A view of Patpong at sunset Patpong (more correctly Phat Phong) is an entertainment district in Bangkok, Thailand, catering mainly to foreign tourists, and is at the centre of Bangkok's sex industry. Patpong consists of four parallel streets which run between Silom Road and Surawong Road. Patpong 1 is the main street with many bars of various kinds. Patpong 2 also has many bars. Patpong 3 has bars catering to gay men. Patpong 4 has a few bars with Thai girls that cater to Japanese men.
Although Patpong is sometimes referred to as a "red-light district," its bars are not brothels in the traditional sense. Most are "go-go bars" where young women (or men) dance or pose on a stage and are available to customers, who pay the bar a fee to take them elsewhere, usually to a hotel, for sex. They then pay the person an additional fee. Some establishments advertising "massage" are disguised brothels.
Some bars on Patpong employ ladyboys (transsexuals) instead of, or in addition to, women - as of 2004 King's Castle 3 and King's Corner (both on Patpong 1) were known to do so. Most of the gay bars in Patpong are not go-go bars, but traditional gay pubs such as Telephone and The Balcony, catering to both Thais and tourists. The commercial go-go bars for gay men are mostly on Surawong Road or in streets off Surawong.
The area started as a R&R (Rest and Recuperation) location for US troops involved in the Vietnam War. In its prime during the 1970s and 1980s, Patpong was the premier red-light area in Bangkok, famous for its sex shows. Today, the other red-light areas of Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy provide strong competition. However, Patpong is the only one of these areas to lie within the official entertainment zones decreed in 2004.
In recent years, Silom and Surawong have been taken over by the Patpong night market, making movement in the area difficult and filling the area with farang tourist couples and backpackers. Men selling pornographic DVDs have become something of a pest in the area.
Patpong is within walking distance from the SkyTrain's "Sala Daeng Station", and subway's "Silom Station".
External links
- Ajarn article on Patpong. (http://www.ajarn.com/On_the_town/patpong.htm)
- Thailand.com article on Patpong. (http://www.thailand.com/travel/nightlife/nightlife_bangkok_patpong.htm)
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