s chance would have it, we were queried about Soi Thaniya (actually a thanon) the other day, to which we replied we didn't cover that Night Entertainment Area on a regular basis. We vowed, however, to resurvey that most vibrant "Japanese" Entertainment Area. (It had been 6 years).
SOI THANIYA
Known also as Bangkok's 'Soi Ginza' it is (almost) exclusively for the entertainment of Japanese residents and tourists. It is renown for having the most beautiful bar hostesses in Bangkok, however most would agree that it would be more accurate to say the women are the most beautifully dressed.
For the gaigin visiting Soi Thaniya, we would suggest that early in the evening would be the most interesting, as the ladies of the evening are sitting -en masse- outside in rows of chairs awaiting the first customers. As soon as customers arrive, even if it is only a single customer, the entire barful of lasses follows the customer inside. An unusual 'show' for someone not having seen this unique Japanese Nightlife style of operating a Nitespot. BTW, don't be disappointed if you, a gaigin, walk down Soi Thaniya and find yourself to be invisible in every way to the ladies in waiting. Their eyes are only for the passing Japanese, they can't see you....
SOI THANIYA
But perhaps the 'most unique' feature is the physical arrangement of the bars, lounges, snacks, karaokes, clubs, etc. Likely due to space limitations, or perhaps from a national genetic disposition, the Nitespots are stacked, sometimes 7-deep on top of one another (see photos). This, somewhat, tends to explain why the ladies are waiting streetside for customers in the early evenings - it is not likely a 5th or 6th floor bar is going to get much passing foot traffic....
SOI THANIYA
In comparing our earlier map from April 2010 and the current map, we see a slight decrease in the total number of Nitespots, which is likely explained by the number of Japanese bars proliferating in other areas of Bangkok in recent years (Soi 33, Soi 55, etc).
I'm trying to recall, settle an argument actually, what the first bar was in Nana Plaza at the location of todays Obsession? I'm saying it was the Pretty Lady. Concur?
F.
Greetings, F.,
The first Night Entertainment Venue at the location of the Obsession (now True Obsession) was the Private Dancer A Go-Go. Ah, the memories.... Later it was the Pretty Lady, then, briefly, (believe it or not) the Hollywood Cowboy Bar, then the Pretty Girl. It then went back to being the Pretty Lady, eventually becoming, in December of 1998, the Obsession. (The girls, while it was still a girl bar, used to call the Obsession the 'Off Station'). At that time, the Pretty Lady moved over to what is now the Bangkok Bunnies side.
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very recent. Send us an e-mail and we will do our best to answer you soonest.
It appears that the Pussy Collection (full name - Club Pussy Collection) is well and truly scrubbed from the map. But it did have a rather long history (historians only need apply). It operated in the early Nineties as an 'upstairs bar' in the current Club 66 digs. At that time, it didn't have the best of reputations, sometimes calling itself 'Pussys Collection', at others 'Pussys Collections'. It eventually closed down in May of 1994. However it was reincarnated as a 'legitimate' A Go-Go in September 2001 in what was previously Habaneros / Gold Finger's. And there it remained until it was closed down in January 2014, for 'infractions' (reportedly underage persons present within). Depending on who pays their 'fines' and how quickly they are paid...., this can cause unilateral, arbitrary police-directed closures of anywhere from ~about~ 2 weeks to 3 months. When that 3-month mark faded into the past, and the Pussy Collection had not reopened, word on the street was that it would be closed for an entire year. A unique 'punishment', indeed. Well, needless to say, the one year went by, as did the second year, and still no reemergence of the Pussy Collection. Recently someone, presumably acting on the owners' directions, removed the Pussy Collection's unique facade. The Midnight Hour reproduces below some of our archive photos of the Pussy Collection - taken back in the days when bar owners went out of their way to make their Venues uniquely attractive. Yet another nail in Patpong's coffin - RIP, Pussy Collection.
PATPONG I
The success of the relatively out-of-the-way The Den on Sukhumvit Soi 12 spawned it's namesake in the then-closed Radio City on PPI. It's success must have caught the attention of Bangkok's Name Gestapos, as we now see that The Den (on PPI) is now back to calling itself 'Radio City' - and certainly not by choice.... But don't be put off... the same friendly (The Den) staff, and shark, are in attendance....
The New Screw Boys Karaoke has opened newly between D'Talk and Top Less Poolbar. They are a branch of Screw Boys on PPII, and are also, obviously, a gay venue. We didn't see any customers when we passed by on the weekend. May they abide.
PATPONG II
Adult supervision... ...THE ART OF MANAGING SANUK.
