NANA PLAZA BANGKOK – Everything you need to know

Nana Plaza Bangkok: Everything You Need to Know

Beautiful Thailand is famous for a thousand reasons, from its beaches to its temples, from natural landscapes to its tropical climate, making it one of the most visited countries in the world. However, its reputation for a less conventional type of tourism—namely adult entertainment—cannot be ignored either. And no place embodies this phenomenon better than Nana Plaza in Bangkok.
Although Bangkok is not exclusively known for sex tourism like Pattaya, Nana Plaza and the entire so-called “Sukhumvit Area” are a must-visit destination for those seeking a certain kind of fun and companionship.

As a regular visitor to Nana Plaza and the surrounding area, I will explain how it works, what you will find, what you can do and what is forbidden, and of course I will provide some useful tips to help you fully enjoy the experience. Here you will find all the information you need to visit this famous red-light district of the Thai capital.

The stigma around the sex industry in Thailand

Before going into details, it is important to understand that the sex industry in Thailand is a thriving business which, through its related economic activity, brings enormous amounts of money into the pockets of a wide range of businesses—from the smallest restaurant hidden in an alley to the most prestigious airlines, with no exceptions.
The women who work in these entertainment venues do so in order to earn money, build a future, be independent, support their families, and, why not, perhaps find someone who falls in love with them and supports them for the rest of their lives (it may sound strange, but many are young single mothers—this is quite common, especially among those coming from more rural areas of the country, far from big cities, but not only).
The fact that paid sex is officially illegal is largely irrelevant. It is part of the country’s culture and, in a way, regulated and absorbed into other activities where sex workers are formally classified under generic entertainment roles. What happens between workers and clients is private: no one forbids paying someone to go out with you, accompany you home, give you a massage, or simply entertain you with her company, and there is no law against consensual sex between adults. Therefore, you are technically paying for her time or for other services upstream, not for the sexual act itself.
In reality, things are more complex than this and the variables are endless. The point is that sex in Thailand is not a taboo as it is in some other countries, and engaging in it in a casual and playful way is very normal. (If a small gift happens as well, even better—and that is what any Thai girl you meet in the “entertainment zones” will expect, even if she is not officially working.)
Basically, it is a system that works very well, which is why in these areas you will find almost exclusively guest-friendly hotels, meaning hotels that allow you to bring a girl to your room without any problems or extra charges.

You have surely heard a thousand things about cases of sex trafficking, especially from the usual TV programs and sensationalist journalists who often write about matters they do not truly understand. Without a doubt, such cases unfortunately do exist, both in Thailand and in the rest of the world (and anyone who thinks nothing like this happens in their own country should really take off the blinders). That said, adult entertainment workers—also those at Nana Plaza—generally do this by their own choice, and many of them earn far more than an average factory worker or office employee elsewhere in the world (which, compared to a Thai worker’s salary, is actually a lot of money). It is worth keeping this in mind before assuming that working in this sector is necessarily a bad deal.

Guide to Nana Plaza – The Basics

What exactly is Nana Plaza?

Nana Plaza is located in Bangkok on Sukhumvit Soi 4, also known as Soi Nana, directly opposite the famous Nana Hotel and about three hundred meters from the Nana BTS (Bangkok Mass Transit System) station. It is an adult entertainment complex, a small red-light district arranged around a covered, enclosed central square, with security at the entrance.
Essentially, it is a three-story U-shaped building, originally built in the 1970s as a shopping mall and later converted into a go-go bar complex in the late 1980s. Along the perimeter there are nearly thirty go-go bars of various sizes—some truly huge with dozens and dozens of girls, others smaller, with specific themes or a nightclub-style setup, elegant or more basic, new or decades old, dedicated to girls or ladyboys—in short, there is something for every taste.
At the center of the square is the “beer garden,” a large open-air bar that sits in the middle of everything, while the two upper floors have balconies where girls who are not working inside can go out to smoke, eat, and chat among themselves between stage shifts, but also to invite customers to come in.

What are go bars?

Go-go bars are adult entertainment venues with lights and music, one or more stages, a main floor with stools and sofas, and often tiered seating areas. You can spend the evening drinking and socializing, and it is also possible to ask the girls to go out with you to another place and do other things—of course, by paying the appropriate fees to the girl herself and a bar fine to the venue.

To explore this topic further, you can read. “Anatomy of a Go Go Bar” with all the details and useful information about it.

