bangkok nightlife

Bangkok Go-Go Bars
Pole-dancing bikini-clad girls, over-the-top ladyboys and lewd, eye-popping shows featuring those astounding anatomical displays we've all heard so much about... Yes, the Go-Go bars that earned Bangkok its worldwide notoriety are still alive, kicking and, well, letting it all hang out...For better or worse, Bangkok's illustrious 'After Dark' reputation owes much to these dark, testosterone-fueled establishments. Mention the words and the first area that's likely to spring to mind is the infamous Patpong - somewhat of an international byword for sleaze, sex and sordid night-time frolics. Nowadays, having become part of a wider entertainment scene that includes the popular Patpong Night Market, bars, nightclubs and a gay area, it isn't quite the aggressive red-light district it once was. Open-minded visitors, lured in by hard-selling touts and their curiosity, treat the raunchy upstairs shows much like a circus freak-show, coming in for a quick look at the inventive performances, a giggle and a couple of vastly overpriced drinks before heading off to continue their shopping or hit one of the nearby clubs (these performances are also dubbed 'ping-pong shows', and a lot of imagination isn't needed to guess the origins of this phrase.)

Don't be fooled though. For serious flesh-seeking aficionados, seedier locales still abound in Bangkok. These are found predominantly at the Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy areas, situated on lower Sukhumvit Road. Both periodically (depending on the current level of police interference) offer explicit shows featuring girls in various stages of undress; uniforms, bikinis or pretty much nothing par a coy smile and a dash of Burberry Weekend. Nana even has its own on-site 'guesthouse' for clients.
Thais prefer to frequent the more discreet massage parlours rather than Go-Go bars, so the girly bar scene predominantly relies on the patronage of expats and foreign tourists (For more info on each of the areas, read below.)
Read our Patpong Revealed feature.


Nana Plaza
Located in Sukhumvit Soi 4, Nana Entertainment Plaza is Bangkok's sleaze central. Notorious for its racy themed go-go bars - from school-girl and leather dominatrix to ladyboy - it's literally a 'sex mall', with three storeys of eye-popping activity all focused around a square-shaped central atrium. Unlike at the better-known Patpong, Nana is a 'strictly adult' scene. That means no families, no markets and few curious tourists strolling in for a look. It also means a lot more men hell-bent on renting bodies.
Walking down Soi 4 from Sukhumvit Road, you'll know you're approaching Nana when you spot the line of street vendor carts preparing an array of weird and wonderful bites. These include 'som tum' (spicy green papaya salad), 'kai tod' (charcoal-grilled chicken) and fried insects, among other odd delicacies - comfort food for the bargirls who mostly hail from Thailand's northeastern Isaan Province. Tired young girls in halter tops and short mini-skirts can be found filling up bags of crispy invertebrates, which they chop up and eat with rice and a dash of 'nam prik', chili and shrimp jam (watching them refuel on these down-to-earth pleasures, even joining in, makes for an interesting diversion from the other sorts of pleasures found here).
Welcome to Bangkok's Sex Mall

Greeting you when you pass beneath the monstrous 'Nana Entertainment Plaza' entrance sign is a mass of glowing neon signs, yelling at you from all directions. In the hot light of day, when the girlie bars are shuttered, and the neon is switched off, this complex is a sagging mess of grey concrete. At night however, the gaudy lights just about succeed at distracting attention away from the ugliness of it all, and at masking the sticky, grimy residues of the many nights that have gone before. Shouting even louder than the neon is the intriguing cast of upfront characters - ladyboys, midgets and, of course, girls - who will try and accost you. They can be in your face, but it's all light-hearted and unthreatening.
On the ground floor there are mostly open-air beer bars to choose from. With salacious names like Lollipop and Red Lips, girls here will try and tempt you in for a drink, a game of Jenga and, probably, more. Some will step into your path or give you a gentle jab in the kidneys to encourage you (about as subtle as flirting gets here). Others will resort to trying to drag you in - a shrug and a quick side-step is usually enough to shake them off. A few go-go bars line the right side. Playschool, Rainbow 1 and Rainbow 2 all pack them in - both the bikini-clad girls and the punters.
Nights in White Satin
Ascend up the escalator to the first floor and it's mostly go-go bars. These include Spankys, Fantasia and Rainbow 3. Rainbow 4 is one of the biggest, with hordes of Japanese-looking girls attracting a busy mix of Westerners and Japanese spectators. G-Spot, Cassanova and Temptations are among the most popular, and it's no surprise - they're ladyboy bars and put on dazzling shows. Angel Witch, on the left, with its risqué lesbian and dominatrix shows is also a big hit. A lot of thought and energy clearly goes into the costumes and performances here - girls in elegant but provocative strips of white satin were strutting gracefully to 'Nights in White Satin' on our visit.