Several of the bars in the Patpong area are exhibiting (sometimes boldly) the above sign. There continues to be a disparity in closing times for various 'categories' of Night Entertainment Venues.... The sign reads (briefly) :
1. This is a Category 3 (4) establishment with operating hours from 18:00 hrs - 01:00 hrs.
2. Persons of less than 20 years of age are forbidden to enter the premises during hours of business.
3. It is absolutely forbidden to allow addictive drugs on the premises.
4. It is absolutely forbidden to bring weapons onto the premises. The exception being uniformed officers, and only when enforcing the law.
Quietly 'under renovations' since December 2014, speculation was rife as to what Soi Cowboy's next bar would be. And what would it be called? This last month it opened - as Spritz, and it wasn't a bar, it was (and is) a restaurant. We don't know about it's daytime trade, but it appears empty most evenings. Let's take the long view, and see how things progress - it would seemingly do well as a bar beer....
Up in the back corner on the 2nd floor were the Rainbow 4 and the then-new A Fairy Bar, and things seemed to proceed normally. Then the Rainbow 4 got nailed for having underage employees. The long closure wasn't something the owners were looking forward to, so they changed the name of the bar to the R&B Bar (R&B - 'Rain' and 'Bow', geddit?). There... that should fool the authorities.... No? OK, then, how about if we take the katoeys out of the A Fairy Bar, and put them in the R&B Bar, and we take the real girls out of the R&B Bar and put them in the A Fairy Bar. There, nailed it, we're clear now.... Nope. The authorities, somehow, managed to see through that one as well. OK, then, we will close BOTH bars, and reopen them as one big bar called Four Bar. See ? We knew we could eventually put the pea under one of the cups, keep moving it around, and eventually come up with the winning combination....
OK, I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but why do I think the other shoe has yet to drop in this endless game of Nana musical chairs?
NANA PLAZA
For the last couple of months, the previous Bubbles on the 3rd floor was sitting dormant, no signs of life whatsoever. This month, some of the old Bubbles signage was taped back up at strategic locations. Hmmmm... something afoot?
The brand new Princess Massage has taken over, lock, stock and KY, from the now-extinct Chawan Massage. Wish them well on that slippery slope. Located on the 2nd floor of the Rajah Hotel outbuilding.
SOI NANA
Likewise, the Hollywood Salon has taken up from where the Relax Time Massage left off. May they continue to slip and slide. The Relax Time threw in the steamy towel this last month. Located on the main Soi.
SOI NANA
A brand-new bar beer, the Rest Hub 2, has opened up on the main drag just between 4 Bar and Melodies UK. And yes, they are the younger sister of the Rest Hub in the Rajah Hotel compound. Wish them luck as they cast their dice against the pitted wall of Fate.
The better water... (GENTLEMEN, IT IS ONLY WATER...)
SOI KATOEY
The Balcony had, for the last few years, lain claim to the sidewalk area infront of the old Rome Club for their extended bar beer service. Recently, they have taken posession of the shophouse as well, and now have themselves a proper 'annex'. More and better and faster and stronger....
The Tina, tucked away in the corner of the Honey Plaza is perhaps Soi 22's only A Go-Go bar. They also possess a long and varied history. Starting out as the Three Roses at Sukhumvit Soi 16, they were forced to move due to roadway expansion - whereupon they moved into Nana Plaza (before it was known as Nana Plaza) as one of the pioneer 'big three' A Go-Go bars. It kept it's name, Three Roses. The owner eventually sold out and moved into Soi Cowboy, opening the Toy Bar. He eventually sold that bar also, moving into Soi 22 as Tina Bar. The original owner has finally retired, and the Tina is now being run by his daughter.
SOI 22 - (Sukhumvit)
Abuilding adjacent to the abovementioned Tina Bar is a large soon-to-be Night Entertainment Venue. Rumors aside, we will wait and see what the name will actually be before we put it in print. We anticipate a June opening. We'll have another look next time around, and get back atcha.
Ocean (with their Pool Lounge, Gastro Bar and Spa) have, for the last year, been thrashing back and forth in collective spasms of death. Some months they would be 'tentatively' closed, other months they would be nominally open, but no lights on..... Someone finally came in and unplugged their life-support. They obviously stopped caring a long time ago.
SOI DEAD ARTISTS - SOI 33
The Amethyst Massage is the long-anticipated replacement for what used to be The Wall Street Bar. The Amethyst is an 'ambiguous' massage parlor. Let the nightgames begin....
SOI DEAD ARTISTS - SOI 33
The Captain 33 Seafood & Lounge Bar is closed for further renovations, after having only been open for a couple of months. (!?)
