nana plaza back in the day

[upside]

What was Nana Plaza like back in the 80s and 90s ?

 

What were the original club names and who were the guys running them? 

 

I've heard it's changed a lot since those times and I'd like to hear any stories you might have! 

[teakman]

I was living beside the klong at rail tracks when Nana plaza first opened. rents started at 4000baht/month and the first gogo bar was called Woodstock run by an American.after a few months he moved it to the corner of the plaza where he had a restaurant downstairs with the bar upstairs.i had my breakfast there everyday and John(the owner)and I were hockey fans so we used to watch taped games on his wall screen. after a few months,more bars started up and was giving patpong a run for it's money while soi cowboy with its few bars was ever so quiet. a bunch of us along with a bevy of bar girls used to hang out at the Nana hotel pool and one of the guys(a Belgian mercenary)decided to open the first beer bar at the entrance called Lucky Luke's.it was the only bar open during the day and remained there for years. John at Woodstock arranged the first dance contest and was won by my favorite girl at the time. too bad I still don't have the promo t-shirt which had aow(the eventual winner) in sillouette on it. beers were still relatively cheap then at 20baht at the beginning(exchange then @25b/$1) and bar fines @200b and the dancer was 200-300baht with no time restraints then like they are now. most of the time they would even wash your clothes for you and clean your place.real gf experiences then unlike now. different times indeed!

[upside]

So what year was that in? 

[NickJ]

About thirty years ago. I would guess. I remember when the Plaza was pretty much it on the whole soi. Is the John your referring to English Johnny? The guy that later came to run quite a few of the bars.

Edited January 11, 2017 by NickJ

[Jai Dee]

Topic moved to Expat Life forum.

 

/Moved.

[phuketrichard]

1 hour ago, teakman said:

I was living beside the klong at rail tracks when Nana plaza first opened. rents started at 4000baht/month and the first gogo bar was called Woodstock run by an American.after a few months he moved it to the corner of the plaza where he had a restaurant downstairs with the bar upstairs.i had my breakfast there everyday and John(the owner)and I were hockey fans so we used to watch taped games on his wall screen. after a few months,more bars started up and was giving patpong a run for it's money while soi cowboy with its few bars was ever so quiet. a bunch of us along with a bevy of bar girls used to hang out at the Nana hotel pool and one of the guys(a Belgian mercenary)decided to open the first beer bar at the entrance called Lucky Luke's.it was the only bar open during the day and remained there for years. John at Woodstock arranged the first dance contest and was won by my favorite girl at the time. too bad I still don't have the promo t-shirt which had aow(the eventual winner) in sillouette on it. beers were still relatively cheap then at 20baht at the beginning(exchange then @25b/$1) and bar fines @200b and the dancer was 200-300baht with no time restraints then like they are now. most of the time they would even wash your clothes for you and clean your place.real gf experiences then unlike now. different times indeed!

mid 80's woodstock was  back on the 2nd floor in the corner and a great place for lunch ( along with superstar on Patpong) to have a good sandwich, escape the heat and catch a film.

ahh the good old days,   Soi cowboy was actually fun back in the 80's as was the Therme after 2 am.

[ExpatOilWorker]

Back in the days a lot of the girls would wear flip flops on stage, but then within a few years long shafted boots were the latest go-go fashion. 

The Garry Larson cartoons at the Woodstock rest rooms were always a good read.

 

Lots of fun memories.

 

[Ulysses G.]

I always liked Patpong better in the late 80s and early 90s, but Nana was more laid back. The King's  Castle girls on Patpong were WAY prettier - some like movie stars -  but Nana was less expensive.

[NoshowJones]

The first time I went to Soi 4, I was on my own, I had read and heard about Nana Plaza, and I walked about half the length of the Soi and back down the other side, when I saw these go go bars, and walking past them, I actually thought I was in Nana Plaza, it wasn't until the second time I went there, that I realised I had walked straight past the entrance without knowing that it was Nana Plaza. This would have been about 2005.

[teakman]

21 hours ago, upside said:

So what year was that

I was living beside the klong at rail tracks when Nana plaza first opened. rents started at 4000baht/month and the first gogo bar was called Woodstock run by an American.after a few months he moved it to the corner of the plaza where he had a restaurant downstairs with the bar upstairs.i had my breakfast there everyday and John(the owner)and I were hockey fans so we used to watch taped games on his wall screen. after a few months,more bars started up and was giving patpong a run for it's money while soi cowboy with its few bars was ever so quiet. a bunch of us along with a bevy of bar girls used to hang out at the Nana hotel pool and one of the guys(a Belgian mercenary)decided to open the first beer bar at the entrance called Lucky Luke's.it was the only bar open during the day and remained there for years. John at Woodstock arranged the first dance contest and was won by my favorite girl at the time. too bad I still don't have the promo t-shirt which had aow(the eventual winner) in sillouette on it. beers were still relatively cheap then at 20baht at the beginning(exchange then @25b/$1) and bar fines @200b and the dancer was 200-300baht with no time restraints then like they are now. most of the time they would even wash your clothes for you and clean your place.real gf experiences then unlike now. different times indeed!

