TOBACCO ROAD CLOSES - MIDNITE HOUR

Tobacco Road (Soi Zero) - A Thumbnail History
~1988 - 09 June 2006

In 1987, Tobacco Road didn't exist, either as an Entertainment Area or as a roadway. At that juncture, there were a couple of clapboard noodles & beer-type shacks on the opposite side, on the North side, of Sukhumvit Road between the Soi 1 exit and the railroad tracks. These shanties served beer and or food during the day and evening, but were only of interest to the local population.

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         In spite of what would appear to be the poorest choice of locations, these clapboard shacks provided a convenient ‘hang-out’ after the heat of the day, and as a result, they began to proliferate.   By the end of 1988 they totaled more than a dozen; they had reached a unique, dusty, noisy “critical mass”, with no end of the expansion in sight; construction on new places was always in evidence.   Due to lack of space on the Soi 1 side of Sukhumvit, the ‘center of gravity’ shifted; all of the new places being erected were across the street on the South (Soi 2) side of Sukhumvit Road.   As they became more visible to passing traffic, foreigners began to visit these shacks for an inexpensive, if more than a little down-and-dirty, place to sit down and have a beer.   Competition was alive and well; soon afterward, some of the beer bar shacks began hiring ‘beer maids’ to keep the clientele interested.   In their own seedy way, this group of ramshackle beer sheds succeeded in becoming Bangkok’s first beer-bar area catering to the Farang trade.

         The “free” land adjacent to the railroad tracks was apparently available to anyone with the desire and means to put up a beer shack, and who had a connection to the incumbent group of bar ‘owners’.   “Choice” space near Sukhumvit was getting harder to find, nevertheless, construction of the shacks continued unabated. Construction materials were also at a premium for the low-budget entrepreneurs; anything flat and at least partially waterproof was subject to being impressed into service as roofing or siding, to include old Coca-Cola signs and construction site residue.   Materials could be seen being delivered by pickup trucks and on “roller skate” carts that were wide enough to be placed on the railroad tracks and manually pushed from deep within the slums sandwiched between the Tobacco Monopoly and the railroad line just adjacent.   - Providing of course, no trains were to be seen on the horizon.

         According to one survey of the area, in June 1990, not counting bars under renovation or changing hands or still under construction, there were 24 bars open for business.   These included the Friends Bar, the Bli Franzer, the ‘Honny’ Bar, the Silk’s Carousel, the Jay Bar, the Diamond A-Go-Go (oh, yes!), and the Sexy Night.   (Of these ‘pioneers’, only the ‘grand dame’ of Tobacco Road , the Sexy Night - Det 5 remained until the end.)

         By 1990, beer shacks adorned not only both the North and South sides of Sukhumvit, but also both sides of the railroad track.   Most had bootleg power and many by this time had their own refrigerators (but were keeping their ice chests, just the same).   The teeming shacks had encroached on RSR property to the extent that it was literally possible to stick one’s arm out of some of the nearest shacks and touch the passing trains.   (See map; trains slow to a crawl when crossing Sukhumvit.)   Safety was obviously not a consideration; inebriated Farang were often observed stumbling in the dark, back and forth across the tracks as they went from bar to bar.   One (reported) story was of a Farang who stuck his arm out of a beer shack on the Soi 1 side, and lost it to the passing train - he bled to death on the way to the hospital.   The eventual construction of the new roadway immediately adjacent and parallel to the railroad tracks was probably the single event that prevented regular repeats of the “inevitable” tragic train accidents.

         This new roadway, which connected Sukhumvit and Rama IV roads was not given a name by the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority until 2004, and was known informally as ‘Tobacco Road’ (The new name of the road is Duang Phitak).   This road project did, however, force the city authorities’ hand in dealing with this now rather unwieldy nest of beer bars built on the railway and roadway properties.    The shacks were ordered torn down, and due to imminent construction commencement, compliance was almost immediate   Most of the shacks survived however, by ‘reincarnating’ several meters to the West, their new center of gravity being then next to, and partly under the newly constructed expressway bridge.

