If NYC is the city that never sleeps than Bangkok is the dealer whose amphetamine caused said insomnia. Some might say it’s not for the weak at heart, but I think just the opposite. The strong come knowing what evil wonders it has in store and prepare themselves, while the faint get slapped…but a good slap, like the one Sophia Loren might deliver. What many might not uncover is that it works very, very hard at keeping up everyone’s expectation, but a quick look above (or, below) the original ‘Sin City’ and you start to uncover it’s charm. Think about the first time you heard that Kid Rock is actually a gifted classical pianist. Or that Norman Mailer wasn’t a half-bad painter. Even stronger than this is the overwhelming sense of contrast. Large-named hotels are placed directly in the center of a slum. Prostitution runs sickeningly rampant, yet abortion is illegal. A large number of the male population pose as women and an even larger amount become monks, which, in itself hints at some overlap. It’s a colorful nightmare, a vivid kaleidoscope of all things dark.

And any town where American frat boys pay more attention to the lady boys serving them than the drunken Swedish girls next to them is a town worth the accolades.