| Back to Hot Spots >> Bangkok >> Pattaya | |
Bangkok's Night Entertainment Scene |
Nana Entertainment Plaza (NEP in short) is a well-known red-light spot nested in Soi 4 (Soi Nana Tai – South Nana) off Sukhumvit Road, just across from the Nana Hotel, within walking distance of the BTS Skytrain Nana station. It can be easily spotted by its glowing bulky neon sign 'Nana Entertainment Plaza' above the entrance and the money-changer booth adjacent to NEP's entrance. It is one of Bangkok's favorite playgrounds for men's night entertainment. The primary theme of the place could be best described as a pursuit of drinking, dancing, and yes, all other epicurean activities that amuse your senses, uplift your spirit, stimulate your emotions, and bring together enjoyment and relaxation. If you're into the scene, you'll love it there.
NEP Ground Level
NEP Upper Floors
NEP at Night
With a single entrance from Soi 4, the Nana Plaza is a square-shaped courtyard surrounded by 3-story high buildings with wide balustrades on second and third floors. It actually consists of three floors of bars. The open center of the ground floor, once used as a car park, is now seized by a handful of open-air beer bars. They are first in line to accost you once you have negotiated the narrow entrance into the Plaza's vibrant scene. Apart from a few short-time hotels operated on the top floor, virtually all other venues at NEP arranged in a Go-Go bar format. The full extend of bargirls employed by the Nana Plaza bars counted in thousands. Many bars do employ girls exclusively, while eye-popping revelations are always out waiting for oblivious male tourists around the corner. For particulars, take a look at the Tough Ladies title – to be able to behave with finesse in delicate situations and to get a picture of the allure and wonders that make Thai nightlife so irresistibly attractive for visitors the world over, it is essential to know those issues.
NEP During the Day
An ugly grey concrete complex during the day, as the night falls and daily heat subsides, a vital synergy of blasting music and flashy lights just about succeed at detracting attention away from the ugliness of it all. As in the Malls, almost everything at NEP is on sale tempting to solicit your attention in all kinds of spirited ways. Ever-changing Nana Plaza in the late 70s started out as a restaurant hub and, for years, has been catering to English speaking customers primarily from Europe, America, and the Middle East. Gradually Middle Eastern frequenters migrated to the Soi 3 (Soi Nana Nua – North Nana) just across the Sukhumvit Road. And in recent years, firstly, a few remaining restaurants inside the complex had been replaced by Go-Go bars. And lately, more and more Japanese men have found their way into the Plaza, most likely due to extremely high prices in the Japanese-oriented red-light districts and nightclubs. After an age-long tendency of exclusivity, this trend of putting together Western and Japanese partygoers is unprecedented in the night entertainment scene in Bangkok or elsewhere in Thailand.
Soi 4 (South Nana) During the Day
Beer Bar in Front of NEP
A View from NEP Entrance to Soi 4 (South Nana)
A mixture of hotels, dining, and entertainment venues from open-air and air-conditioned beer bars, pool, and snooker clubs crowded mostly by local frequenters, thru the humbled street vendors with go-carts and food-stalls, to the more sophisticated nightclubs, pubs, band bars producing quality live music, restaurants, massage parlours, and many other watering-holes and sorts of pleasures, all of which are situated side by side in Soi 4 and its vicinity. This exciting place is a popular hangout. It is worthwhile to take a look to really appreciate an assortment of the night entertainment and relaxation establishments Bangkok has to offer. One of them is...
Angels Disco
Angels Disco placed just opposite Nana Plaza on the ground floor of Nana Hotel behind the coffee shop. A spectacular discotheque (a.k.a. Nana Disco) with staged performances by "Angels Dancers". Over time, it has evolved into a popular after-hours meeting place. Occasionally, it gets really packed. Lots of girls, loud music, and drinks, but unlike other similar venues, there is an ever growing entry charge (as if for a drink), 380 Baht last time I saw. Time will tell, but it looks as if they're pricing themselves out of the market.
Angels Dancers
One Night in Bangkok
Remember that classic hit called "One Night in Bangkok"?
Music and lyrics by Benny Anderson, Tim Rice, Bjorn Ulvaeus, performed by Murray Head.
The song is still the "creme de la creme" of success, especially here in Thailand.
Here are a few popular bits of lyrics...
One night in Bangkok and the world's your oyster The bars are temples but the pearls ain't free You'll find a god in every golden cloister A little flesh, a little history I can feel an angel sliding up to me
One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble Not much between despair and ecstasy One night in Bangkok and the tough guys tumble Can't be too careful with your company I can feel the devil walking next to me
Ring a bell?
Put in tune?
Stunning lyrics, each word counts.
One needs to know Bangkok really well to be able to bring this up!
If ever there was a set of lyrics that portray Bangkok precisely as it is, it is this song. Released in 1984, and in 1985 the song was (and probably still is) officially banned by Thai authorities. Albeit that fact, the song's popularity in Thailand had never faded.
Enjoy it with the quintette of hot Thai girls dancing on the roof of a building.
BTW, nowadays Bangkok is also called "The City of Lost Angels".
To be continued...
To navigate across the site use our split Navigation Menu, or just...
Can't Find What You're Looking For – Tell Us What You Want.
Let Your Friends Know – Invite Them to Visit Us!