Bargirls are generally fairly attractive and pleasant women between the ages of 20 and 30. They work as dancers and entertainers, wear revealing clothing, and are usually uninhibited. They are employed by the venue, earning a fixed salary plus a percentage of the so-called “lady drinks.”
Buying the girl a drink is necessary if you want to enjoy her company. Lady drinks are generally more diluted and contain less alcohol, or may even be non-alcoholic, with the exception of tequila shots and similar drinks. These are quicker to drink but have a high alcohol content and are the main reason why some of the more “enterprising” girls end up getting drunk.
The girls take turns on stage every 10–15 minutes, and an old unwritten rule states that, after you have bought her a drink, the girl should remain with you at least until her next turn on stage. In some cases, however, this guideline is ignored, and in the busiest venues the girls tend to become “pushy,” asking for more drinks. In that situation, it is up to the customer to go along with it, if he thinks it is worth it, or to refuse and let her leave.
In some cases, however, the opposite is also true. Much depends on the girl, on how much she enjoys your company, and on whether she is aiming for the bigger payoff—long time or short time—or prefers to make money solely from drinks inside the venue.
This system relies heavily on trust. The girls rarely betray the trust of a generous customer and will stay with you, entertaining you in various ways, if you show yourself to be generous, regardless of whether or not you want her in your bed at the end of the evening.

Mamasans are older women, often former long-time sex workers who are now considered too old for the job. They are the equivalent of floor managers: they supervise the staff, look after regular customers, and facilitate transactions when you want a girl to accompany you back to your hotel.
To take a girl out of the venue, you must pay the bar fine—a kind of fee paid to the establishment to compensate for the lady-drink revenue it will lose while she is away with you.
There are two options: short time, usually lasting a couple of hours and following the rule “when you come, she leaves,” or long time, generally lasting until the following morning or afternoon, with no precise limit on the number of “shots” available.

Do you want to learn more? I recommend. The Prices of “Sex Pay” in Asia, where the average rates for Go Go Girls’ “room services” are also shown.

What you will find in Nana Plaza

(Curiosity: in Thailand, the term “ground floor” does not exist. It is always referred to as the “first floor”; what we would call the first floor becomes the second, and so on.

• First floor: As soon as you enter the square, you will see the Beer Garden, a large open-air central bar. Two staircases on the sides both lead to the first level: the one on the left is a normal staircase, while the one on the right is an escalator that goes up in one direction. Next to it are the restrooms, and almost hidden there is another staircase that also leads to the first level but from “behind” rather than from the balcony side.
  All around the perimeter there are several go-go bars, each with a sort of slightly raised bar/outdoor space in front of the entrance, such as TWISTER BKK. On the opposite side from the square’s main entrance, there is a third staircase that leads to the upper floors.

• Second floor: This level can also be reached via the side staircases, but to go up to the third floor you must use the central staircase. The balcony that serves as a corridor, onto which all the go-go bars open, is always crowded with passersby and girls in bikinis or ladyboys. The second floor is perhaps the most lively and energetic of the entire complex, and it hosts some of the most “folkloric” go-go bars, such as Spanky’swhere the girls use foam rubber batons to “spank” passersby, or theAngel Witch, the historic dark-gothic themed venue, but also the Wonderland, one of the smallest venues, which nonetheless features some of the most interesting ladyboys in the neighborhood; then there are the Rainbow 4 e 5, practically next to each other and filled with girls who fit Asian aesthetic standards, and right beside the escalator there is Red Dragon, considered by many to be one of the go-go bars with the best lineup of girls. But there are many others to explore, and some reinvent themselves and change names quickly, especially the smaller ones.

• Third floor: This is where the giants of Nana Plaza are located: BillBoard and Butterflies. They are the largest venues, with the best sound and lighting systems, dozens of girls on stage and moving around among the tables, or completely naked in foam-filled tubs. The lineup is generally of good quality, although with ups and downs considering the sheer number of girls involved.
  Part of the same group is also the more recent OnTop, a small venue but with its own distinctive style unlike any other go-go bar. It maintains—and even surpasses—the quality of the “giants.” It was conceived as a sort of VIP lounge for the other two and is run by former staff members from both, so it is in good hands.
  In these venues, drink prices, and especially bar fines and girls’ rates, increase accordingly. Often it is worth it, but only if you have an adequate budget or if you want to spend a fun evening in a nice place with beautiful girls. Otherwise, it is better to stay on the lower floors, where quality and quantity are still plentiful.

