Patpong Go Go Bars in Bangkok – A Tour of Bangkok’s Infamous Red Light District

Patpong is the first red light district that started the go go bar culture, making Bangkok world famous. The bright neon lights first lit up the skies during the Vietnam war attracting US soldiers like flies. Today those same lights are now brighter and the boots of soldiers have been replaced by sandal wearing backpackers and single men on the prowl for sex.

The red light district of Patpong is located at the business district of Bangkok called Silom. Like all the other red light districts in Bangkok, Patpong is easily reached by taking the BTS Sky Train and getting off at Sala Daeng station. You can also take the underground train and get off at Silom MRT station. And of course any Taxi driver in Bangkok will know where Patpong is.

Patpong is a fairly decent sized red light district consisting of two main streets, running parallel to each other called Patpong 1 and Patpong 2. And there are hundreds of nightlife establishments such as go go bars, beer bars and sex shows. Head to Patpong 1 for the most popular go go bars such as King’s Castle 1 and2, and Queen’s Castle 1 and 2. They are all run by the same management and have a reputation for not padding the bills. It’s best to get there by 9pm to get the best seats as the establishments do get packed full with visitors.

Now here’s something you may want to know about. Patpong’s go go bars do employ transvestites. More commonly referred to as lady-boys. Whether you like them or not you’ll inevitably come across one in Patpong’s go go bars. King’s Castle 3 for example is a go go bar with all lady-boys employed inside and are either pre-op or post op.

All of the other go go bars in the area will have a sprinkling of post-op lady-boys employed inside, mixed with a higher proportion of real women. If you’re not sure whether you are talking to a real lady or not you can always ask. If you don’t want to hurt someone’s feeling then ask the Mamasan hostess who will be truthful to you.

Patpong 2 has the fewest go go bars but the best one by far is Club Electric Blue which is run by a group of westerners. You’ll mostly find open air bars with ladies to keep you company in this area. It’s definitely much quieter in Patpong 2 and has a laid back atmosphere.

It’s obvious that a man’s motive in a go go bar is to take a lady back to his hotel room. In order to do so they have to pay a 500THB “bar fine” to management.  However, one must keep in mind that there are hotels that charge a “joiner fee” which is also 500THB. But there are some hotels near Patpong that don’t charge such a fee and are deemed “guest friendly”.

Even though today Patpong has been severely commercialized and sanitized it still retains the seedy charm that men are and always will be attracted to. And even through all the tough competition with other red light districts, Patpong is showing no signs of slowing down.