Update January 2005

It has been quite a while since we had an update and even now we have to say that nothing drastically has changes over the last few months. Well, it is clearly the high season now, with many foreigners roaming Sukhumvit Road, and at Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy.

The busy places at Nana Plaza are still the Rainbow I and II, and Angelwitch, with most other bars coming a distant fourth. However, the place is busier than usual, and visitors are not deterred by the varying closing times. Let's just say : It closes at 1.00 A.M. Any minute later is bonus time.
Pretty Lady, one of our favorite bars, has reopenened in the beginning of the month after a one month closure. The format, as far as we can see, is the same of before. Most of the girls don't wear knickers (but do wear some kind of skirt), and this must be about the only bar at Nana Plaza that can get away with it. Unfortunately, the bar has raised its prices. So now a beer or whisky is 115 baht, and with that price increase the bar does not really distinguish itself to much anymore from the competition.
As said before, Rainbow I and II, are very busy, with the most attractive girls at Nana Plaza to be found there. However, they do cater mainly to Japanese customers.

A negative for Nana Plaza, is that it is becoming less and less accessible, soi 4 being packed on the footpath with vendors of all kinds of stuff. And where there is still some walking space, some lady boys have taken it, and will try to grab you when passing by. All kind of accidents are waiting to happen here, with visitors literally being forced to walk on the street, in between the taxis.

Soi Cowboy is also doing a good trade. Baccara has really become one of the busiest places there, together with old favorite Long Gun (Lucky Star).
Somehow, Dollhouse seems a bit in th doldrums. It has its regular customers, but recently I never saw it packed. The bar has attractive girls, but is neglecting quantity, that is, there are simply not enough girls working there.
Baccara has a high turnover at present. There are regularly new, and mainly young, girls appearing there, especially upstairs, while quite a few of the girls have also moved to other bars. The format is still the same. The girls do not wear any underwear, and with all the mirrors around, and the transparent glass ceiling in between the two floors, that makes for interesting views. Some of the girls upstairs can get really wild, and certainly can be categorized as exhibitionists.
By the way, at Soi Cowboy, also Dollhouse and a newer bar, Spice Girls have a similar no knickers policy, but fewer mirrors around.
I revisited the good old Tilac bar a few times this last month, and really this bar, though considered conservative by most, does a good trade. It is a large bar, and on the few occasions I was there, the bar was pretty much full.

The elephants are back doing there rounds, and they regularly appear at Soi Cowboy, adult ones and baby elephants. The way these poor beast are forced to perform, and beg for their food, is disheartening. We saw just the other night, a mahout really abusing a young elephant, and hurting it repeatedly. Please just neglect these thugs and never ever give them money so you can give some food to the animals. And we advice never to tease an adult elephant with food, you are playing with your life. (occasionally elephants kill people, one more reason for not letting them roam around on the pavements of Bangkok)

Update end September : Early closing times to stay              

What probably is here to stay are earlier closing times. We have refrained from reporting it, but now we can conclude they are a fact of life. At both Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy bars are closing at 1 A.M. with little room to manoeuver. Last weekend, I was at Soi Cowboy when a massive downpour occurred after midnight. Nevertheless, with about zero chance that authorities would be checking the bars in the middle of a deluge, customers were ushered out of the bars and into the rain at all bars, for as far as I could see.
What is even more disturbing, is that according to newspaper reports, bars located in zones that are not officially labeled as 'entertainment zones', would be allowed to open only between 9 P.M. and midnight. Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy, strangely enough, are not located in any entertainment zone, but Patpong is. If this ever comes into effect, well that would be very inconvenient indeed. And we doubt many bars would make the money to stay in business.
What is worse than having bar girls prostitute themselves (freely and with the customer they prefer)? Well, it is happening already with girls prostituting themselves from the early evening till deep into the night, on Sukhumvit road, not without surprise in between the locations of Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy. We certainly do not recommend to accost these ladies (and ladyboys) of the night. At least, in the bars, they have something to loose and are under control of the management and the mamasans. There is no safety in street prostitution (not to mention unchecked infectious diseases). But since there are ever more prostitutes on the streets (who knows what will happen if the bars indeed are only open between 9 P.M. and midnight), it is reasonable to assume there are ever more customers. As I mentioned long time ago, it is definitively time to clean up Sukhumvit road, and while a 1 A.M. closing time can somehow be accepted, hopefully things will not be pushed further.   