For relative calm, head for The Big Mango bar just to the right of the escalator. This is a humble watering-hole, serving beers, cocktails and some of the tastiest burgers in town - a great spot to survey the scene and see whose coming and who's going. If you're not here to 'pick up', the staff are very welcoming and will happily whip you at pool. Across from that there's also The Cathouse, a similar pub-style drinking den with beers going for 30 baht during happy hour.
Up on the relatively quiet second floor, again it's more of the same. Bars here include Carousel and Hollwood Strip (another ladyboy bar). To summarize, if you're into the scene you'll love it. If not, Nana might just represent all that's wrong with Thailand. More than Patpong, this is the place that really puts the bang in Bangkok.
How to get there: It's within walking distance from Nana Skytrain (BTS) station, but a long way from heaven.
See also Patpong, Soi Cowboy and massage parlours. For a close-up look at the scene read our Patpong Revealed feature.
Hotels in this area.


Patpong, Bangkok
One of the world's most (in)famous red-light districts, Patpong is where it all started (Thailand's Go-Go culture) and has even been immortalised in a James Bond chase-sequence. Its two parallel side-streets, found between Silom and Surawongse Roads, house around 100 neon-lit strip bars offering risque sex shows, purchasable pole-dancers and post-op ladyboys. But while for men Patpong is likely to mean 'adult', for women, families and the kids Patpong definitely means 'market'. At night this teems with hawkers and humble stalls selling what is mostly tourist tat.
For the serious flesh-seekers, Patpong has long since been usurped as the 'king of the scene' by its counterparts around Sukhumvit. However, its reputation means it's still a huge attraction, mainly for sightseers more interested in ogling at - rather than indulging in - the carnal delights (and horrors) on offer.
Go-Go shopping after dark

In fact, because of the Patpong Night Market the area's seedy edge has been softened considerably. At night the area teems with tourists and backpackers shopping for that illusive bargain. Some pretend to look interested in the fake Gucci handbags before temptation gets the better of them and they venture inside to witness one of the famous shows they've heard so much about. If you go for this it pays to be careful; while now rare, there have been reports of tourists being ripped off (especially when buying a drink for one of the 'hostesses') and clobbered with hefty bills after heading upstairs into one of the bars.
Also, if you plan to hijack one of the girls for a raunchy rendevous, it's advisable too to take good care of personal belongings once you've paid the 'bar fine'. However, whatever your take is on the Go-Go Bar scene, there's no denying that Patpong is still far safer than your average Western city centre. It's very well policed - there's a tourist police office at the end of the road, and CCTV cameras - and you'll find entire families nonchalantly walking around during market hours.
The cream of Patpong's Go-Go crop

When it comes to go-go bars, favoured establishments on Soi 1 include King's Castle I and II, Sphinx and the Safari Bar, while King's Corner has the largest collection of post-operative transsexuals in Bangkok. Patpong II, or 'Soi Quality' as some like to call it, also has many interesting sights along the same lines. Apart from a short run of rather run-down watering holes peopled by girls and men playing Connect 4, the most well-known venue is perhaps Electric Blue and, definitely the most intriguing, Patpong's only fetish club, BarBar.
Food, fun and games

