Bangkok red light district
The infamous Bangkok red light district needs little introduction – Bangkok is known for it the world over. Whereas this is a negative aspect of the country in the eyes of many Thais and ex-pats alike, it is still a big draw card for many people who choose to holiday in Thailand. These days, though, the Bangkok red light district has become more than just flesh for sale as many people will include it on their sightseeing itinerary, setting aside an evening to spend walking around and watching the many go-go girls and sex shows to satisfy their curiosity rather than for titillation.
For more on what to expect inside the bars of the Bangkok red light district, please see our go-go bars page.
There is not just one red light district in Bangkok but three main areas: the Nana Entertainment Plaza (or just ‘Nana Plaza’), Soi Cowboy which is nearby, and the infamous Patpong – the area that made Bangkok’s naughty nightlife scene famous in the first place.
Due to the history behind it, Patpong is probably the most extreme of the three areas and also the most touristy – people usually think of Patpong first when talking about red light districts in Bangkok. There are two small lanes which make up Patpong, each of which is lined with go-go bars and other more ‘normal’ bars and discos, some of which are open after the usual Bangkok closing time of 1am. These two roads are situated off the busy Silom Road, and at the Silom end of the roads is a bustling street market with stalls that specialise in pirated DVDs and CDs, fake designer clothes and watches.
The Patpong go-go bars themselves are the busiest and liveliest in Bangkok and on a busy night in can be difficult to get a seat in many of them. They have the silkiest and sexiest girls (some of whom aren’t entirely ‘girls’!) and also the most expensive of the publicly displayed girls. Also on Patpong are a number of upstairs venues in which the scene is a lot more sleazy and explicit – here the girls are often naked and rather than simply dancing on the stage they will be performing all kinds of mind-boggling tricks with certain parts of their anatomy that really shouldn’t be used for such things…!
Soi Cowboy and Nana Plaza don’t have the out and out nudity that can be found in Patpong, but the scene is still pretty full-on at times. Soi Cowboy is a small lane that runs between the Sukhumvit Soi 21 and 23 and it is packed with go-go bars and one or two regular bars, all of them with bright flashing neon signs, loud music blaring out and many ‘friendly’ ushers trying to entice you inside. The Soi Cowboy scene spreads out slightly from the main lane itself; there are a few hostess bars and massage parlours around the area too.
The Nana Plaza is situated on Sukhumvit Soi 4 and is a large complex comprising of three floors of go-go bars. The go-go bars open at 8pm and before this time there are a few bars open which offer very good deals on beers. Also outside the main plaza, but still on Sukhumvit Soi 4, are a few more hostess bars.
Although the publishers of 1stopbangkok.com have a policy of ‘telling it like it is’, regarding all of Thailand’s popular attractions, we do not condone or encourage sex tourism and certainly take a strong objection to sex with minors. The judgement is yours entirely, but prostitution remains illegal in Thailand and we urge you to treat the activity with caution and respect for those involved. Some girls willingly enter into the sex trade for economic reasons, but others who have not but may be short on money should not be encouraged to participate.
