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Soi Pratuchai

Coordinates: 13°43′50″N 100°31′55″E / 13.730443°N 100.5318478°E / 13.730443; 100.5318478
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Soi Pratuchai
Entrance to Soi Pratuchai
Entrance to Soi Pratuchai, 2010
AddressesBangrak
LocationBangkok, Thailand
Coordinates13°43′50″N 100°31′55″E / 13.730443°N 100.5318478°E / 13.730443; 100.5318478
South endSurawong Road
North endRama IV Road
Other
Known forGay entertainment area

Soi Pratuchai (alias: "Soi Twilight";[1] Thai: ซอยประตูชัย, meaning "Triumphal arch soi") was walkway ("soi") in the Bangrak district of Bangkok, Thailand known for being a gay-related entertainment district,[2][3] catering mainly, though not exclusively, to foreign tourists and expatriates.[1] While Soi Pratuchai was internationally known as a red light district for gays at the heart of Bangkok's sex industry, the city in fact has numerous gay-related red-light districts[1] that are far more popular with Thai.

Soi Pratuchai was closed since 1 April 2019 with its land plots being bought. Some bars has relocated in the vicinity of Patpong, while others have closed down permanently. The site of Soi Pratuchai has since been occupied by Chula Culture, a 32-storied condominium developed by Ananda Development [th] set to complete in 2025.[4]

Location and layout

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Soi Pratuchai consisted of a "7"-shaped walkway running between Surawong Road[5][6] and Rama IV Road. Soi Pratuchai is within walking distance from the BTS Skytrain Silom Line's Sala Daeng Station, and MRT Blue Line's Si Lom Station. It was a dead-ended alleyway and thus less car traffic in comparison to other gay districts in broader Patpong.[7]

Establishments in Soi Pratuchai were mostly gay bars, restaurants, cafés and salons. Among them were: Hot Male Bar,[8] Banana Bar,[9] X-Boys Bar,[9] Maxis Restaurant,[9] Dream Boy Bar,[10] Fresh Beach Boyz Bar,[8] X size Bar,[8] and Classic Boys Club[9] where synchronized swimming shows were available[11]

History

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According to Oat Montien, a former artist-in-residence at Patpong Museum where history of sex tourism around Patpong area is studied, Soi Pratuchai began its name as a gay destination from a gay go-go bar named Twilight; later the soi's alias, that relocated from Sukhumwit area to the entrance of Soi Pratuchai in 1971. The bar was first mentioned in 1966 as a "gay" establishment - being one of the first instances of the term gay being referred to distinguishably from trans woman term kathoey. The bar was said to initially have no seat, all patrons must stand to be Twilight shake-hand-ed (referring to having their genitals being handheld) by the bar's hosts. As of 1990s, 20 years since Twilight moved to Soi Pratuchai, the entirety of establishments in the alleyway became gay bars. As of 2019, there were more than 10 gay bars.[12]

In 2019, every land plots in the alleyway were sold. The reason behind the purchasing remains unknown. Soi Pratuchai's legacy of gay tourism suddenly came to an end, worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand. The broader Patpong area, during the pandemic's peak, only three gay bars remained.[12]

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Most Soi Pratuchai go-go bars feature boys dancing on a stage.[13] The dancers (and even occasionally the serving staff) are generally available to customers willing to pay a bar fine to take them out of the bar; the fees for sexual services are negotiated separately.[5] Some establishments advertising "massages" are in fact disguised brothels,[14] and a few famous "blowjob bars" offer oral sex at the main bar or in back rooms.

Several upstairs bars still feature (technically illegal) sex shows, with boys performing various creative acts.[15] Perhaps the most notorious of these features boys performing exotic feats involving bathing. Some of these second-floor gay bars are run by scam artists who lure tourists with offers of low prices and later present a wildly inflated bill along with a threat of physical harm should the bill go unpaid. The Tourist Police, usually stationed at Patpong 1 and Silom Road, can help in these situations.

Some establishments in Patpong employ kathoeys (or "ladyboys") either exclusively or as part of a mixed gender staff.[16]

The bars open at 6 pm and close at 2 am. [1]

See also

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Sources

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  1. ^ a b c d "Soi Twilight Bangkok | No. 1 Gay Red Light District - Review Update 2018!". The Gay Passport. 9 June 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  2. ^ Lonely Planet 2004, p. 135.
  3. ^ "Soi Twilight (Soi Pratuchai) - справочник мест для гей туриста". гей гид (in Russian). Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  4. ^ "Culture Chula". อนันดา ดีเวลลอปเม้นท์ จำกัด (มหาชน). Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  5. ^ a b Stapleton 2011.
  6. ^ Jackson 2011, p. 168.
  7. ^ พีรภัทร์ เกื้อวงศ์ (13 April 2020). "ปวัน ลีวัจนกุล : เสียงจากเซ็กซ์เวิร์กเกอร์ชาย ในวันที่ไร้แสงไฟบนเวทีโชว์". The Momentum (in Thai). Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  8. ^ a b c Miksche, Mike (21 December 2016). "Exploring Soi Twilight, Bangkok's gay red-light district (Part 1)". Xtra. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  9. ^ a b c d "Soi Twilight Bars In 2017 - Gay Bangkok". The Naughty Nomad. 15 November 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  10. ^ Swe, Albert (18 October 2013). "Top 10 gay bars in Bangkok". Coconuts. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  11. ^ "Gay Go-Go Bars in Bangkok - Bangkok Nightlife". bangkok.com. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  12. ^ a b ฆฤณ ถนอมกิตติ (29 June 2022). "ประสบการณ์ Artist in Residency ของ โอ๊ต มณเฑียร ในซอยพัฒน์พงศ์". GroundControl (in Thai). Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  13. ^ "Nightlife District". Nightlife District. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  14. ^ "Gay Massage: Bangkok Gay Massage". Gay Massage. 27 July 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  15. ^ Mendoza, John Ryan (18 October 2013). "A peek at Bangkok's Soi Twilight". Outrage Magazine. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  16. ^ Das, Guttersnipe (31 July 2010). "Guttersnipe Das: An Evening in Soi Twilight". Guttersnipe Das. Retrieved 13 January 2019.

Bibliography

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