Nana Plaza (formerly Nana Entertainment Plaza) is an entertainment complex and red-light district in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

. Originally built as a shopping center, Nana Plaza occupies a three-story commercial building in the

Khlong Toei District Khlong Toei (also Klong Toey, th, คลองเตย, ) is a district in central Bangkok, long known for its slum. It is bordered by the Chao Phraya River and contains major port facilities. It is also the site of a major market, the Khlong ...

of Bangkok about from the BTS Skytrain's Nana Station. It describes itself as the "worlds largest adult playground". Its name originates from the influential, property-holding Nana family,

Lek Nana Lek Nana ( th, เล็ก นานา; 1924–1 April 2010) was a Thai businessman and politician. He was one of the founders of Thailand's Democrat Party at the end of World War II. Lek Nana served as Deputy Foreign Minister as well as Mini ...

being the most prominent member. Along with

Soi Cowboy Soi Cowboy ( th, ซอยคาวบอย, , ) is a short (150 meter long) street in Bangkok, Thailand, with some 40, mostly go-go bars. It caters mainly to tourists and expatriates. Soi Cowboy contains one of the three largest groups of fo ...

and Patpong, Nana Plaza is one of Bangkok's three most concentrated red-light districts. All attract primarily tourists.

History

The plaza's U-shaped building is roughly square-shaped, with a single opening on the west side, and consists of a ground floor and two additional floors arranged around a courtyard. It started as a restaurant and shopping center in the late-1970s. During the early-1980s, a few go-go bars appeared and gradually replaced the shops and restaurants. By the mid-1980s around twenty go-go bars had opened in the three-level court, taking advantage of the expansion of tourist hotels in the area. In 2012 Nana Plaza was sold to a Thai JVC company Nana Partners Co Ltd., co-owned by Fico corporation and

Panthera Group ''Panthera'' is a genus within the family Felidae that was named and described by Lorenz Oken in 1816 who placed all the spotted cats in this group. Reginald Innes Pocock revised the classification of this genus in 1916 as comprising the tiger ...

(formally known as Eclipse group)one of Thailand's largest bar and nightclub operatorsfor a rumored US$25,000,000 after the land was inherited by seven sisters who wanted nothing to do with a red-light area. Panthera Group renovated the complex, becoming the landlord and providing the management and security services.

Facilities

Three short-time hotels, one of which has been renovated, operate on the top floor. Short-time hotels rent out rooms by the hour or more to patrons to take a

bargirl A bargirl is a woman who is paid to entertain patrons in a bar, either individually or, in some cases, as a performer. The exact nature of the entertainment varies widely from place to place; depending on the venue this can be individual enterta ...

for sex. Most bar girls in Nana Plaza will leave with customers upon payment of a bar fine. Smoking is banned indoors. There are two elevators, one on the north side of the building and one on the south. The building closes at 03:00 and lies dormant until the following evening. In 2016 two waitresses in the plaza's ''Bangkok Bunnies'' go-go bar said that they received monthly wages equivalent to £130 (US$165) and daily tips equivalent to £11–16 (US$14–20). This compares with a 2016 average monthly wage in Thailand of around 13,800

baht The baht (; th, บาท, ; sign: ฿; code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). The issuance of currency is the responsibility of the Bank of Thailand. SWIFT ranked the Thai baht as the 10th-m ...

(US$388). As of July 2019, Nana Plaza housed 30 bars and three "hotels". As of July 2019, there were seven

kathoey ''Kathoey'' or ''katoey'' ( th, กะเทย; ) is an identity used by some people in Thailand, whose identities in English may be best described as transgender women in some cases, or effeminate gay men in other cases. Transgender wo ...

("ladyboy") bars in Nana Plaza; Several other bars have a few ladyboys in their line-ups mixed with their regular go-go dancers.

Gallery

File:Nana_Plaza_Shopping_Center.jpg, alt=Nana Plaza Shopping Center, Entrance to Nana Plaza when it was a shopping center File:Nana Entertainment Plaza.jpg, alt=Nana Entertainment Plaza, Entrance to Nana Entertainment Plaza showing the old overhead signage File:Nanaplaza.jpg, Nana Plaza, May 2004 File:Kathoey.jpg, Ladyboys, Cascade Bar File:Nana Plaza November 2015.jpg, Nana Plaza, November 2015

References

External links

Official Nana Plaza Website

Interview With Paul Hayward, Owner Of Nana Plaza
{{Prostitution in Thailand Kathoey Neighbourhoods of Bangkok Red-light districts in Thailand Khlong Toei district

History

Facilities

Gallery

See also

References

External links