Update end August

First of all, the bars mentioned below of course have reopened by now. The Bangkok governor elections are nearing, and possibly as a result of that, the bars at Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy are closing at 1 A.M. every day. Overt nudity at the bars is still a no-no. But bars are getting increasingly apt at dodging the rules in some way or another, and glimpses of private female parts can be seen at many locations. For instance, Pretty Girl bar at Nana Plaza, now has covered its counter around the dancing stage with mirrors. The girls now wear a loose skirt without underwear. Baccara at Soi Cowboy of course has been doing this for a few years now (and still is). You can also have occasional 'views' at bars like Dollhouse and Long Gun at Soi Cowboy. It looks like the bars are becoming a voyeur's paradise.

The entry to Nana Plaza is getting increasingly crowded. The footpath has many vendors, prostitutes, lady boys blocking the way, and it is almost obligatory to walk the street, dodging the taxis. Yes, we guess everybody has to make a living, but this is getting somewhat dangerous, and please, watch out for pickpockets. I have not commented on this before, but the Day-Night bar, a few meters from the Nana Plaza entrance, and especially the beer bars on both sides of the entrance to the Plaza, are really busy places, and do better business than the majority of the bars! I guess people just want to hang around, drink a beer, and watch the scene, (and soccer games on TV). After all, most visitors to the nightlife scene, are not exactly in their prime.

Update July

First of all, Soi Cowboy has been hard hit at the beginning of July with Midnite Bar, Shark and Sheba's closed for an undisclosed period of time. So the Soi has temporarily lost some of its favored bars. Still, with Long Gun (Lucky Stars), Dollhouse and Baccara around, there are still interesting places to go to.

While we were always attracted to Baccara (Soi Cowboy) bar with its well done outlay and transparent ceiling with girls dancing on the upper floor, usually without panties, we are especially happy since the bar eventually has decided to employ more girls. While lack of staff was a problem until recently, the number of girls dancing now seems to about have doubled. Customers are also plentiful. As before, this is one of the bars that seems to be able to bend the rules. Somehow the girls get away with showing their genital parts (if you care to look up through the glass ceiling, or use the mirrors at the bar counter). Another bar for voyeurs is Dollhouse (Soi Cowboy) bar. The girls have some flimpsy clothing draped around their waist, and are mostly not wearing underwear.

We have visited Erotica bar regularly over the last few weeks, since the girls are to our liking. However, it is quite a hassle to get in there. At the second floor of Nana Plaza, there are some desperate thugs trying to get you into Rainbow 3, and Mercury bar. About 10 people kind of block the stairs leading up to the third floor. It is quite astounding that still so many people find their way up to Erotica, and the Hollywood Strip bars on the third floor. Visitors must be really determined. The big Hollywood Strip (Nana Plaza) bars till attract customers, although not as many as in the good old days. I noticed that sometimes only one of the two carousels in both bars are being used, since not enough girls (and customers) are present.
One of our other favored bars, Pretty Lady (Buttoms Up, Nana Plaza) on the ground floor, seems to have some difficulty attracting customers as of late. This despite the fact that some of the girls in there are quite attractive. But no naked dancing anymore for at least the last two months. Maybe it is time to get rid of the male serving staff. Pretty Lady bar seems to be the only bar having male servers only. Some of them working there seem to have walked out right out of prison. Let's just say it is much more sympathetic and enticing to have female staff serving drinks (and keeping customers company)

Soi Cowboy is not close to dying yet. A new bar just opened just opposite Sheba's and right in between Cowboy 1 and Cowboy 2 bars (right in the middle part of the soi). As far as I can recall, there used to be some mom and pap little old shop at the same location till a few weeks ago. This new bar is called Spice Girls. Our first impression of the place was quite good, and we will revisit soon. The bar is smallish, with a dance stage against one wall, and seating arrangements opposite it. The barstools next to the stage, are positioned unusually low, possible not quite suitable for big framed customers. I discovered it only after being inside for about half an hour, there is a second floor, with the now obligatory transparent glass floor. The lighting is not optimal though, so you do not get a good view of the girls above. There is also a pool table upstairs. The girls (some coming from other bars), are more attractive than average. Prices are 110 baht a beer, 100 baht a soft drink.

