Approaching Bangkok's Thong Lor district once signalled the beginning of the end of Thailand's main artery of style and action, Sukhumvit Road. And a trip to Ekkamai usually meant the beginning of a bus trip upcountry. But these two neighborhood streets, and the myriad sois, or lanes, that run off them, are now firmly in the grip of a severe outbreak of hip.

Thong Lor (Sukhumvit Soi 55) now boasts some of the most upscale boutiques, restaurants, bars and furniture emporia to be found in Bangkok. Thong Lor is now the place where Bangkok's trendy, chic, and hip flock to. This guide provides the complete list of hip haunts at Thong Lor.

H1, Thong Lor

At H1, a series of modernist glass boxes arranged around venerable shade trees contain fashion mogul Bhanu Inkawat and film director Nida Sudasna's opulent eatery To Die For, a weird but compelling store named Geo where you can purchase everything from designer gardening tools to chandeliers, and one of the best book shops on graphic art and design you're likely to find on Southeast Asia: Basheer Design Books.

J-Avenue, Thong Lor

J-Avenue is a Japanese-flavored oasis full chic cafes, bars, and even a pet boutique. This store attracts lots of Japanese tourists and curious Thais alike.

Playground, Thong Lor

Playground opened with much publicity. Billed itself as the first super chic concept store in Thailand, Playground oozes a lot of cool factor and is guarded by a towering day-glo pink T-Rex skeleton, grinning toothily over three levels of fashion, jewelry stores, books, art and furniture.

Kuppa at Playground, Thong Lor

Kuppa at Playground is a brand new cafe at Playground and one of the hippest haunt in Thong Lor. Complete with an open plan deisgn and minimalist decor, it has a lounge bar and a cooking school and attracts beautiful people such as Thai supermodel Sonia Couling and Methinee Kingpayom.

Witch Tavern, Thong Lor

This is the hottest nightclub in Thong Lor. Well-dressed young urban professionals and all the pretties and trendies dance their nights away at this ultra-chic watering hole and dance club.

Escudor, Gwatamou and Boose, Thong Lor

Well-heeled young Thais can also be found shaking their bon-bons along the strip such as Escudor, Gwatamou and Boose.

Shades of Retro, Thong Lor

Super cute Shades of Retro is a hipster hide away bar. With vintage wallpapers and even more vintage TVs and record players, 70's furniture, and a huge collection of old vinyl LPs, Shades of Retros serves up great expresso and little treats.