Important notes to remember

• Nana Plaza is officially open from 7:00 PM to 2:00 AM (although some venues stay open until around 2:30 AM). Peak hours are generally between 10:00 PM and 1:00 AM.

• Photos and videos are prohibited inside. Entry is monitored by security guards, and it is strongly discouraged to try to be clever with hidden cameras and the like. If you really want a souvenir photo, it’s best to do so discreetly, or better yet, hand your smartphone to the girl you’re buying a drink for—it’s safer that way.

• Adults only: entry is not permitted for anyone under 18. Naturally, it is open to everyone—both men and women.

• Entry is controlled at the entrance by security guards, with possible ID checks. Naturally, it is open to everyone—both men and women.

• There is no entrance fee, but to stay inside the venues you are required to purchase at least one drink. A beer costs around 170 baht, and lady drinks—bought for the girls in exchange for their company—cost on average about 220 baht.

• Do not be aggressive or violent toward the girls. It should go without saying, but it is always worth repeating.

• If you run into problems inside a venue, always remember where you are and don’t try to play the hero. If there is a solution, you will find it in a peaceful way; if there isn’t, raising your voice or getting angry will only create more trouble.
  The go-go bars at Nana Plaza are not scams or tourist traps, but they are still very borderline venues where misunderstandings and a bit of trickery can happen. In such cases, it’s better not to ruin your vacation and simply move on.

History of Nana Plaza

When you pass beneath the glowing sign of Nana Plaza today, it is easy to believe that this enormous complex of go-go bars has always been here, alive and pulsating at the heart of Bangkok’s nightlife.
The reality is very different. In the 1980s, Nana Plaza was little more than a half-empty mini shopping centre, with a couple of restaurants, a pharmacy, a travel agency, and a few small shops. Nothing suggested that it would one day become one of Asia’s largest adult-entertainment districts.
There was only one small bar, Lucky Luke’s, located at the entrance. It was simply a place people passed through, bearing no resemblance to the world of neon lights and numbered girls that we know today.

In 1981, Bangkok was undergoing a major phase of urban transformation.
The construction of the Ratchadaphisek Road extension was reshaping entire areas of the city. Massive roadworks—eight lanes, new interchanges, and major widening projects—forced many shops along Sukhumvit to close temporarily. And by temporarily, we mean that the façades of buildings were literally cut away and rebuilt farther back.
It was an urban earthquake.

What sounds like an urban planning note was actually the trigger that gave birth to the Nana Plaza that everyone knows today.

Right in that area there were a few small historic “A Go Go bars”: Rosemary 1, Rosemary 2, The Three Roses, The Rainbow Bar, and The Sunshine Bar. These venues, known as the “Soi 16 Bars,” were forced to close almost overnight because of the construction works. No one knew when—or if—they would be able to reopen.

With no alternatives, in 1982 four of the five venues made a decision destined to change the history of Thai nightlife forever: they moved to Nana Plaza.

The two Rosemary venues merged into a single bar. The Three Roses quickly found its audience. The Rainbow changed its name a couple of times before returning to “Rainbow 1.” And those signs, still present today, became the foundation of everything.
Sunshine was the only bar that did not follow them: it moved to Soi Cowboy, becoming Sunshine Dee Ja. It is fair to say that Lucky Luke’s was the first venue at Nana Plaza, but it was the four “Soi 16 Bars” that truly created the identity of the place. They are the ones who brought go-go bars to Nana. They were the ones who lit the spark.

The initial growth was slow—fewer than two new bars per year—but it was steady progress. And there was one fundamental factor supporting it: the clientele of the most well-known hotel in the area, the Nana Hotel. All it took was crossing the street to enter paradise.
Inside the square there were also two small, always-full guesthouses: Nana Guest House and Royal Siam Guest House. This combination created a constant flow of men looking for fun—Westerners at first, then Japanese, and eventually people from all over the world.

In 1990, Nana Plaza appeared in travel guidebooks, even in more “family-friendly” ones such as Lonely Planet. At that point, it had reached “critical mass.” It had become a destination. Some of the legendary venues of that era were Private Dancer, Mon Cherie, Bubble Gum, Slitz!, and the only Japanese bar Nana ever had, Club New Fuchicho, which disappeared in the mid-1990s.