  to answer when Nana opened,I remember around late summer'85.about the same time the landmark hotel was just being finished. I was renting a small house over the klong(now paved over) and several girls from soi cowboy and Nana plaza were renting rooms opposite  my place. great fun listening to their bar tales! the American owner of Woodstock finally got an offer he couldn't refuse and opened a restaurant by same name over by thonglor. his bar at Nana became the first of the rainbow chain. on the 3rd floor of Nana was a snooker hall in which I spent late afternoons playing and had many girls working there.though most would find employment downstairs for the better money offered. 

   having not been to soi cowboy for awhile back then,i was surprised one night the change that had taken place there. they had raised the street with a winding single lane with kiosks lined on both sides making it look quite congested.that didn't last long! Nana didn't take long to catch on and went to cowboy sometimes for its chill. 

[upside]

I've been listening to my dad's stories from nana and trying to put a time line together. He started the Hollywood bars first was Hollywood royale in nana along with another guy called Johnny and 1 other that started a bar called Thriller, his name was Michael Jackson hence the name but another guy from the Eva air family was also involved and together they pushed nana into the 3 storeys its today

 

Now according to my dad there was only 1 place in nana at the time and I've forgotten the name but the food was ok he said perhaps an English bar that Johnny had started 

 

Anyhow I'm just trying to piece it all together 

 

Any help welcome 

 

 

 

 

[eldragon]

It's changed heaps in the five years I've been here. Nowadays the girls flock to the Japanese guys and will barely let a white dude buy em a drink. The last time I bought a girl a drink in one of those places she thanked me and walked away.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[Fabricus]

On 1/11/2017 at 2:55 PM, teakman said:

I was living beside the klong at rail tracks when Nana plaza first opened. rents started at 4000baht/month and the first gogo bar was called Woodstock run by an American.after a few months he moved it to the corner of the plaza where he had a restaurant downstairs with the bar upstairs.i had my breakfast there everyday and John(the owner)and I were hockey fans so we used to watch taped games on his wall screen. after a few months,more bars started up and was giving patpong a run for it's money while soi cowboy with its few bars was ever so quiet. a bunch of us along with a bevy of bar girls used to hang out at the Nana hotel pool and one of the guys(a Belgian mercenary)decided to open the first beer bar at the entrance called Lucky Luke's.it was the only bar open during the day and remained there for years. John at Woodstock arranged the first dance contest and was won by my favorite girl at the time. too bad I still don't have the promo t-shirt which had aow(the eventual winner) in sillouette on it. beers were still relatively cheap then at 20baht at the beginning(exchange then @25b/$1) and bar fines @200b and the dancer was 200-300baht with no time restraints then like they are now. most of the time they would even wash your clothes for you and clean your place.real gf experiences then unlike now. different times indeed!

 

Wow! What a superb post.

 

Can you remember the Belgian guy's name?

 

Also, do you remember when Soi Zero opened?

 

[chiang mai]

Lucky Luke's and Hogs Breath were my hangouts in the late 1990's, a totally different environment then from what's there today.

 

Soi Zero (Buckskin Joe's) was a brilliant place, it was in existence in 1995 for sure, Bangkok changed for me when Soi Zero closed..

Edited January 12, 2017 by chiang mai

[Fabricus]

26 minutes ago, chiang mai said:

Soi Zero (Buckskin Joe's) was a brilliant place, it was in existence in 1995 for sure, Bangkok changed for me when Soi Zero closed..

 

I used to drink at the bar down at the very end, on the right. It was owned by a Canadian O&G worker. I'm sure his name was Greg.

 

I had two girls from Soi Zero. Both were pretty cute. Nice tits, too.

Edited January 12, 2017 by Fabricus

[chiang mai]

Just now, Fabricus said:

 

I used to drink at the bar down at the very end, on the right. It was owned by a Canadian O&G worker. I think his name was Greg.

 

I had two girls from Soi Zero. Both were pretty cute. Nice tits, too.

 

Three Roses: owned by three US Vietnam vets who settled, remember that, next to Hogs Breath.

[Fabricus]

16 minutes ago, chiang mai said:

 

Three Roses: owned by three US Vietnam vets who settled, remember that, next to Hogs Breath.

 

I definitely remember the name Three Roses. Wasn't that Nana Plaza?

[chiang mai]

30 minutes ago, Fabricus said:

 

I definitely remember the name Three Roses. Wasn't that Nana Plaza?

 

On the corner, next to Hogs Breath (nana plaza), first floor on the left.

[Fabricus]

5 minutes ago, chiang mai said:

 

On the corner, next to Hogs Breath (nana plaza), first floor on the left.

 

OK, thanks. Do you remember that ladyboy bar on the first floor? Was it called Casanova? It always had very tall gents in bikinis standing outside.

 

I always disliked walking past those individuals. They gave me the creeps. Some of them were stunning, but their stares and deep voices were disturbing. 

 

PS. I'm going back to 1999 - 2001. I've not been to Nana Plaza for years.

