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For example: At Cabbages & Condoms, a Bangkok restaurant that promotes safe sex while raising funds for the nonprofit Population and Community Development Association, the free prophylactics that have long been handed out in place of after-dinner mints are now available in a choice of "IMF Size" or "World Bank Size" (no indication of which is bigger, or if either variety is full of holes). Another restaurant, founded last spring by laid-off employees of the Bangkok Bank of Commerce, serves such topical delicacies as "Poached Chuan" (a fish dish named after Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai), "Tom Yam Tarrin" (after Finance Minister Tarrin Nimmanhaeminda) and "IMF Soup" (an austere broth of chicken bones and bitter melon).

Consumer spending may be down, but the shopping malls are still packed on weekends, with gaggles of schoolgirls crowding excitedly around photo sticker machines, one of the latest youth culture crazes to be imported from Japan. And at an office building off Ploenchit Road, a circus-colored banner cheerfully hawks cheap commercial real estate with the slogan, "Downsizing is welcome!!"

(Downsizing has not been such a breeze for transvestite kickboxer Prinya Kiatbusaba, aka Nong Tum, whose request for a sex change operation was reportedly turned down in March when surgeons at a Bangkok hospital determined that the 18-year-old slugger, who is famous for wearing makeup and a sports bra into the ring, would require more counseling before making the final cut. If Prinya eventually does earn approval for the operation, he'll be in good hands: Thailand has lately gained notoriety as a destination for sex changes, cosmetic surgery and other elective procedures, as local hospitals have actively marketed their expertise abroad. The Tourism Authority of Thailand has even gotten into the act, promoting health tourism as a way of boosting foreign earnings.)

Despite the crisis, many new business ventures have forged ahead, betting on longer-term profits when the economy picks up. The Peninsula Group of Hong Kong made a big splash last spring with the grand opening of a gorgeous five-star hotel directly across the river from the venerable old Oriental. A new technology mall opened in May, claiming to offer only legitimately licensed products and throwing down the gauntlet to its notorious competitor, Panthip Plaza, where shoppers can pick up pirated software and pornography for little more than the cost of a blank CD.

At Siam Discovery Centre, an upscale mall on Rama I Road, a Hollywood-style movie and entertainment complex just opened, including two "Gold Class" theaters equipped with massive reclining seats (picture a carpeted room full of plush red La-Z-Boys) and in-house wine and cocktail bars so moviegoers can savor a buttery Chardonnay along with the latest Hollywood action-adventure flick.

While Bangkok restaurateurs and bar owners have suffered over the past two years, there's no shortage of post-crisis success stories. Biscotti, the fine new Italian restaurant at the Regent hotel, has introduced the right mix of cool atmosphere and reasonable prices to attract local diners, and the room is full almost every night. Nearby, impeccably made-up society ladies sip expensive espresso drinks in the first of several Starbucks outlets that have been popping up around town -- including one in the lobby of a posh private hospital -- and local entrepreneurs have begun to develop their own uniquely Thai take on the growth of international cafe culture. My favorite, a tranquil haven called Kuppa on Sukhumvit Soi 16, offers excellent coffee (roasted in-house) and a tasty mix of Thai and Western foods in a big, bright room with high ceilings and a soothing neo-colonial interior.

Old hands will tell you that the city's club scene has lost much of its luster since the baht collapsed, but young Thais still squeeze into pre-crisis favorites like Spasso at the Grand Hyatt, Round Midnight on Soi Langsuan and Saxophone near the Victory Monument. Some newcomers have hit it big as well, including the chic Red Bar on Royal City Avenue and the enormous Species Arena on Sukhumvit Soi 24.

Next page | Esquire's sex-tourism exposé