Nana Plaza
Nana Plaza (officially Nana Entertainment Plaza; shortened NEP) is a 3 storey red-light district in Bangkok, which is rumoured to be the largest sex complex in the world. It is on Sukhumvit Road Soi 4[1] across from the Nana Hotel, within walking distance of the BTS Skytrain's "Nana Station". The name originates from the Nana family (Lek Nana being the most prominent member) which owns much property in the area and still has much influence in Thailand.
Along with Soi Cowboy and Patpong, Nana Plaza is one of the Bangkok red-light districts which attract primarily tourists.
The plaza is roughly square-shaped, with a single opening on the west side, and consists of a ground floor and two additional floors. It started as a restaurant area in the late 1970s. During the early 1980s, a few go-go bars appeared and gradually replaced the restaurants. The composition of the bars has changed over the years; the last non-go-go bar, the Woodstock Pub, was sold in 2005 to the Rainbow Group and reopened as "Rainbow 4."
In 2012 Nana Plaza was sold to a partnership that included the Eclipse Group - one of Thailand's largest bar and nightclub operators - for a rumored $25,000,000 after the land was inherited by seven sisters who wanted nothing to do with a red light area.
Several short-time hotels operate on the middle and top floors. Short-time hotels rent out rooms by the hour or more to the NEP patrons to take a bargirl (or kathoey) for sex. Most bar girls working at bars in Nana Plaza are willing to leave with customers upon payment of a bar fine.
As of November 2015, there are six kathoey bars in Nana Plaza; these venues are True Obsession (ground floor), Straps, Casanova, DC-10, and Temptations (middle floor), Charades (top floor). Several other bars have a few ladyboys in their line-ups mixed with their regular go-go dancers.
Nana Plaza is a common setting of the crime novels by John Burdett.
List Of Nana Plaza Bars
Many bars have changed name and ownership in recent times. The following list is accurate as of April 2016.
Ground Floor
- Nana Beer Garden
- Suckers
- Bangkok Bunnies
- New Wave Pool Bar
- True Obsession
- Rainbow 2
- The Sports Bar (outside bar)
- London Calling
- Playskool
- Rainbow
- Short Time (fast food outlet)
Middle Floor
- Straps
- Rainbow 3
- Chili
- Spanky's
- Angelwitch
- Sexy Night
- DC-10
- Casanova
- Bar Four
- Twister Bar (formerly Rainbow 4)
- Temptations
- Candy Land 2
- Mandarin Upstairs
- Mandarin
- Mercury
- Balcony Bar
Top Floor
- Erotica
- Billboard
- Bubbles (closed)
- Charades
- Jail Birdz
Gallery: Nana Plaza Entrance Sign
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Early photo of the entrance to Nana Plaza when it was a shopping center
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Entrance to Nana Entertainment Plaza showing the old overhead signage
Gallery: Inside Nana Plaza
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Nana Plaza, May 2004
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Ladyboys in front of Cascade Bar
See also
References
External links
Coordinates: 13°44′28.9″N 100°33′11.4″E / 13.741361°N 100.553167°E