Bangkok Go-Go Bars

Bangkok Hot Spots

Bikini-clad dancing girls, over-the-top ladyboys and lewd, eye-popping shows... Yes, the Go-Go bars that earned Bangkok its worldwide notoriety are still alive and letting it all hang out. For better or worse, Bangkok's illustrious 'After Dark' reputation owes much to these spots.

The first area that springs to mind is Patpong - 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 the aggressive red-light district it once was.

Open-minded visitors, lured in by hard-selling touts and their curiosity, treat the infamous upstairs shows like a circus show, coming in for a quick look at the inventive performances, a giggle and a couple of overpriced drinks before heading off to continue their shopping or hit a nearby club (these performances are also dubbed 'ping-pong shows', and a lot of imagination isn't needed to guess the origins of this phrase.)

These are found predominantly at Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy, red light districts both situated on lower Sukhumvit Road. Depending on the current level of police interference, both offer explicit shows featuring girls in various stages of undress; usually uniforms, bikinis or pretty much nothing bar a coy smile and a dash of Burberry Weekend. Nana even has its own on-site 'guesthouse' for clients.

Patpong

One of the world's most (in)famous red-light districts, Patpong is where it all started (Thailand's Go-Go culture). It 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.... (Read More)

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.

Soi Cowboy

Named after the cowboy hat-wearing African American who opened the first bar here in the early 1970s, this red-light district has a more laid-back, convivial feel to it than Patpong or Nana Plaza. Come dusk, garish neon signs light up a seedy streetscape comprised mainly of middle-aged expats, tourists and gaudily dressed working girls. With cries of 'hello, welcome!' and mock brute-force - a playful arm tug - the latter try to lure you into one of the 40 or so go-go bars that line its sides.(Read More)

A brief history of Go-Go bars

Since the Vietnam war around 40 years ago - when American GI's began coming here for what was euphemistically termed Rest & Recuperation with local girls - certain areas of Bangkok 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 called Patpong. (Read More)

More Nightlife in Asia:

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