The return of 'nudity' (12 April 2004)

For sure, things never stay the same around Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy. This is reportedly the low season (sometimes I hardly notice this phenomenon, but we could define it as the period when the bar owners moan the loudest). At Nana Plaza, things are still well under control. Some bars are doing great, in particular the Rainbow bars, After Witch, and possibly the Hollywood Strip bars (the latest from hearsay). Others are not doing so well. I looked into the once very busy Voodoo bar, and noticed hardly any customers there the other day. Playskool is not doing well altogether, since a real fire broke out there about a week ago, and an awful smell is still hanging around the place. It will take a while to refurnish and restart the bar, and (some of) the girls are now working at Shebas and Suzie Wong in Soi Cowboy. Mandarin is also in the dulldrums, and the upper floor has not been used now for many months.

Soi Cowboy, well that is another story altogether. We definitively have a return of nudity there. Most likely some bars have resumed a favorable arrangement with people that make arrangements, and it 'shows'. We observed naked dancing and/or shows at the following establishments in the past weeks : Midnite, Baccara, Shebas. Topless dancing (what will do for us) can be observed on occasion at our favored bar Shark. We do not yet think this will be a reliable phenomenon, but for the moment, things are as they are. Shebas which for the last months was one of the dullest places in the Soi, has a lot of customers now, since they offer the above, and have many more girls there now, since the girls from Playskool have moved in. Even when the bar offered cheaper drinks during the month of March, it hardly attracted any customers, in my opinion because they did not have enough girls in there. Except for the girls offering shows at the moment, about 80% of the dancers are overweight, so if that is to your liking, have a look.

Urine tests for drugs, are occasionally performed at Soi Cowboy and Nana Plaza. At those times, a lot of law enforcement agents are present, and the urine collections and tests go on for quite a few hours. It does not exactly entice customers to enter the bars that surround the event.

End Februari 2004 : New drastic closing times

Latest : The measures described below have been postponed/cancelled. We actually waited a long time to report them (just on the eve of the implementation), but still the authorities managed to change their minds at the last moment. Most likely and hopefully things will remain much the same as before (for the time being), so no need to postpone, cancel travel to Bangkok and Thailand, if you intended to do so.

Original article :
New closing times for the entertainment areas in Bangkok and around Thailand have been announced a few weeks ago, and if truly implemented will have a dramatic effect on the nightlife scene. The entertainment areas in Bangkok have been 'zoned'. Three major areas will continue 'enjoying' closing times that are not that drastic. Patpong is included so bars there (if reachable through the nightmarket hassle) will continue closing at 2 A.M. However the popular destinations for expatriates and tourists alike, Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy will have to close business at midnight. I know this is a story that is hard to believe, but these measures are to be implemented on the 1th of March.
The reason is the 'social order' campaign by the government. There has been an increase in crime rates, asocial behaviour by youths, and a breakdown in family values, and measures are being taken to reverse the trend. Interestingly, the nightlife venues of Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy are not frequented at all by local Thai people, and are almost exclusively there for expatriates and tourist to enjoy. So possibly, one more reason behind these severe measures, is the intention to get rid of Bangkok's long earned reputation as a capital of sin.
These measures, of course, will have dramatic effects. A lot of the consequences might not be obvious at the moment, and possibly unpredictable things are about to happen.
Visitors will possibly start going out earlier to be able to have a few drinks before being told to leave the premises. But one has to remember to many of the visitors have been working all day, or have been visiting the local sites as tourists, and may not at all be ready to hit the nightlife by 8 P.M.
We will forget for a moment about the bar owners, they are not our main concern. Quite a few of them however will see there investments go up in smoke.
What about the girls? Are they going to back home at midnight. Well, one can forget about this. Most likely, a whole new scene will slowly be created where the girls move to secret or not so secret locations after hours. Quite a few will probably end up walking the streets at night. Sukhumvit Road already has an abundance of prostitutes and lady boys walking the streets in the evening already, and hotels with an international reputation have available girls almost sitting on their doorsteps. So much for family values, if one is taking a stroll in the evening hours with some young kids (not to speak of the pornography openly for sale).
So these measures surely will have a major impact on how people spend their evening hours. It is quite unpredictable if tourism will be affected. For sure, quite a lot of single men visit Bangkok and Thailand mainly for the nightlife. They will probably start looking for other destinations. From what we read in the newspapers, these are not the people that the Thai tourism authorities are trying to attract to visit the country.
Personally, we have not been hanging out late till closing times before. However, we have been used to going for a drink or two after 11 P.M., and with the new measures will have adapt, or simple stay at home.

