Before you read any further, don't worry this isn't one of them preachy blog posts telling you prostitution is wrong and we shouldn't see women as mere sex objects (laughs). I will leave that to the Internet white knights and feminist who will be posting in the comments below.
But yeah, I never visit Soi Cowboy or Nana Plaza, unless a friend comes to visit me, and even then I try to convince them to go elsewhere.
If you're looking to get girls without paying check this article.
6 reasons I hate Soi Cowboy and Nana Plaza
There's many things about Soi Cowboy and Nana Plaza that really grind my gears, they include:
Annoying mamasans - This has to be at the top of my list. Everytime I walk into a go go bar they shove the drinks menu in my face and stand over me looking angry until I order. I recently went to Nana Plaza with my friends who had both bar fined girls, we went into a new go go bar and my two buddies brought their girls along. The annoying kunt of a mamsan saw me with no girl and for 20 minutes non-stop stayed at our tabling pointing to the girls on stage saying "pick number, pick number".
I have never wanted to kick a women in the kunt so hard in my entire life.
My friends were spending money like crazy and the mamasan spotted this, so she brings a girl to our table for me who I ignored and told the mamasan "No thanks Jeff". Even after I said this, she goes and brings her a lady drink (200+ baht), makes her drink it and adds it to the our bill.
After we moved into the next bar, the new mamasan in this bar was doing the same shit, being too pushy, forcing us to buy lady drinks, ruining the whole experience.
I understand your bar is there to make money, but this can still be achieved without being annoying as hell.
Expensive drinks - I ordered a water once in a go go bar in Soi Cowboy because I didn't feel like drinking or spending too much money. The bill comes back and I am charged 135 baht for a water, uw0tm8? I understand I am paying for the 'show' on stage but 135 baht for a water is pretty insulting.
Music too loud - Since a go go bar involves you sitting down talking to friends and calling girls over to talk to, the music is way too fucking loud. Playing music is fine, but I don't want to shout into my friends ear next to me because the DJ has put the sound up to 11.
Who is running these bars? Because some of them have no idea.
Girl can't dance - In the US or UK, strip clubs usually have girls performing a show or dancing in a sexy way, in Soi Cowboy and Nana Plaza the girls just stand on the stage looked bored. That's fine if they want to do that I don't care, but then don't charge me 135 baht for a water. What am I paying for?
Bill scams - If you ever go to Soi Cowboy or Nana Plaza with a big group and you will be buying a lot of drinks, watch what you order and keep an eye on your bill. If there are 6-7 of you going in, the mamasan will add on drinks and other charges to inflate your bill if you're not keeping a close eye on things.
Girls are not hot - While this is totally subjective, I would say around 10-15% of all the girls that work in Soi Cowboy or Nana Plaza are hot. I'm not sure who is in charge of the hiring process of girls but you need to fire that guy and hire me.
The bottom line
While all go go bars in Soi Cowboy and Nana Plaza are not like what I mentioned above, most are and it totally ruins the experience of going there. I never feel like a customer when I go in, rather a target and the mamasan's job is to take as much money from me - any means necessary.
If budget is not a problem and you don't mind getting annoyed by the mamasans, or are looking to get a girl for the night who is clean and safe, then it's a decent spot to go.But as a pre-drink or relaxing night out, not even once. Check out Route 66, Funky Villa, Onyx, or Levels for that.
What do you guys think about Soi Cowboy and Nana Plaza? Which bars do you like, which do you avoid and what has been your overall experience? Leave a comment below if you have ever been to Bangkok and visited either places.