{{short description|Street in Bangkok, Thailand}} {{about|the red-light district in Bangkok|the 2008 Thai film|Soi Cowboy (film){{!}}''Soi Cowboy'' (film)}}{{Infobox street | name = | marker_image = | alternate_name = | other_name = | image = Soi Cowboy 2023 03.jpg | image_size = 250 | caption = Soi Cowboy at night in 2023 | map_type = | coordinates = {{coord|13|44|12.5|N|100|33|45|E|region:TH|display=it}} | map_size = | map_caption = | image_map = | map_alt = | native_name = | former_names = | part_of = | namesake = | type = | owner = | maint = | length = | length_mi = | length_km = | length_ref = | length_m = 150 | length_ft = | length_notes = | width = | area = | location = [[Khlong Toei Nuea]], [[Watthana district]], [[Bangkok]], [[Thailand]] | arrondissement = | quarter = | postal_code = | metro = | terminus_a = Asok Montri road | direction_a = West | junction = | terminus_b = Soi Sukhumvit 23 | direction_b = East | north = | east = | south = | west = | commissioning_date = | construction_start_date = | completion_date = | inauguration_date = <!-- {{Start date|YYYY|MM|DD}} --> | demolition_date = | main_contractor = | cost = | references = | known_for = [[Red-light district]] | status = | designer = | website = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} --> | native_name_lang = }} '''Soi Cowboy''' ({{langx|th|ซอยคาวบอย}}, {{RTGS|''Soi Khaoboi''}}, {{IPA|th|sɔ̄ːj kʰāːw.bɔ̄ːj|pron}}) is a short street (''soi'') in [[Bangkok]], Thailand. It is {{convert|150|m|yd|abbr=off}} long and is the location of around 40 commercial establishments, mostly [[go-go bar]]s. It caters mainly to tourists and [[expatriates]].<ref name="NYT">{{cite news|last1=Fuller|first1=Thomas|title=At Home Amid the Red Lights|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/25/books/25burd.html|accessdate=2015-01-25|work=New York Times|date=2007-10-27}}</ref> Soi Cowboy contains one of the three largest groups of foreign-oriented bars in Bangkok, the other two being [[Patpong]] and [[Nana Plaza|Soi Nana Tai]].<ref name="Steinfatt">{{cite book|title=Working at the Bar: Sex Work and Health Communication in Thailand|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nG5ZpQJlpBoC&pg=PA17 |first=Thomas M. |last=Steinfatt|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=2002|isbn=9781567505665|pages=30–32}}</ref>
[[File:Soi Cowboy - Bangkok.jpg|thumb|right|Soi Cowboy at dusk]]
== Location == Soi Cowboy is near [[Sukhumvit Road]], between [[Asok Montri Road]] (Soi Sukhumvit 21) and Soi Sukhumvit 23, within walking distance from the [[BTS Skytrain]]'s [[Asok Station]] and the [[MRT (Bangkok)|Bangkok MRT]]'s [[Sukhumvit Station]]. The Pullman Bangkok Grande Sukhumvit Hotel is nearby.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://guestfriendlyhotelsbangkok.com/guest-friendly-hotels-near-soi-cowboy/|title=Guest Friendly Hotels Near Soi Cowboy|date=2015-11-23|access-date=2016-08-09}}</ref>
==History== [[File:Soi Cowboy entrance 20230728.jpg|thumb|Soi Cowboy entrance on the side of Soi Sukhumvit 21]] The first bar opened in Soi Cowboy in the early 1970s, but it was not until 1977 that a second bar opened on the street<ref name=Steinfatt/> by T. G. "Cowboy" Edwards, a retired American airman. Edwards got his nickname because he often wore a [[cowboy hat]] and the soi was given its name in reference to him by longtime nightlife columnist [[Bernard Trink]]. The number of bars grew to 31 by the end of the century, all located on the ground floor.<ref name=Steinfatt/>
==In popular culture== Some scenes from the 2004 film ''[[Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason]]'' were both shot in Soi Cowboy<ref>{{cite web|title=Lights, Camera, Location! Famous Movies That Used Thailand as a Location|url=https://thebeat.asia/bangkok/vibe/pop-culture/lights-camera-location-famous-movies-that-used-thailand-as-a-location|website=The Beat Asia|date=18 April 2023}}</ref> and set there. In the film the actor [[Hugh Grant]] plays a character<ref>{{cite web|title=Vergnügungsviertel Soi Cowboy in Bangkok|url=https://www.entdecke-thailand.net/vergnuegungsviertel-soi-cowboy-in-bangkok.php|lang=de|trans-title=Soi Cowboy entertainment district in Bangkok|website=Entdecke Thailand|date=23 July 2012 |access-date=26 June 2024}}</ref> who visits a Soi Cowboy [[massage parlour]].<ref>{{cite thesis|url=https://ethesisarchive.library.tu.ac.th/thesis/2017/TU_2017_5406040245_8895_7102.pdf|title=Stereotypical Depiction of Thai Women in Hollywood Films|author=Saranphon Poltecha|date=2017|publisher=Thammasat University|location=Thailand}}</ref>
In August 2006, scenes were shot in Soi Cowboy for the film ''[[Bangkok Dangerous (2008 film)|Bangkok Dangerous]]''.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.stickmanbangkok.com/Weekly2006/weekly276.htm |title=The Story Of Ploen |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509165744/http://www.stickmanbangkok.com/Weekly2006/weekly276.htm |work=Stickman's Guide to Bangkok|date=20 August 2006|archive-date=9 May 2008 |access-date=29 November 2016 }}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Soi Cowboy}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060323043351/http://www.cityphotoguide.com/image/tid/15 Soi Cowboy Bars Photo Guide] * Videos of Soi Cowboy: [http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=soi+cowboy Google Video], [https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Soi+Cowboy&search=Search YouTube] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20150510194110/http://www.barnewsbangkok.com/soicowboy.html List of Bars at Soi Cowboy] (archived copy from 2015)
{{prostitution in Thailand}}
[[Category:red-light districts in Thailand]] [[Category:streets in Bangkok]] [[Category:tourist attractions in Bangkok]] [[Category:Watthana district]]