[chiang mai]

11 minutes ago, Fabricus said:

 

OK, thanks. Do you remember that ladyboy bar on the first floor? Was it called Casanova? It always had very tall gents in bikinis standing outside.

 

I always disliked walking past those individuals. They gave me the creeps. Some of them were stunning, but their stares and deep voices were disturbing. 

 

PS. I'm going back to 1999 - 2001. I've not been to Nana Plaza for years.

 

Casanova, yes. I think everyone tried to avoid that corner, I always felt intimidated.

 

I've not been back there since 2004 I think, I still miss soi zero though for a game of pool and away from the silliness. Big sigh.

[Wilsonandson]

I always liked Patpong better in the late 80s and early 90s, but Nana was more laid back. The King's  Castle girls on Patpong were WAY prettier - some like movie stars -  but Nana was less expensive.

Photos of Nana Plaza, 1980 and King's Castle, Patpong, 1981.

[Fabricus]

30 minutes ago, Wilsonandson said:

Photos of Nana Plaza, 1980 and King's Castle, Patpong, 1981.

 

Awesome. I remember seeing an elephant in Patpong back in 1999.

 

I'd just watched Man U beat Munich in the final of the Champions League. When I came outside the bar ........ an elephant walked past. 

[pieeyed]

Fabricus the bar your thinking of on Soi Zero that was run by Greg and Anne was call The Sidetrack. Greg.

[teakman]

I don't remember the Belgian mercenary's name but could have been luke like the bar's name. as for soi zero,i think a few places opened around late '87 early '88.there were always vendors under the expressway serving the community there. my partner and I made a coffee stand for a thai buddy but didn't last long.the klong got paved over for the world bank meeting in summer '86 and I had to move to my landlady's house which didn't get expropriated.

  the date of the patpong pics are correct I'm sure but in 1980,there wasn't a Nana plaza. the first gogo bar there was Woodstock which was on the 2nd floor near the front stairs then moved to the back right corner with it's restaurant below. owned by John(american from Boston),not British. as for Hollywood bar,i recall seeing it late'87 or so. 

[GBK]

On 11/01/2017 at 3:06 PM, NickJ said:

About thirty years ago. I would guess. I remember when the Plaza was pretty much it on the whole soi. Is the John your referring to English Johnny? The guy that later came to run quite a few of the bars.

A bit more than that.  I first came here in 1988 and beers were the ludicrous price of 35B in the Plaza, girls wanted 500B all night and fines were about 150-200B.

 

The coming of the 1000 Baht note changed it all forever.

[GBK]

23 hours ago, upside said:

I've been listening to my dad's stories from nana and trying to put a time line together. He started the Hollywood bars first was Hollywood royale in nana along with another guy called Johnny and 1 other that started a bar called Thriller, his name was Michael Jackson hence the name but another guy from the Eva air family was also involved and together they pushed nana into the 3 storeys its today

 

Now according to my dad there was only 1 place in nana at the time and I've forgotten the name but the food was ok he said perhaps an English bar that Johnny had started 

 

Anyhow I'm just trying to piece it all together 

 

Any help welcome 

 

I think you are talking about Jools, about 200m into Soi 4 on the left, then opened and owned by Matt, then Kim.

 

 

 

[Toronto]

Less crowded. Entry way was only a parking lot with no bars, so more open. Don't remember name but on left and right sides of entryway were two small open-air bars. Real good. Think farangs were friendlier too. But just my opinions.

[Toronto]

Original thermae entrance was from rear of building thru unisex horng nam. Heaps of girls and few foreigners. Fantastic place. Freelancers everywhere. About 1985. Ahhh...nostalgia.

[Irishrogue]

I remember in the late nineties I had to pay a deposit of THB3000 for the boots the ladies were wearing which was a lot more than I had to pay for the lady. But it was for a friends stag night so worth the risk. 

[akentryan]

On 1/11/2017 at 2:55 PM, teakman said:

I was living beside the klong at rail tracks when Nana plaza first opened. rents started at 4000baht/month and the first gogo bar was called Woodstock run by an American.after a few months he moved it to the corner of the plaza where he had a restaurant downstairs with the bar upstairs.i had my breakfast there everyday and John(the owner)and I were hockey fans so we used to watch taped games on his wall screen. after a few months,more bars started up and was giving patpong a run for it's money while soi cowboy with its few bars was ever so quiet. a bunch of us along with a bevy of bar girls used to hang out at the Nana hotel pool and one of the guys(a Belgian mercenary)decided to open the first beer bar at the entrance called Lucky Luke's.it was the only bar open during the day and remained there for years. John at Woodstock arranged the first dance contest and was won by my favorite girl at the time. too bad I still don't have the promo t-shirt which had aow(the eventual winner) in sillouette on it. beers were still relatively cheap then at 20baht at the beginning(exchange then @25b/$1) and bar fines @200b and the dancer was 200-300baht with no time restraints then like they are now. most of the time they would even wash your clothes for you and clean your place.real gf experiences then unlike now. different times indeed!

Cooking for you, washing and ironing your clothes and cleaning your house was expected. Try getting any of that done these days. I found one that did it and moved her in permanently.