Januari 2004 Update

What is happening at Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy? Well, the policies introduced (again) the last year are continuing and being reinforced. The girls at Nana Plaza now dance in bikini outfits in all bars, expect at Buttoms Up bar (Pretty Lady) for reasons we would not want to get into. The situation at Soi Cowboy is changing from day to day, but we expect it won't be long before the conditions at Nana Plaza also apply at Soi Cowboy. While nudity was still the rule in quite a few bars during the latter part of 2003, of lately it has become rather sporadic. In the week before the new year, on one day there was a heavy police presence at Soi Cowboy, with some bars being temporarily closed. However, we have to remember that say 7-8 years ago, Soi Cowboy did nt have naked dancing, and was nevertheless a successful entertainment area.
The number of customers at Nana Plaza is lower than in previous years, but not at all places. Once popular bars have less customers. Inflated prices are certainly partly to blame. 125 baht for a beer is rather steep, and for that money you get to see ladies dancing in bikinis, not all of them selected for their looks, we may add. Soi Cowboy in my opinion is doing better than in the previous years.

Nana Plaza 2004
We do not go to Nana Plaza that often lately, and mostly during the weekends only. The Rainbow bars are still doing very well, still catering mostly to Japanese customers though. Our favored Rainbow bar is Rainbow 3 on the second floor, which is smaller then the others. One drawback is that the serving girls and mamasan are a little bit too active is soliciting customers. Pretty Girl bar on the ground floor is the only bar with topless dancing. At the same time it has reasonable prices with beer at 100 baht and lady drinks at a decent 75 baht. Once favored bars like Playskool and Mandarin are rather doing poorly. Mandarin on most days even closes down its upper floor, apparently due to lack of girls and customers. The newly reopened Hollywood bar is plainly a total disaster. According to the voting on this site, G-spot and Voodoo bar have reappeared as favored bars. Just mention it, because personally they do not appeal to us that much. Angel Witch the last time I visited was still doing rather well done shows, admittedly with 'clothes on'. Interestingly two of the most popular bars at present are beerbars. The Morning-Night bar at the entrance of Soi Nana, and the bars at the entrance of Nana Plaza itself are doing very well. People seem to enjoy sitting around and see what is passing by, rather than go inside some of the gogo bars.

Soi Cowboy 2004
Soi Cowboy is not doing bad at all lately. Until recently, lots of the bars were 'showing'. Not sure what will happen in the new year, but I would not be surprised if 'only bikini outfit' dancing becomes the rule.
The best value bar is certainly Midnite bar, where nudity is often still the norm. Prices are 90 baht for a beer. Unfortunately, between the good looking girls there, there is also a large contingent of rather unappealing older women. But still, the bar is one of the only remaining ones with the old, rather sleezy appeal. Shark bar next door is another good place, with better looking girls overall.
We can recommend 2 smaller bars. One is Five Stars One, close to Asoke road. It features live music, and if so inclined, you may even try out to sing some old rock and roll. The atmosphere is great, and the girls up to standard.
Afterskool, is another small bar, with a naughty boys corner, where for many years, customers have been receiving handjobs. Only few girls dancing (and in schoolgirl uniform), but lots of freelancers around (that is girls not paid by the bar).
We like to go to Baccara bar too, even though it is among the more expensive places. However, it definitively is the best designed bar in the 'modern' category. A drawback is that there is a very limited number of girls, so after a few visits you may have seen it all.

