Soi Cowboy

On arriving at the top of Soi Cowboy, you will be greeted by an almost blinding amount of neon from the 30+ go-go bars that line the street. Venture down the ally and the other thing that becomes plentiful is scantily clad girls besides the bars beckoning you to go in. The good thing is they are not pushy, and it is all done with a smile and a bit of light humour. They will focus their attention on single men for obvious reasons but everybody is welcome. This is a great place to see go-go girls, coyotes and ladyboys in a pretty ‘easy-going’ environment, and just walking the street is a fun experience in itself. So, what’s the difference between go-go girls and coyotes? Go-Go girls dance to get guys’ attention to be taken away from the bar for further activities, where they make their real money. They may not be so great at dancing. Coyotes are hired for their ability to dance; they may even be dance trained and are officially not for hire for anything else. That’s the theory, in practice, these lines start to become a little blurred where there’s money to be made. Those that choose to venture inside will typically find more colourful lights, neon, UV and seats gathered around a stage with girls in minimal clothing dancing often around poles. If they are go-go girls, the clothing can get down to just shorts the later it gets. Just take a seat wherever you like and order a drink, there are no scams to watch out for here and expect to pay 100-150B for a beer, up to 180B in the more expensive places. If you are looking like you want some attention, girls may come over to see if you want to chat. If you want them to stay with you, you buy them a drink (a ‘lady drink’ around the bar beer price), if you don’t, they will happily leave you alone. Generally Fri-Sun a lot of bars will put on shows which are choreographed dance routines or more ‘naughty’ shows. There are loads of bars to choose from, we’ve put a few worth a mention below: Sheba’s A Go-Go – Has some good shows on including a four girl lesbian show and a four girl choreographed pole dance to rock music. Shark – If you are around early there’s a happy hour from 4:30-8:00pm where a beer is 80B (same for lady drinks). Cockatoo – Just in case the name didn’t give it away this is Soi Cowboys only ladyboy bar. Suzy Wong – Has a fun show where girls play together with lots and lots of soap. Beer prices are a bit higher though at 160B for a beer. Getting Here Both the Asok BTS station and the Sukhumvit MRT station are a 2 minute walk. Address: Soi Cowboy, Khlong Toei Nuea, Sukhumvit, Bangkok