         Entrepreneurial spirit, however, remained alive and well; bars were changing names and ‘owners’ and new, bigger and better places were being built on, and next to older bars.   The bars, however, were not the only entities to be changing names.   The area itself went from nameless groups of open-sided ‘lean-to’s to the unofficial “Soi Rot Fai” to the “Bangkok Night Market”.   It was again renamed “Buckskin Joe Village” , and then back to a similarly named “Bangkok Night Plaza Bar Beer Center & Night Market” , to “Machim” - the name of the slum area directly behind the complex, back to Buckskin Joe Village (this time with an improved sign).   But the original, unofficial, moniker, “Tobacco Road” was still being used by the many long-time customers .   Up until it closed, it brandished a sign reading, “Soi Zero”. And - up until the end, long time residents remained split on which should be the Night Entertainment Area’s ‘rightful’ name - with Tobacco Road and Buckskin Joe Village leading the popularity polls.

         But Tobacco Road’s final resting place had not yet been realized; its center of gravity would shift twice more.   Late in 1996, a construction project commenced right in the middle of the Entertainment Area.   It was to be a single row of 15 permanent shophouse-type beer bars with concrete floors, open roller-shuttered fronts and proper roofs.   Their backs still only 3 meters from the railroad tracks, they faced inward toward the Expressway bridge.   The several bars this project displaced moved temporarily across the lane, side by side with the few remaining undisturbed bars deeper under the expressway.   Many of those bars stayed put, not partaking of the final migration back to the new bars once the construction was finished.   The Sexy Night , for example, moved over, stayed put and later expanded).   Construction was eventually completed, to include proper electrical service, in March 1997, but there was no stampede back into these brand-new bars.   This was probably partially due to the rents, and the rest due to inertia. The ‘Another Bar’ , along with the ‘i 3 bar’ and ‘Bad Girls ? (Up To You) Bar’, were the first to occupy the new facilities in that same month.

         While 1989-1990 was probably the peak period in Tobacco Road’s history as far as total numbers of bars, the Entertainment Area had changed greatly in character since the early days.   It was no longer the random clusters of ramshackle squatter shacks it once was.   It had been upgraded to two single rows of permanent / semi-permanent construction.   Several of the bars went ‘up market’ and installed air-conditioning.   Many of the bars expanded, taking over one or two adjacent bars, making for more comfortable seating.   However, once Tobacco Road had attained this 'new' relative respectability with permanent buildings, and a constant source of electricity, etc, at the same time, it lost its earlier, formative ‘Wild West’ element, which was lamented by many of the longtime patrons.   A point-in-time check reveals the total number of bars as of April 2002 was 14, and further checks reveal that occupancy remained relatively stable until the last six months of the Night Entertainment Area's existence, when the number of bar closures began, once again, to exceed the number of those opening (or reopening).

         In December 2003, we heard the first rumblings that when the current lease on the land expired, it would not be renewed.   Our January 2004 Rumor Of The Month read :

"When the current lease holder at Soi Zero (Tobacco Road) is terminated in January 2004, the Government (owners) will close it down instead of reissuing new lease documents."

In truth, we find out afterwards, there was a court case, and not only were the Plaintiffs (The Expressway Authority of Thailand) not renewing contracts, they were asking the court to evict the leasing parties.

         And it seems that these were not the only troubling signs to befall Tobacco Road.   During the final two years, the upkeep of the Night Entertainment Area was not attended to; it became dirtier, and as signs and area lighting burnt out, they were seldom repaired.   Tobacco Road was slowly becoming dingier and dirtier - in spite of a handful of bars within that kept up appearances - at least as far as the doorstep...   Adding to that, there were a number of local soup kitchens on wheels that were setting up at the front of Tobacco Road, serving noodles and beer to the locals, and catering for those groups of late-night Thais who would order a bucket of ice, a couple of large Cokes, and bring their own bak of Mehkong whiskey.   The sight of drunken locals partying just outside the entrance to the Night Entertainment Area was less than conducive to potential customers walking by.   On the brighter side, the increasing number of feral cats living in abandoned and gutted bars kept the rat population in check.

