Nana Plaza
Along with Soi Cowboy and Patpong, Nana Plaza is one of Bangkok's three most concentrated red-light districts. All attract primarily tourists.
History
The plaza's U-shaped building is roughly square-shaped, with a single opening on the west side, and consists of a ground floor and two additional floors arranged around a courtyard. It started as a restaurant and shopping center in the late-1970s. During the early-1980s, a few go-go bars appeared and gradually replaced the shops and restaurants. By the mid-1980s around twenty go-go bars had opened in the three-level court, taking advantage of the expansion of tourist hotels in the area.
In 2012 Nana Plaza was sold to a Thai JVC company Nana Partners Co Ltd., co-owned by Fico corporation and Panthera Group (formally known as Eclipse group) – one of Thailand's largest bar and nightclub operators – for a rumored US$25,000,000 after the land was inherited by seven sisters who wanted nothing to do with a red-light area. Panthera Group renovated the complex, becoming the landlord and providing the management and security services.
Facilities
Three short-time hotels, one of which has been renovated, operate on the top floor. Short-time hotels rent out rooms by the hour or more to patrons to take a bargirl for sex. Most bar girls in Nana Plaza will leave with customers upon payment of a bar fine. Smoking is banned indoors. There are two elevators, one on the north side of the building and one on the south. The building closes at 03:00 and lies dormant until the following evening. In 2016 two waitresses in the plaza's Bangkok Bunnies go-go bar said that they received monthly wages equivalent to £130 (US$165) and daily tips equivalent to £11–16 (US$14–20). This compares with a 2016 average monthly wage in Thailand of around 13,800 baht (US$388).
As of July 2019, Nana Plaza housed 30 bars and three "hotels".
As of July 2019, there were seven kathoey ("ladyboy") bars in Nana Plaza; Several other bars have a few ladyboys in their line-ups mixed with their regular go-go dancers.
Gallery
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Entrance to Nana Plaza when it was a shopping center
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Entrance to Nana Entertainment Plaza showing the old overhead signage
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Nana Plaza, May 2004
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Ladyboys, Cascade Bar
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Nana Plaza, November 2015
See also
References
- ^ "Contact". Nana Plaza. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
- ^ "Nana Plaza: A Guide". What's on Sukhumvit. Retrieved 2018-11-29.
- ^ Central Information Services, LLC (2006). Bangkok for Shy Guys: No-nonsense Travel Guide for Shy Independent Male Travelers. Central Information Services, LLC. p. 140. ISBN 9780978994303.
- ^ Radu (2018-07-26). "Top 10 Go-Go Bars at Nana Plaza, Bangkok". Overseas Attractions. Retrieved 2018-11-29.
- ^ "Nana Plaza". Nana Plaza. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
- ^ Askew, Marc (2004). Bangkok: Place, Practice and Representation. Routledge. p. 259. ISBN 9781134659852.
- ^ "After taking control of Nana Plaza our goals were simple". Panthera Group.
- ^ "Maps". Nana Plaza. Retrieved 2018-11-29.
- ^ Smith, Nicola (16 October 2016). "Thailand's red light district switches off to mourn the passing of King Bhumibol". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2018-11-29.
- ^ "Thailand Average Monthly Wages - Forecast". IECONOMICS. Archived from the original on 2 December 2016.
- ^ "Nana Plaza - The Worlds Largest Adult Playground". Deranged Society. 2017-12-25. Archived from the original on 2018-07-03. Retrieved 2018-11-29.
- ^ "Nana Red Light District Guide with Map of Nana Entertainment Plaza". Bangkok Red Eye. Retrieved 2018-11-29.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Official Nana Plaza Website
- Interview With Paul Hayward, Owner Of Nana Plaza
- Five Decades of Nana – documentary about the history of the bar areas of Nana (on YouTube)