For those not interested in the girly scene or shopping, Patpong is also not short on other pursuits. Aside from the shopping, there's a lot of quality bistros, such as the tiny French restaurant Le Bouchon and the incredibly good value Thai eatery Salasawan, both of which are on Soi 2. Mizu's Kitchen on Soi 1, which a former Japanese soldier started in 1954, comes highly recommended for its steak. For a quiet game of pool and a beer or two there's the Red Parrot and the Vietnam war era bar, The Old Other Office. Finally, for audio stimulation there's Soi 1's Radio City (home to some great live music and Elvis impersonators), Lucifer's and the stylish late-night dance bar Twilight, which is typically heaving come midnight. Whatever you're into, Patpong is certainly worth a peek.
How to get there: Located between Silom and Surawong Roads, it's within easy walking distance from the Skytrain station (Sala Daeng) or the MRT station (Silom).
We recently met with several Patpong business operators. To find out what they had to say, take a look at our Patpong Revealed feature.
Go to Soi Cowboy, Nana Plaza or massage parlours.
Hotels in this area.


Soi Cowboy in Bangkok
Named after the retired, cowboy hat-wearing American who opened the first bar here in the early 1970s, this short street of around 40 bars has a more laid-back, Wild West feel to it compared to Patpong or Nana Plaza.
Its biggest draws are Long Gun, Tilac, Suzie Wong's and, with its see-through glass ceiling, Baccara Bar (be prepared for some serious neck ache). Its biggest claim-to-fame arose in 2003 when it featured in the worldwide press after actor Hugh Grant and his entourage was spotted in the area. One tabloid reported that bar girls were in such hot pursuit of Grant that he was forced to flee. Several of the road's bars can also be seen in the film 'Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason'.How to get there: Located between Asoke and Sukhumvit Soi 23, it attracts some tourists but is more of a hang-out for expats and Vietnam vets who've made it their last chance saloon of choice (the nearest Skytrain station is Asoke, or MRT station Sukhumvit).
Take a look at Patpong, Nana Plaza and massage parlours.
Hotels in this area.


A brief history of Go-Go bars
Ever since the Vietnam war around 40 years ago - when American GI's began coming here to indulge in what was euphemistically termed R&R (Rest & Recuperation) with the local girls - certain areas of Bangkok (and in Thailand) have become notorious the world over for sex and sleaze. Though the flesh trade is nothing new - a thriving sex industry in Siam was reported by visiting sailors in the 16th and 17th centuries - the Westerner-orientated scene in Bangkok didn't begin until 1968 when a cluster of nightclubs sprouted up along a small Soi (street) called Patpong, to cater for the influx of US armed forces in the region.
In this small area, owned by an entrepreneurial Chinese immigrant family called Patpongpanich, the road quickly became popular with sex-starved soldiers and, by the early 1970s, had spilled over also into Patpong 2, which runs parallel to it. It was during the late 1970s and 1980s, however, that Patpong really hit its groove, becoming the premier nightlife area in Bangkok and internationally famous for its raunchy, inventive and technically illegal upstairs sex shows that left very little to the imagination. The rest, as they say, is (sordid) history.

At around the same time, a small road near Sukhumvit was making the transition from quiet Bangkok backstreet to what is today known as Soi Cowboy, the city's very own Wild West complete with tumble-weed, dancing girls and an occasional air of lawlessness. Finally, joining the party, was Nana Plaza. Previously an area consisting of restaurants, it slowly saw an influx of Go-Go bars during the 1980s, until in 2005, the last restaurant was finally squeezed out. Over the years, it's become the destination of choice for hardcore Go-Go bar connoisseurs.
At the risk of sounding judgmental, Go-Go bars are an aspect of the Thai experience which leaves a bad taste in the mouth of many tourists, but it's clear nevertheless that the scene is still thriving and here to stay. The government, despite having clamped down on many other aspects of moral decay like Internet pornography and under-age boozing, shows no signs of wanting to snuff out the country's bountiful sex industry - probably due to the fact that the sex trade industry in Thailand is believed to be worth as much as US$ 4.3 billion, or about 3% of the country's annual GDP.
Best time to go: Anytime after 22:00 until around 02:00
For an insight into the Go-Go scenes here and now, read our Patpong Revealed feature.