         Two months ago, the rumors were flying fast and furious once again, some saying eviction would be within 3 days, some saying by month's end, others saying "about 3 months".   But then, and at last, two and a half years after the original legal case, the Civil Court of South Bangkok reiterated the earlier judgment, and on 01 June 2006 the Legal Enforcement Dept, Ministry of Justice posted the eviction notice.   All remaining bars complied by 09 June 2006, coinciding with the 60th Anniversary of the Coronation of the King.   Tobacco Road was dead; Long Live Tobacco Road.

         In the end, for those who remembered the free and wild (even if sometimes too wild) spirit of the Tobacco Road some sixteen or seventeen years ago, it was a little like putting down an old lame horse - the memories were great, but it was time to end the suffering.

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Tobacco Road Photo Essay

The longest running - and the classiest bar in Tobacco Road was the Sexy Night Det 5. They will be/ already have/ relocated to Sukhumvit Soi 8

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Another shot of the Sexy Night Det 5, showing their almost 50 ft of neon signage. We wonder if they have taken it with them?

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The Another Bar sign had two faces - one seen on coming in, the other on leaving.

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This photo of Another Bar and the Classic Bar Beer was taken just days before Tobacco Road's closure.

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By mid-June the Night Entertainment Area had become a ghost town - long stripped of anything of value.

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In recent years, the Blue Sky Bar expanded to two loc, absorbing another defunct bar beer. To the right is the Wanida, one of the first Poolbars to go air conditioned.

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The Bottoms Up Bar expanded to three loc, but in the end, to no avail.

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The Sexy Night Det 5 sported a column of decals which is a history lesson in it's own right. Frequent imbibers there, who saw fit to share their decals with the bar and other custom are : The Seabees (US Navy), the PACOM CONTINGENCY (Any Time. Any Where). the JPAC (Joint POW/ MIA Accounting Command,) the Cobra Gold gang (celebrating their 25th), JFT-FA, the Defense Attache System (attached to the US Embassy), and last but not least, Pattaya's Jesters Motorcycle Club charity organization. Perhaps it's worthwhile to reflect a second on all the elements that make Expat living in Thailand as good as it is. Could this be where the bar picked up it's "Det 5" ?

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Even after all was stripped clean from the abandoned Emu Bar, this iconic representation of an Ozzie and his beer remained smiling on....

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The recently reincarnated Honey Bar held out -against some staggering odds- until the very end.

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One Bar Beer owner found her own way of expressing her thoughts on Tobacco Road's closing night.

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The staff of the Lucky Touch await either a customer or closure of Tobacco Road, whichever may come first.

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The local graffiti artists have already started "getting up" in the abandoned Tobacco Road premises....

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The Morgan Bar, another long-time resident is planning to move across the street to the Sukhumvit 1 Plaza in the coming days.

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Some years back, the New Lucky Luke's added the "New" to avoid a conflict with Nana Plaza's original. It wasn't that many months ago that they expanded to be a double-wide Poolbar.

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The Phukadung was the Night Entertainment Venue that started it all However, being geared to local entertainment only, it was not the "seminal bar". A lot of the old taxi drivers, surprisingly, still remember the Phukadung, even though it has been closed for more than a decade.

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Our flash catches a gleam in Puss 'N Boots eye as he scratches around for scraps in this abandoned bar beer. Even though he is without an owner, he is quite friendly. Some of the mamasans, recently of Tobacco Road, come back in the evenings to feed him and a host of his relatives - seems they had become good friends over the years..

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The Rooster Bar, well appointed, did a surviving business, despite the waning crowds in the later years.

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The Turtle Bar, farthest down in the Soi, still eked out an existence. Here, a dried squid vendor tries to sell some of that smelly stuff to the staff. Photo taken a couple of days before they received notice to vacate.

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These Boots Ain't Made For Walkin'.

They didn't match, anyway.

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This traditional Spirit House, one of two, is still standing (the other is Chinese). It is quite attractive - I doubt they will leave it behind, wonder where it will be relocated to....

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At the left is what remains of the Another Bar, and further down, the New Lucky Luke's. In the end, the Grim Reaper takes all. Virtually all Bar Beer Areas in the Bangkok area have been "opportunistic", in that they were built on land destined for other uses - they are just there to capitalize on investment until such time as the land is developed for it's primary purpose.

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