12 September 2003

The main news is of course the present crackdown. You will more about it in the news section.

Despite this crackdown, still some bars are opening or have been renovated. After all, they had no advance warning.

Erotica bar has opened on the third floor of Nana Plaza. Just go up the stairs on the left when entering the plaza till you reach the top. The bar has two levels (just like Mandarin bar, that is located on the other site of Nana Plaza), with a now almost obligatory transparent ceiling in between. Girls on dancing at both levels, the ones below in bikini outfit (nothing more to be expected at the moment), and the ones on the second level mostly in service of schoolgirl type outfit. The number of girls is still limited, but somehow the atmosphere is good and the girls were in good spirits and having a lot of fun when I visited. Prices are standard Nana Plaza fare with beer at 110 baht.
Carnival bar has reopened, also on the third floor but on the other site. It is not clear why it took so long to do what they have apparently done. The inside much looks the same, but there is ample space provided for one of those mechanical bulls, with customers invited to try their luck, with the possibility of earning free drinks (and breaking their necks in the process) I can just imagine some drunk guys falling all over the place. Possibly a lot of fun indeed, but overly dangerous in my opinion.
Hollywood bar is still closed for renovations, as well as one of my favorite bars Buttoms Up. If we say renovations, it may be the truth or is just an announcement by the bar managers, while in reality the bar has been temporarily closed down for breaking the law.
When visiting Soi Cowboy, you may notice if you walk down to the Soi 23 end, that a small van is present, selling all kinds of cocktails and spirits at moderate prices (50-60 baht a drink). They have some nice looking girls serving the drinks, and some bar stools in front. The enterprise seems to be quite successful, with always some customers having a quiet drink there, and there really is a lot of choice (at least 100 drinks on the menu)

27 July 2003

Weather in Bangkok has turned European. It seems to be necessary to have an umbrella with you when visiting the nightlife scene at all times. The good thing is that the temperature never really goes down. However, rain is not exactly enticing to get out and visit the scene, so most bar owners probably loathe it for that reason.
The number of visitors though has picked up at Nana Plaza, while Soi Cowboy is still having slow going.
Construction is going on, building new bars, or renovating old one at Nana Plaza. Last week I visited the relatively new Mercury Bar, located on the second floor. The major construction site is at Carnival on the third floor. It looks like they really are going to reconstruct the whole bar. This bar is really huge, but the last few years has not really been doing all that good. So changes, whatever they are, are called for. I wish they also give the entrance to the third floor somewhat more appealing. The stairs etc. really give the impression of entering some third world backalley.
While at the third floor, I had a quick look at Cascade bar. This cave like bar, cold as usual, has now much more girls dancing there (probably moved from the closed Carnival venue). Interestingly, a lot of girls are dancing in the nude there nowadays, probably just waiting for the authorities to pick up on it, and close it down for a while. G-spot just underneath is also busier than lately, with also the girls mostly in the nude, and 'classic' Bangkok sexotic shows on offer. Shows seem to really have been reinvented at Nana Plaza, since the Hollywood Bars on the third floor also are having a go again. Expect to see girls oiling themselves and washing each other on stage. It seems Nana Plaza is close that what is was about 2,3 years ago, when nudity and shows were common place. However, bars regularly are closed down temporarily for these reasons. Probably the fines given are acceptable to the bar owners, otherwise it would not make economic sense to take the risks involved.
One popular bar that has reopened is Playskool on the ground floor, but at least for the moment, the bar now conforms to the 'rules'.