Another fundamental venue was the Hollywood Royal, the first “Patpong-style” bar, featuring more explicit shows and bolder performances. This opened the door to the evolution of the entire plaza, with rotating stages, erotic shows, elaborate scenography, and shower shows. Woodstok was also a top-tier venue during its golden era.
From that point on, growth never stopped. Nana Plaza has survived moralist governments, economic crises, changes of ownership, coups, pandemics, and after more than 40 years it is still one of the most famous reference points in the world of adult entertainment.

Prostitution in Thailand

As already mentioned, contrary to what one might think by looking around, prostitution is not legal in Thailand. However, the authorities are very tolerant in this regard: everyone is free to manage their own body as they see fit, as long as they remain within the bounds of public decency and do not cause problems for others. Checks are aimed primarily at preventing exploitation and underage prostitution, which is rightly punishable by prison sentences of up to 40 years.
Bar girls, on the other hand, are paid by the venues as members of staff and earn a percentage on the so-called “Lady Drinks” in addition to their basic salary.
What a bar girl does outside the bar is not the venue’s concern. The establishment does, however, collect the “bar fine” to compensate for the lost income caused by the girl’s absence while she is out with a customer, but only if she leaves with him during working hours.
In any case, the customer’s payment is for her company, not for any sex that may take place in private. That remains the woman’s consensual choice and, technically, cannot be classified as a sexual service provided in exchange for money.
Of course, everyone knows how it works in reality, and although the law punishes the “exploitation” of prostitution, the term is not applied according to foolish criteria as it is in other countries, such as Italy. The authorities allow sex workers in these venues a certain degree of personal freedom, so they are not forced to work in the shadows, with all the risks that this entails.
Apparently, this arrangement works fairly well for everyone, and objectively each woman manages her own affairs in whatever way she considers most appropriate to her needs.
But it is undoubtedly a difficult concept to understand for those who have been conditioned from birth to see sex as something both sacred and sacrilegious.

The Road to Nana Plaza – Sukhumvit 4 Alley

Nana Plaza is located at the beginning of Sukhumvit Soi 4, commonly known as Soi 4 or Soi Nana, a long street that is always lively after dark and lined with bars, small restaurants, nightclubs, and workers of every kind.

Bar e bargirls

In many bars along the street—most of them English-style pubs—there are bar girls who serve drinks but also entertain customers. They do not wear bikinis and do not have numbers like in go-go bars, but they often wear provocative outfits and know very well how to charm a man.
The dynamic is similar to that of go-go bars: you can buy a girl a drink and pay a bar fine for her exclusive company outside the bar (provided she agrees; otherwise, there’s nothing you can do).

Restaurants

In Soi 4 and the surrounding area there are also several restaurants offering a variety of cuisines, from traditional Thai to international, and of course there is Bangkok’s famous street food.

Massage

Sukhumvit Soi 4 has fewer massage parlours than other areas, and most of them offer traditional massage only. Any possible “special services” are not listed on the menu but may sometimes be discussed on the spot. In any case, this is not the most suitable street for those looking for more particular kinds of massage.

Freelancer

Freelance sex workers are practically everywhere along Soi Nana. Thai women, ladyboys, “African gazelles,” Vietnamese women, and other Asians can be found there from sunset until dawn, catering to every taste. They often approach passers-by to offer their services. If you are not interested, simply say “no, thank you” and keep walking.

Other services

ATMs, mini-markets, and hourly-rate hotels: the area around Nana Plaza has everything you need to enjoy your evening and night without lacking anything.

Looking for a guide to the streets of Sukhumvit’s most famous neighborhoods? Here it is: Where to Stay in Bangkok – Hotels and Venues between Nana, Asok and Phrom Phong, with a map of guest-friendly Hotels and the best “For Men” Venues.

In a nutshell.

Now you should have a general idea of what to expect at Nana Plaza, one of the most famous red-light districts in the world. It is the ideal place for those seeking fun and beautiful, uninhibited girls. Without a doubt, it’s an experience worth trying—alone or with friends—even just to observe up close the eccentric and lively nightlife of the area.

If you need more information for your holiday in Bangkok—where to stay, which hotels are guest-friendly, where to find the best massage centres and adult entertainment venues, as well as guides on getting around the city and much more—I invite you to visit the Thailand section, where you will also find the Editor’s travel diaries, written by yours truly ^^.