Soi Cowboy

Soi Cowboy is a short (150 meter long) street with some 40, mostly go-go bars, similar to Nana Plaza and Patpong. It caters mainly to tourists and expatriates.

It is near Sukhumvit Road, between Sukhumvit Soi 21 (also called Soi Asoke) and Soi 23, within walking distance from the BTS Skytrain's Asok Station and the Bangkok MRT's Sukhumvit Station. The Grand Millennium Hotel is nearby.

The go-go bars follow the pattern common in Thailand: alcoholic drinks are served and women in bikinis dance on a stage. There is topless or even nude dancing.

The soi was given its name by longtime nightlife columnist Bernard Trink, after the late T. G. "Cowboy" Edwards, a retired American airman who opened one of the first bars there in 1977. Edwards got his nickname because he often wore a cowboy hat.

When Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was elected in 2001, his government instituted a "social order" campaign. As part of this, all bars, nightclubs and restaurants had to close by 02:00, later changed to 01:00 for all areas not officially designated as "entertainment zones". (Unlike Patpong, Soi Cowboy and Nana Plaza were not so designated). A mandatory midnight closing time was even discussed.

Over the years this policy has eased, and some Soi Cowboy bars stay open as late as 02:00.

At their entrance, all go-go bars carry government-mandated signs in Thai and English. The sign reads

NO-ONE INSIDE

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Wikipedia