One major nuisance is that the 'entry' to Nana Plaza is now quite uncomfortable. Numerous stalls now occupy the walkway in Soi 4, so basically visitors on foot have to use the street (with lots of traffic passing by) to walk on. Lots of lady boys are crowding the entrance to the Plaza itself, trying as usual to attract the attention of a particular type of customer : the drunk middle aged man that is leaving the Plaza without female company. And please do not bump into them, while being unuware of where their hands are going (check your wallet!).
On another more social note. The number of child laborers, that is kids selling flowers, chewing gum etc. has also substantially increased. Maybe the authorities could check this out, before moving on to check how well dressed the ladies are inside the bars?
Nothing much new about Soi Cowboy to tell this week. The place is rather quite lately (although the street itself always gives the impression of a lot of action going on, with all the girls moving about trying to get customers to the bars) Dollhouse has a little bit one down the drain, in my opinion, the quality of the girls really below par now. I would also suggest they open the door to the outside. The closed glass doors do not really entice people to go inside. Better to allow possible customers a glance inside. Baccara could use a few more girls. It is quite common now to find only a couple of girls on stage there nowadays. I wonder if the bar is still for sale, I saw a few announcements regarding this not that long ago.

Update (29 June 2003)

Things will never stay the same for even a few weeks at Bangkok's entertainment centers. Again nowadays, you will find bars closed for a few weeks or a month, apparently because some laws or regulations have been broken. Actually, most bars break laws and regulations, but law enforcement is kind of selective.
At the moment, Playskool at Nana Plaza has been closed down for a month. The girls are reportedly working (according to a sign posted outside Playskool) at Sheba's and Suzie Wong (Soi Cowboy), both under the same management as Playskool. However when visiting the latter two places, I hardly noticed any of the girls that used to work at Playskool, so not clear what that is all about. On the other hand, the service staff from Playskool, is now crowding the entrance of Sheba's, trying to get customers inside.
As I noticed the other night, Lollipop is the latest bar being closed for two weeks at Nana. You can still play snooker at the place though, if you are interesting in doing so.
Girls are still dancing in the nude at Buttoms Up. I am a regular customer there, and made some interesting observations. Two weeks ago the girls were dancing naked. At the time when I entered I noticed some people in brown outside checking what was probably (I did not check it out) the log book, stating which girls had been bought out for the evening. They did not seem to be worried about the dresscode inside. Then, last week, the girls at least on saturday, were dancing in bikini outfit, quite an unusual event at Buttoms Up, and yesterday it was back to normal. This is a good example of how regularly things can change at Nana and Soi Cowboy.
By the way, if you really need to see the girls' genital anatomy, before you decide whether they are attractive or desirable, you can do worse than to check out Mandarin bar on the second floor. Girls wear a transparent too short skirt with nothing underneed, and are quite willing to bend over and show their 'equipment'. Apparently this iis not considered 'naked' and the bars and girls can get away with it. Similar outfits have been around for a long while at Dollhouse, Soi Cowboy, where this fashion actually started.
Besides Buttoms Up, my favorite bar for the moment at Nana is Rainbow 3 on the second floor. The bar is not that big, and there are some attractive, though mostly flat chested girls dancing there. Beware, it is also a place where the Japanese crowd hangs out, so prices for the girls will be upmarket.
After stopping for a few weeks, shows are on again at Angel Witch on the second floor. It just noticed, did not check it out, but I remember that the shows given there are the best in town. The place was packed, difficult to get in altogether, when the girls are performing.
Shows are also featured at the third floor bars (Hollywood Carrousel, or whatever the present name is, and Hollywood Two). The girls seem to like washing each other on stage, lots of soap and bubbles around. Never my favorite places, but apparently attracting a lot of customers.
Activity at Soi Cowboy seems to be subdued lately, especially at weekdays. I checked out Sheba's and Suzie Wong last week, not really very busy. I would not recommend Sheba's at the moment. It is the most expensive bar at Soi Cowboy, while at the same time having a rather poor selection of girls. Suzie Wong, with same management, has a much better selection.
Midnite bar is still going strong. A smallish bar, but still having the most raunchy girls at the Soi. Mostly dancing in the naked. Prices still below 100 baht a drink. Beware the service staff though, they are a bit aggressive, might want to massage your neck and backsite etc. without being asked, of course, and then are upset when you do not give them a large tip.
Baccara seems to have changing fortunes. Some days, there seem to be hardly any customers or girls present. On other days, it is packed with people (lots of Japanese). The design of the bar is still among the best in Bangkok though. And you can still get interesting views looking up through the transparent glass ceiling and see the action of the girls dancing on the second floor.

