was no manager on the premises that night, so that may explain the overly-relaxed atmosphere this night.

But they were otherwise attentive and kept the beer and the food flowing as the acoustic set onstage came to a close. There is a good pool table at the far end of this large bar, which probably seats 400 punters, but the main draw is the stage and the live music from seven until 1 am.

Booze was our first priority and there is everything to choose from on the highly-focused drinks menu. Heineken, Tiger, Chang, Leo, Singha by the bottle, on tap or in the jug. There are all the usual suspects from the spirit world with Johnny Walker Black and Chivas Regal at 1200 baht a bottle and JW Red at 900 baht. Get a bottle of Tequila for 900 baht and an evening with Jack will set you back 1200 too.

Suitably serviced on the beverage side, we did the menu and I am not about to priase the place for its awesome food and wonderful choice of dishes. But it does claim to do almost everything. I had corn soup, a steak and eggs and fries, and My Girl had the Peneng Chicken, Tom Yum Talay, Yam Boon Sen Salad and rice and we had no complaints.

The DJ Esso had kicked in by this time and later we understood how well he prepped the audience for what was coming, as he played a fine mix of chart rock and pop and hip hop favorities ahead of the band taking the stage at 9:30 pm.

It seems tourists arriving in the Land of Smiles are easily impressed by live bands these days which appear to be a rarity back home. So when travellers catch a slick, tight Thai band in action, the audiences are quickly impressed and are quick to show their appreciation.

And there are quite a few really good pop/rock bands in town and we were lucky to catch one live on stage at the Shamrock.

DJ Esso says the place is a big hit with visitors: "With the live bands playing every night it's probably the coolest place on Khao San right now. The bands play hits by the likes of Nirvana, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Metallica, Korn, Linkin Park and the like. There's no real dance floor, but when hitting closing time everybody is dancing and the whole place is rocking."

Child's Play took the stage and sure enough within a few songs the whole place was grooving along to their hip hop, rap and rock favorites. This is a very accomplished young band of musicians who love what they do and rock the room in the process.

They cover the charts but from their own rocky perspective and the audience loved the eight-piece unit with three singers upfront.

Their set went down well and by 10:30 pm the young audience from around the world was buzzing and gasping for more.

Big Brother got up on stage and that's just what the punters got. More rock and more roll and by the time we left at 12, the joint was jumping!

Shamrock Bar
2 nd Floor
Khao San Centre
Music from 7 pm until 1 am