Soi Cowboy

Many guides say that a visit to Bangkok isn't complete without spending some time in one of its red light districts. I decided to put that theory to the test last night, strictly for SCIENCE.... wait look this is the 'exploring the world as a single man' bit from my earlier 'Reasons' post.. sigh..there's got to be some way I can dress up my slightly perverted curiosity as justified.  

The three main red light districts are Patpong, Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy. I have read that Patpong is the sleazier of the three and that it is rife with scam artists; a typical one being hit with a huge bill as bouncers lean over you before you can leave the bar - no thanks. Nana Plaza is like a shopping mall full of gogo bars, tends to be frequented by single men and is a bit of a one trick pony. Soi Cowboy is a small street packed with many different kinds of bars and of the three seemed the most approachable, sociable and fun. If you have seen the movie The Hangover 2, the crazy nightlife scenes are all from Soi Cowboy.

The first bar I went into was called Baccara, when I went in, one of the mamasan's took me by the arm and guided me to a seat by the stage. The mamasan's are like a combination of waitresses and pimps; they will get your drinks but they also look out for the dancers and if you are interested in a particular lady they will bring her over for you to chat and have a drink with.  There are no cover charges in the gogo bars but drink prices are almost double what you would pay in a regular bar. 

The Baccara is a big, glitzy, two floor club with a unique layout. The upper dancing stage is directly above the groundfloor stage and the ceiling is see-through. That means that if you look up, you have quite the interesting view of the upstairs dancers who were wearing only miniskirts and sneakers. There were around fifteen ladies on each stage at any one time, mirrors around the walls adding to the impression of scale and the hypnotic quality of the experience. Most of the clients inside were well-heeled Korean and Japanese men. 

 

As I sipped my beer a steady stream of dancers tried to come sit with me for 'lady drinks' which are even pricier drinks the ladies get a cut of while you negotiate potentially taking her back to your hotel. This hustle is normal but can get annoying if you are just there to watch the show and are constantly rebuffing dancers; so after a couple of drinks I quit the Baccara and headed to the Lucky Star down the street.

The Lucky Star was like walking back in time, a much smaller venue with a dimly lit seventies dive bar quality to it. The promo ladies outside were holding signs reading 'Balloon Show'. The clientele inside were mostly Western and a mix of men and women out for a night of naughty entertainment. 

At first there didn't seem to be much going on, with two dancers milling around the stage, but then they started to do things that were progressively more impressive.. things that I didn't know that a woman could do with her lady parts - this is science, right? Im pretty sure it's science.  There was blowing out candles on a big cake, pulling out a string of flowers, opening bottlecaps, smoking two cigarettes at a time, the inevitable ping pong balls and the highlight of the show, bursting balloons around the room with blow darts. I had been handed a balloon earlier so it was fun to hold it up at the back of the club and have the performer burst it from 20 feet away.  Lucky Star was super fun and a taste of a different era.

The last club I hit up was Tilac, which was surprisingly lacking in customers since it's a big flashy club too and it was into the peak hours of 12-2am. The dancers mostly seemed bored and disinterested, there was no real atmosphere, but at least they left me alone and weren't too pushy. The bar looked really good in all its modern flashy, LED lit shininess and I imagine on good night's it's a happening joint. The mamasan was sweet and joked that I should be buying her drinks.  I decided to call it a night after a beer here and was happy with my experience on Soi Cowboy overall, the mind blowing show at Lucky Star being the highlight of my night.