Nana Plaza vs. Soi Cowboy (May 2003)

(other news items)

Welcome to our latest update about the nightlife entertainment at Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy. We will attempt to give our latest impressions of the various changes for the worse and better at both locations. Granted this will be our personal view, although we will welcome any input forwarded to us.

I will update this section (and remove old entries) at regular time intervals. The reason for starting it at the moment, is that I noted a personal shift in preference for Nana Plaza, as compared to Soi Cowboy at the moment, and I will try to explain why.

As well publicized, the nightlife experienced a crackdown starting some 2 years ago, and various restrictions still apply to some extend. While Soi Cowboy was always somewhat laid back, Nana Plaza in particular was heavily targeted. Prior to the crackdown, nudity and various 'shows' were the norm at Nana Plaza. All was stopped, and dancers were wearing 'only' bikini outfits for I reckon more than a year. At the same time, strangely enough, Soi Cowboy started being somewhat renovated, with new bars started business, and contrary to previous times, a lot of nudity. As a result, while Nana Plaza was covered up, Soi Cowboy got newer bars, and a lot of 'showing' at bars like Long Gun, Baccara, Midnite, Dollhouse, and lately Suzie Wong, Shark, Shebas. Prices were still lower at the Soi, and alltogether for me, and quite a few other visitors, it became the most appealing of the two entertainment areas.

However, for quite some time now, things have been changing. Over the last year, the girls got topless again at Nana. Buttoms Up at Nana has had naked dancing for quite a while now, and completely naked shows have been featured lately at Playskool and Angelwitch. (Reportedly, they have been caught in the act at some time lately, and are supposed to be closed down for awhile, nothing happened as of yet however)
Soi Cowboy has kept steady, with from time to time a slight decrease in the number of bars 'showing'. However with the coming of new bars, and a slight shift in visitors from Nana Plaza to Soi Cowboy, some bars found it opportune to raise prices. In some bars, levels are at virtually the same level as at Nana Plaza. The more expensive bars are : Long Gun, Shebas, Suzie Wong, Dollhouse. Quite astonishingly, some third grade bars like Our Place and Black and White, have also raised beer and liquor prices above 100 baht a drink. These two bars now feature some topless dancing, but are clearly a rip-off when compared with what is offered at other places. At present, Baccara (strangely enough), Shark, and Midnite have resisted the new round of price increases. Midnite still has the raunchiest (though not that pretty) girls at the Soi, and with prices still below the 100 baht mark.

While Nana has gone topless or naked again, it still also features the widest selection of girls. Especially the Rainbow bars (three of them) are packed with girls, with often hardly space for them to dance on the state. The average Nana girl is clearly also somewhat younger, and more attractive than the average Soi Cowboy girl. Prices at Nana Plaza have not been raised over the last two years, and the most reasonably priced bar (for what you get) is probably Buttoms Up, with beer at 100 baht, and softdrinks quite OK at 75 baht a drink. The best and most attractive shows lately have been at Angelwitch.

Altogether, with more and also more attractive girls, steady prices, and the resurgence of less covered girls, Nana Plaza is the more attractive place to go as of now. Soi Cowboy is still somewhat more laid back, but is losing it 'old-age' appeal to the resident community as a place to have a drink at the end of the day. It has simply become too expensive for that, and some places are a clear rip off.

Latest : Shows have been suspended at most if not all of the bars at Nana Plaza. This is quite obviously noted at Angelwitch, where the excellent shows used to go on for hours on end.

(more news items)