- File Photo
SOI DEAD ARTISTS - SOI 33
We note that both the Omotenashi Club Mitu and it's upstairs partner LB Club Mitu (in the S 33 Compact Hotel) have changed their only signs to read, "Love & Service". There are no other identifying signages, to include the legally required signs in Thai language. Further, we note that their sister Venue, previously the Honey, is also using that name as the main identifying sign. We suspect there is more to come as the 'Mitu' bunch play the 'name game'...
The Kazbar is a well-appointed open-air bar-pub, however custom has been falling since the tuk-tuk mafia decided to use the kerb in front to park their samlors, and the adjacent sidewalk to loiter, while they wait to overcharge wandering hotel guests. Perhaps they could.. well.. never mind.
SOI AMBASSADOR - (Sukhumvit Soi 11)
The El Matador Steak House is the surprise replacement for the El Gaucho Steak House - we wouldn't otherwise mention it, but the El Gaucho was becoming an after-hours meeting (and drinking) spot. Let's see if the trend continues with the El Matador....
Only darkness shone out of the N'Joy Bar when we passed by on the weekend. But this has happened before around the holidays. We will take a look back next time and confirm whether it has closed, one way or the other, and get back atcha.
- File Photo
QUEEN'S PARK PLAZA - SOI 22
The Sport 20-2 bar beer is, obviously, closed. For how long, no one knows. The adjacent main Sport 20-2 poolbar however is still up and running.
Bangkok Eyes goes back in time to
see
Who was new - And who was through
in the Expat Night Entertainment world.
How many of these old 'oases'
do you remember ?
Patpong I
* The upstairs Cassanova rip-off bar closed down, only to be replaced by the Octopus ripoff bar. No Nitespot currently occupies that area.
Patpong 2
* The Bua Luang Karaoke 2 closed it's doors. It was located next door to the Thai Room, taking up part of the space now occupied by the Tavern Three Saloon.
* The Princess Castle, located next door to the Pink Panther, reopened after a brief closure. That area is now occupied by the Screw Boy.
Soi Cowboy
* The Pink Pussycat had a soft re-opening. That real estate is now occupied by Cockatoo.
Nana Plaza
* No changes that month / year.
Soi Katoey(Silom Soi 4)
* The Telephone Pub & Restaurant and the co-located Telephone Karaoke reopened after a one-month closure. The Telephone Pub & Restaurant is still there, however the Karaoke is no more (absorbed into the Telephone Pub).
* The DP 2000 closed. It was located next door to Helene's Place.
*Divine -the upstairs to Sphinx- reopened --again. Those digs are currently home to the Fork & Cork.
Buckskin Joe Village(~ October 1988 to
October 2006)
(Also known -originally- as Tobacco Road or Soi Rot Fai or,
'The Tracks', and later as Machim [Thai] and Soi Zero)
Giant graf in Cairo suburb eL SEED THROWS UP BIGTIME
This graphic excerpt from Internet is, under current legal precedents and prevailing interpretations considered 'Fair Use' under copyright law.
The mega-graffiti in the Cairo slum of Manshiyat Naser is actually just over 50 separate graffiti on as many buildings. The trick is to be at exactly the right spot to be able to view it's various 'parts' as a whole. The sum of the parts, when viewed from the precise angle forms a giant calligraphy, and is the brainchild of artist eL Seed.
This graphic excerpt from Internet is, under current legal precedents and prevailing interpretations considered 'Fair Use' under copyright law.
eL Seed, a Franco-Tunisian artist, has named this collection "Perception", saying he was inspired by the words of the Coptic Bishop from the 3rd Century, Saint Athanasius of Alexandria. Saint Athanasius was to have spoken, "Anyone who wants to see the sunlight clearly must first wipe his eyes."
This graphic excerpt from Internet is, under current legal precedents and prevailing interpretations considered 'Fair Use' under copyright law.
Artist eL Seed has produced a number of such "calligraffiti" from New York to Doha to Paris, however his Cairo collection of 'pieces' is his most ambitious. And it is as remarkable as it is ambitious, in that an undertaking such as this was tolerated at all under the strict local government administration, which normally frowns on graffiti of any sort.
SOI THANIYA 
TOP
May's Nightlife News 
s chance would have it, we were queried about Soi Thaniya (actually a thanon) the other day, to which we replied we didn't cover that Night Entertainment Area on a regular basis. We vowed, however, to resurvey that most vibrant "Japanese" Entertainment Area. (It had been 6 years).
2002 - 2016, BANGKOK EYES /
bangkokeyes.com