After Soi Cowboy...what Next?

[Loz]

Sorry, I don't get to BKK often.

What is on SOi 33? ('cos I'll pass it on my what to soi 10 where I more than likely stay in BKK, and I'm curious).

Also tell me more about the scams these Africans pull. I have seen african ladies mixed in with the THais but never been approached for a scam. But then I don't play pool.

[Spee]

... the ladyboy pick-pockets on the South Side of Sukhumvit are not a welcome attraction ....

Then again, you know where they are so they can be easily avoided. If or when the pickpockets are running rampant on the crowded BTS trains like they are on the mass transit trains in places like Madrid, London, Paris, New York, Chicago, etc., then you will be wishing for the days when they were working a relatively small section of the street.

[billd766]

My friend has a place on Washington Square and told me this month the the leases will be called in during sometime in May 2011

I have been going there on and off since 1993.

Wouldn't surprise me to see Washington Sq get a revamp. It certainly needs one and is in the right location. I suspect a mega-hotel/shopping complex will arrive first though.

Cowboy looks permanent and well established, but that precinct used to be much bigger until about 6 years ago when the other complex on the corner down to soi 23 was suddenly closed down by the heavy mob. And behind those neon lights are a load of dilapidated shop houses with bars on the ground floor.

Soi 0 under the expressway should have been a good location but failed. Under that expressway all the way up to the khlong is a vacant area that even the neighbouring shanty town hasn't been allowed to expand into. Went for a walk and stumbled into that area once. A disquieting experience, but wasn't threatened at all.

People have been saying for years that NEP will close and I expect one day it will, but I doubt any of these people are in the know. I think that if it did, the nearby hotels and tourist infrastructure would go with it and there's no hurry to close it.

[beaker]

have to agree about changes in places....espcially around sukhmvit.......wasnt so long ago that the grace hotel was the place to be with all the bars in soi 13 an opposite where the park is, also on the corner of asoke were a few bars.....all of this in 7 yrs. GONE.

[thachana]

like many farang i went thailand some 20years ago,and for the same reason that most single farangs go for but after 2years i tired of the same thing over and over again,i have sat in bars in bkk samui pattaya phuket chaing mai,then out of the blue i met my lovley wife,and she introduce me to THAILAND.so for the last 18years i have not been back to the above mentioned bars,i have truly found out about the real THAILAND,the stunning countryside the majestic temples,and the way normal thais live,i have read about thai history,about the royal family,and the struggle of past wars,my grandchildren know as much about thai history as uk history,this probably has nothing to do with this topic,but there is much much more to THAILAND than gogo bars bar fines,and tales of conquest to the mates on the return home,this is why it will never be a destination for family holidays,it is a shame because it has so much to offer,thachana

[tracer5050]

All are fun to look around , then go home LOL

[lovelomsak]

There is no where after "soi Cowboy " is done Thailand has changed,the nightlife has changed, and mostly the players have changed.When I first came here Thais ran everything owned everything. It was simpler ,safer, more fun,and people were pleasant to deal with. That is gone. Foreigners run everything for expat venues. Foreigners are the dangerous people in most places. The good days are gone welcome to the ghetto. It willnot be cleaned up it will just get worse. Foreigners have made their own problem and the thais could care less. In the white ghetto kill each other, drug each other, rob each other the thais could care less. I think we make our bed and sleep in it sorry. I strongly feel soi 0 to soi 21 on sukhimvit will just get worse the thais will survive who work there because you mess with one you mess with the whole street of them. But if some foreigner wants to take over a pool table or shake some other foreigner down why should the thais care. Its not their business and they may even enjoy seeing foreigners beat on each other.

There is no where to go after soi cowboy is done. The foreigners have basically built themselves a cage. Guys will have to get brave again and seek Thai places that they can join in on and forget hanging with other foreigners.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

There is no where after "soi Cowboy " is done Thailand has changed,the nightlife has changed, and mostly the players have changed.When I first came here Thais ran everything owned everything. It was simpler ,safer, more fun,and people were pleasant to deal with. That is gone. Foreigners run everything for expat venues. Foreigners are the dangerous people in most places. The good days are gone welcome to the ghetto. It willnot be cleaned up it will just get worse. Foreigners have made their own problem and the thais could care less.

I'm not sure if that's correct but I do feel that by and large I enjoy Thai owned places more. With a couple notable exceptions both ways.

There is no where to go after soi cowboy is done. The foreigners have basically built themselves a cage. Guys will have to get brave again and seek Thai places that they can join in on and forget hanging with other foreigners.

Yup! And you know what, that's just fine with me. I already do that on occasion, it's a lot of fun to boldly go where noone has gone before. For some reason when in completely un-touristed areas I have a blast of a time at some tiny little nightlife shack. Though a big part of that is also the amount of effort and good vibes you put in yourself. Sometimes when I'm in not a very good mood then the night doesn't take off no matter how great the surroundings.